Update: Today I received several threatening emails from a “friend” of the individual in this picture below. When I refused to budge on taking this picture down, she resorted to name calling. Which of course is very effective if you’re 5 years old! The man in this picture featured this shot on his Facebook page but has got no privacy settings set up so anybody in the world can see (and use) his pictures. I was approached yesterday by another person who wanted my source for this picture as evidence to be used in a possible legal action against the SPCA. The source I gave was the same Facebook page mentioned above however there were so many people who posted this picture to Facebook on Wednesday that I couldn’t really tell you who posted it first. But I know for sure it wasn’t me. I got it from somebody, who got it from somebody, who got it from somebody and so on.
My wanna be intimidators said that if this picture wasn’t removed by the end of the day I would be hearing from a lawyer.
Well the picture stays and I’ll take my chances with the lawyer.
This is a picture of Oreo just minutes before her death. Doesn’t she look aggressive? Dangerous? A threat to the public?
I got a patronizing, impersonal email from the ASPCA today. Here’s what it said:
Public Information <publicinformation@aspca.org> to cher.jewhurst@gmail.com
8:28am
Dear Friend of Animals:
Thank you for contacting the ASPCA – America’s first humane organization – regarding Oreo. It is important that our members have a voice in what happens in our organization – your willingness to take the time to send a message is truly appreciated. Due to the large volume of phone calls, mail and e-mails, we apologize for a generic response to your message, but please know that each and every communication is thoroughly read.
A great deal of misinformation regarding Oreo’s euthanasia has been passed around on the Internet– everything from what time Oreo was euthanized (it was 3 p.m.) to Pets Alive’s credentials (they are NOT a member of the Mayor’s Alliance). In addition, critics have seized on Oreo’s plight as an opportunity to discredit the ASPCA—which is interesting when you consider that one of our most ardent critics, Camille Hankins, the Director of Win Animal Rights, was convicted of animal cruelty in 1995 when nearly 100 animals were found stuffed into a tiny, filthy trailer that she rented.
While we certainly think all of these issues merit rebuttal, we believe it is critical that we address the questions and concerns regarding our decision not to send Oreo to a sanctuary.
It is first vital to consider the very definition of “animal sanctuary.” The mission of animal sanctuaries is generally to be safe havens, where the resident animals are given the opportunity to behave as naturally as possible in a protective environment. Due to the extreme emotional and physical strain Oreo suffered, her living conditions at a sanctuary would have been anything but "natural," and her quality of life would have been poor at best. She would have been forced to live a life of isolation with extremely limited human contact and virtually no animal contact. For an animal that is distinguished by sophisticated social cognition and communication, such an existence could hardly be defined by the word "sanctuary."
Many groups like Pets Alive dispute that this would have been Oreo’s fate. But how can that be anything but empty rhetoric when these groups had no access to Oreo or her evaluations? We had our own professional behaviorists, as well as an independent veterinary behaviorist, conduct numerous evaluations, and in our experience, the findings were not consistent with sanctuary placement. We spent five months with Oreo- day in and day out- not only evaluating her behavior—but trying to rehabilitate her. This is central to the ASPCA’s mission. Just since 2003, when Edwin Sayres joined the ASPCA, we have rehabilitated over 1,200 animal cruelty victims at a cost of over 5 million dollars. Why would Oreo be any different?
The fact is… she wasn’t. Despite the sensational nature of her injuries, she was treated with the same love and respect—and given the greatest of care and rehabilitation– that we afford all of our animals. But at the end of the day, and more often than the animal welfare community discusses, we made the most humane decision we could.
There is no “Oreo conspiracy,” as some have claimed. This is simply, and tragically, the case of a heartbreaking decision made all the more difficult by the ignorance and hypocrisy of a few.
Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to email us again.
Sincerely,
ASPCA Public Information
As expected, they do not actually address the question of why the big rush to destroy Oreo or why, despite what their own misgivings about the possible success of a sanctuary, wasn’t Oreo given at least a stay of execution in order to let her try it. No kill means no kill. There is no unadoptable dogs and there is no dog Cesar can’t handle. These options should have been explored before killing Oreo.
I know that she was only one dog and that millions of dogs and cats are destroyed every month due to overpopulation. I am painfully aware of these statistics and I agree, that is the big issue we need to deal with. However, the killing of Oreo, for me, symbolizes that not all animal shelters are on the same page when that No Kill phrase is thrown around. And the ASPCA now symbolizes, for me, certain death for any dog or cat surrendered to it.
Be warned.
Until next time.
Related posts:
Their explanation of why a sanctuary would be cruel simply doesn’t hold water. It reeks of BS. As for whether or not Pets Alive was a member of the Mayor’s Alliance — who knows. Is it material? They still could have taken ONE day and checked the place’s credentials out. I’ll bet they were members and fell behind in filing reports or some stupidity like that having nothing to do with quality of care. Unlike ASPCA, they probably don’t have hundreds of staff members who just do paperwork. I am convinced that the rush was because Ed Sayres could not tolerate having his judgment being questioned, and by putting an end to Oreo, he thought he was closing the matter. Wrong, Ed.
Thank you for your comments Susan. Of course you’re right, it’s not really material whether or not Pets Alive is a member of the Mayor’s Alliance except that somebody is lying about their status and I always like to know who is lying. I agree with everything else you say but especially the part about Ed Sayres’ ego being at the center of why Oreo lost her life.
How is five months of evaluations considered a rush job?
