Profiting From Emotion

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This week saw a different kind of precedent set in the world of animal sheltering/rescue. Former director of the Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter in Clayton Georgia, Lowanda "Peanut" Kilby was found guilty of 60 counts of theft and racketeering.

The charges, subsequent prosecution and conviction came after an investigation into the shelter's Lucky Dog/Lucky Kitty program. Owners of surrendered pets were led to believe if they made a donation of at least $100 at the time of surrender their pets were guaranteed not to be euthanized. In reality, Ms. Kilby was diverting funds into her personal account and the dogs were indeed being killed to make room for more whose owners allowed themselves to believe the fairytale. While this is a tragedy for the pets that died in the name of greed in Georgia, it is not a unique scenario.

We have so many wonderful, responsible rescues and shelters who strive to insure the care displaced animals receive is the very best. These groups operate on limited funds but would never consider lining their pockets on money gained from playing off the emotions of pet owners or the lives of the animals in their care.

Not all owners surrendering pets to our shelters and rescues are irresponsible or lacking in concern for the welfare of their animals. Many of us would live on the streets if that meant our pets were safe but circumstances sometimes warrant making the hard decisions. Consider for a moment if you were told your animals were guaranteed safety if you made a substantial donation. Chances are you would give your last dime for such an assurance. That is what makes the actions of the unscrupulous shelter and rescues that much more repulsive.

In this case the actions of the shelter director were illegal but there is a different crime being committed in the name of rehoming pets that is not when owners willingly relinquish their pets. This crime is against laws of morality and it is called flipping.

Just like the reality programs you see on television about houses being purchased, renovated and "flipped" for a profit, the practice of acquiring purebred or designer dogs has become quite the lucrative business. You can go to Craigslist on any given day and see the number of owners trying to rehome dogs for a myriad of reasons and these owners, just like those relinquishing to shelters are desperate to find something to believe in when it comes to handing over the responsibility for their pets.

Take a closer look at some of the For Sale advertisements and chances are you will also see dogs which may seem familiar since just recently their owners were the ones desperate to find someone to take them and did not stop to thoroughly consider who was answering their advertisement. Sadly, greed comes knocking at the door presenting itself as "rescue" and desperate people look no farther than the answer to their problem. As mentioned, this practice is not illegal but it is dangerous to pets. Those profiting by professing to be rescues do very little in the way of checking references or past histories of potential pet owners. The bottom line is the first person with the money is the first person with the dog. The horrors of Craigslist are well documented but those profiting from the emotions of others are not a new breed.

We can take a closer look at some of the "non-profit" organizations loudly proclaiming their mission to better the lives of animals all the while cashing the checks and killing most of the animals they have sworn to save. Enter the animal rights groups. Those who use the pictures of abused and neglected animals telling the public the only way to stop the madness is to send them your money. Money that could go to the legitimate rescues and shelters actually fighting to save and better the lives of animals but instead is used to send you a free tote bag or jacket proclaiming your support of the largest non-profit money machine in the world.

These groups do not run shelters and they share only a tiny fraction of the millions they receive from the well meaning with those who do. Have you ever stopped to consider how much advertising on all the major networks costs? How many rescues and shelters would benefit from just a fraction of what is spent on advertising these organizations? Yet people continue to support six figure salaries and fancy advertising gimmicks over actual rescue and sheltering programs.

What all of these scenarios have in common is they outline how profitable emotional people have made the neglect and abuse of animals. All of these groups have turned suffering and irresponsibility into a means of making a living. They prey on human weakness and count on an uneducated, unaware public to keep up their lifestyles. So many people will cling to those who make unicorns and rainbows believable they look no farther than the rose colored glasses sitting on the ends of their noses. These groups count on emotions to keep the general public blind to reality. No matter how loud the warnings issued by those who see the darkness on the other side of these stories, people continue to cling to that which makes them feel good regardless of the truth.

From the groups cleaning up the messes left behind by the unscrupulous, it is with great hope the conviction of the shelter director in Georgia sends a loud message and puts the bottom feeders on notice. Living, breathing creatures deserve better than be used as cash cows. This practice of preying on emotion is no different than those profiting from litter after litter or dog fights or any other practice which holds no respect for life. Precedent has been set and we can now score one for the good guys.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/25476746/jury-selection-to-start-in-animal-she...

http://www.dfwanimalrescue.com/2012/07/authorities-in-wills-texas-seize-300-pit-...

http://www.humanewatch.org/the_bottom_line_hsus_peta/

http://www.humanewatch.org/who_kills_more_animals_peta_or_hsus/

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/22985135/pet-flipping-becoming-more-common

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Pet-flipping-scam-hits-St-Louis-area-210071871.ht...

http://www.kctv5.com/story/22518920/pet-flipping-scam-targets-dog-lovers-in-kans...

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/26/quincy-vigil-highlight-animal-abuse/...

http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/craigslist-dog-for-sale-nightmare

http://www.animalrescuescam.info/

http://petadvocatesnetwork.org/wordpress/tag/animal-rescue-scams/