Dog Shelters and
Donations
A brief guide to America's shelters, who is taking credit for what,
and where your donations go.
Wayne
Cavanaugh - http://ukcdogs.com/HPEarthWork.htm
Did you ever get mail from the
"humane society"? Donation solicitations, Christmas cards, free address
labels? Was it from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the
American Humane Association (AHA), or the American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)? Did you ever wonder who they are
and what they do? What about during disaster relief efforts, did you ever
wonder where to send your donations?
Don't know the answers to these questions? You are not alone. Even among the
most dedicated dog lovers there is huge misunderstanding and confusion when
it comes to our nation's shelters and the SAS – that is, the Shelter
Alphabet Soup, that comes with them.
In the late 1990's, a group called the California Coalition of Animal
Advocates convened to try to find answers to issues dog-related population
issues. Their work included a study to find out
who and where the animal shelters were in America. It sounded easy enough
until they discovered that a national list of shelters did not exist, and,
contrary to popular opinion, there wasn't a "humane society" or any other
type of organization that oversaw all of America's shelters!
So who, what, and where are the nation's shelters? Who are these big
fund-raising groups, and how are they related to shelters? Where do they get
their money, and who is running them? To start, the coalition funded a study
to create shelter list of every shelter in America. They knew it would
always be changing and would never be complete, but they also knew it would
be a lot better than what existed, which was nothing. They hired university
graduate students to do the only thing that would work – the students called
every town, municipality, city, village, township, hamlet and county in
America and asked if they had a shelter, what they called it and who
ran it. The answers were interesting and the list was compiled. Today, there
is still no national organization overseeing or coordinating America's
shelters.
Here are some facts that
most people do not realize
The Humane Society of the Untied
States (HSUS) does not operate a single animal shelter in America or
anywhere else. That's right, not one. Makes you wonder how many people send
them money thinking they were the local animal shelter. The American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) does operate a shelter and
an animal hospital - they are both in New York City. That's it, a New York
City shelter only. It is a highly regarded shelter, but New York clearly
isn't the nationwide shelter list some people think of when they think of
the
ASPCA. To be fair, the ASPCA does humane work all over the nation, but as
far as operating shelters, well, no. The American Humane Association (AHA)
operates no shelters, but does
have about 300 shelters that are affiliated and agree to maintain AHA
standards of care at their shelters.
What about the SPCA? Is there a
national organization called the SPCA (society for the prevention of cruelty
to animals)? Nope. Sorry. "SPCA" is simply a term, or abbreviation, used for
most any animal shelter but it is NOT a nationwide organization. It's a
generic for what we say instead of "dog pound", "animal shelter", or "humane
society". Now you can see the confusion! When national groups use words like
humane society, or letters such as SPCA in their name, people think they are
giving to their local shelter. But they, of course, are not.
So who runs the local shelter in your town? It could be anyone from
volunteers, to your local government, to a private party. Many rural areas
simply have a person, with a few extra kennel runs, who the town pays to
house the strays. In more populated areas where actual
dedicated buildings exists, the shelters are funded by any combination of
tax dollars, donations, adoptions fees and dog license fees. (It is
interesting to note that the shelters house
dogs and cats, but since hardly anyone licenses cats, the dog license fees
pay the bills for both dogs and cats.)
These shelters are named anything from the "SPCA of Whatever County" to the
"Humane Society of Whatever Township", but are not affiliated with either
national group, the ASPCA or HSUS. Within a county or state, the shelters
may meet for educational purposes or to share
information but not as a me mber of a national fund raising group that
operates and fund shelters.
So what does the ASPCA, HSUS, and AHA do with all of their money if it is
not going to your local shelter? Each has their own agenda. They all
advertise, use money to raise money, and draft and lobby for legislation.
Some may agree with none, all, or some of what they support. The AHA has the
contract to oversee and ensure the safety all animals used while filming a
movie. They have done so for years and have done an admirable job. However,
they are also opposed to hunting. So are the ASPCA and, obviously, HSUS. Do
they help protect animals? Yes, they do. But does their agenda agree with
your individual ideas and philosophy? Hang on, you better check. Check a
lot. Go to their websites. Call them. Dig deeper into their agendas.
See what legislation and advertising campaigns they are spending donated
money on.
HSUS for example, in addition to the troubled PAWS legislation, is also
spending donations on a new campaign to prevent America's youth from hunting
before they are 18 years old. (For those familiar with the PAWS bill, this
is typical HSUS – set limits first then adjust them to extinction!) These
campaigns and laws are often being funded by well intended people who think
they are giving to their local shelter! But you now know that is not true.
With Hurricane Katrina, watch the big PR money being spent by some of these
groups, and other dog organizations, as they exploit the hurricane victims
by trying to raise money that goes who knows where. Is that money all going
to relief? Let's hope so. We have heard that good money is starting to get
spent in the hurricane ravaged areas. Or is some going to fund anti-hunting
and anti-breeding legislation? It almost seems as though where some see
despair and horror, others see a PR opportunity, so who knows?
The bottom line is that there
are thousands of shelters in America, all of which are individually operated
and funded locally. They always need resources and support. Then, there are
large groups who raise money by using the goodwill of words like "humane"
and "cruelty" in their national name. To add another layer of concern, while
your local independent shelter is not run by HSUS, AHA, or the ASPCA (unless
you are in New York City), you really have no idea what the mission of your
local shelter is. Your job is to ask.
There are many, many excellent and worthy local shelters that need your
donations and will use them directly to help dogs. But before you open your
wallet, ask what will be done with your money.
Consider donating food and supplies which can't be as easily used to pay
government lobbyists.
Ask what they believe in. Then ask yourself what you believe in and where
you draw the line.
We should and we must help those less fortunate. We must not forget the
people and the dogs who need help from the hurricane. We must do so from our
hearts, though, and not to take credit or exploit the situation. And we must
make sure our efforts are in line with our private individual beliefs.
Thanks to Sue Cone, NJ, for
sharing this information - Member American Chesapeake Club
suecone@mindspring.com - NADOI 329, Member - National Animal
Interest Alliance
                            
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