.-= Lucky G´s last blog ..Some Advice for Guys Who Love Girls Who Love Cats =-.
The famous Mr. Ed. You have no idea about pets Alive. You should spend some time visiting to see what it is all about. I volunteer there as so do countless others. we spend time interacting with all the animals when possible. Pets Alive holds nothing back. If you are one to want to deal with aggressive dogs, they take the time to help train you and guide you. There aremany programs they offer, they are constantly updating and sharing information with the volunteer staff. It is almost like a family united for the welfare of the animals. Never have I been to such a place where we are all on the same page. Take your $500,000 a year job put some gas in your work given car, maybe even with a driver and take your self for a ride and visit before you show how really ignorant you are.
“…But how can that be anything but empty rhetoric when these groups had no access to Oreo or her evaluations?…” — this statement from the ASPCA email underscores the key issue: why was no one outside the ASPCA was allowed to have access or dialogue about what was going on with Oreo? If the access and dialogue had been allowed, it’s without doubt that Oreo would have been allowed to go to Pets Alive.
The ASPCA are using their control of the process to justify the decision they made. This is not only self-serving, it’s illogical, and it reveals how blinded Mr. Sayres and company are by their own internal politics and hubris — which puts their own interests ahead of those of the animals they are supposed to be protecting.
By the way, any animal behaviorist who knows dogs well will tell you that pic of Oreo with the volunteer leaning over her is not a brilliant one to show her docility. It’s showing her stress. The volunteer’s body, hovering over Oreo’s shoulders and neck, would be felt by Oreo to be a dominance stance on the part of the volunteer. Oreo is being submissive because she has to at the moment. She’s likely still in a lot of pain from her healing injuries, and she’s leashed and held by someone else. If uneducated volunteers tried such postures regularly enough while Oreo was at the ASPCA, that experience alone would have been enough to keep Oreo on her guard against anything that intruded too closely into her space, and thus would have caused her to “fail” her stress tests. That the ASPCA would allow such stuff to happen is an indication of just how clueless many of the staff is to dogs’ behavioral needs and comfort.
Thank God for facilities like Pets Alive, with staffers who treat animals as individuals, and develop expertise that goes beyond what most people can understand or provide.
Wow, look at the beautiful face. Aggressive my butt. That’s just a handy excuse to kill a pit bull, IMO. It’s about time certain org’s stopped treating pit bulls, whether purebred APBT’s or mixes, as if they’re a different species from other dogs. I think if Oreo was a different breed she may not have been killed, she might have gotten more time, been given that one more chance. The ASPCA’s hypocrisy is sickening, Ed Sayre’s GALL in calling those who are condemning Oreo’s murder ignorant hypocrites is UNREAL. I want to pass on the following for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet: Oreo’s Law
Plenty of misinformation for rebuttal, and I will address that later.
For now, how embarrassing is it to have such a poor “public information officer” at the A? The big “news release” looked like the work of a child, and so does this. First of all, an expository news release should not be dripping with sarcasm. Second, this is not a venue for discussions about Camille Hankins. The “writer”–perhaps Ed Sayre’s favorite nephew–obviously doesn’t know what to do.
Thanks so much for this picture! And for Lucky G…your reference to how is 5 months of evaluation a rush job? Well, let’s see – at the beginning she had two broken legs and broken ribs. Not sure how fast YOU think that sort of thing heals up, but I doubt there was a lot of time for evaluation of how the dog was “feeling” while recovering from that! And even the pic posted by the ASPCA shows humans standing close and no aggresion on the dog’s part! So figuring a couple months before she could even WALK on her front legs…I would still go with the idea that not enough time was spent on rehabilitation for the mental and emotional sides, and there were other agencies besides PetsAlive that were willing to take on the rehabilitation efforts – this was a special case. The outrage is also fueled by the amount of donations generated by the dog’s situation – specifically to help her. Where’s the accounting for all that money? This is just the tip of the iceberg of an organization that has been not held accountable for where the funds are being used – and that’s part of being a non-profit! Also, every non-profit has a board that makes major decisions – not just one person cause they’re the president – no where have I seen any reference to this being a “board decision – just Sayres. So, this is what happens when you start kicking over rocks in a bloated business situation – some of the things that come out are not nice. But they need to be dealt with.
Oreo is a beatiful dog, I would never think she could be aggresive. I have got a dog from dog’s trust they are really great, taking you through it and all that.I’m sure they would have been fine with her. And that wierdo who abused her is a idiot. How can you do that to something as beatiful as her?
Her injuries must of hurt a lot and I bet she was just trying to protect herself from us lot. Oreo must have thought them dangerous and still I can’t think she would be agressive.
Read this article, more ASPCA propaganda. Sayres claims he is a collaborator??? Kind of like our last president a “uniter”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/jobs/06boss.html?ex=1276059600&en=99d31a673048885f&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=JO-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M127-ROS-1209-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click
Question arises after reading their reply: I’ve seen other places that said they had her for 124 days – that doesn’t compute to 5 months, does it?
THE GUY IN THE PICTURE LOOKS LIKE A THUG AND A GANG BANGER.bUT THE DOG LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.ANY WOMWAN THAT DATES A CREEP LIKE HIM I HOPE HE THROWS YOU OFF
A 5 STORY BUILDING.HE SHOULD OF BEEN
EUTHANIZED TO ALONG WITH HIS WOMAN SIDE
KICK.I HOPE SOMEONE KILLS YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO OREO.rot IN HELL DOG KILLER.