$190 Thousand per Pup: Price tag for an innocent life?
HSUS's sworn court testimony pushes for puppy slaughter
The two HSUS baby Dog Fight Czars -- Amanda Arrington and Chris Schindler -- that testified before Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson Jr. in Wilkesboro, North Carolina in February, got what they wanted:
The deaths of every last one of Ed Faron's dogs. The dogs had been seized as evidence in a dogfighting prosecution.
A number of the puppies held by Wilkes County were born after the seize took place -- they had never lived at Wildside Kennels at all.
All of them, even puppies like this one -- so young they were still nursing -- were killed following HSUS's "expert testimony."
There were no evaluations of the individual dogs.
No assessments of their histories, their health, their temperaments, their potential. Nothing.
HSUS arranged for them all to die.
HSUS's weasel words in open court
Arrington and Schindler agreed, in court and under oath, that all of the Wildside Kennel dogs had to die.
To quote Arrington's rendition of standard HSUS die, die, die policy:
"I think it is an unrealistic expectation for us to ask these dogs that have been bred generations for fighting to become regular pets. "
Arrington--an HSUS Regional Director--is apparently in total denial of how well the Vick dogs have done. Figures, since HSUS wanted the Vick dogs dead, too.
Chris Schindler, HSUS's Deputy Manager, Animal Fighting Enforcement, put it this way:
"These dogs have been bred for generations upon generations for a single purpose of animal fighting; the puppies included."
What a crock of shit.
That is the history of every "fighting dog" in the world. Its the history of every terrier worth its salt. Yet they can be excellent pets.
Pit bulls -- bred for fighting for generations and yadda yadda -- have won the hearts of Americans for centuries. James Thurber's short story about life with a pit bull that came from "fighting lines" ran in the New Yorker in 1935. Find a copy at your library, and keep the Kleenex box handy.
The $190,000 question: perjury? or extortion?
During her February 16, 2009 testimony, Arrington said something halfway unusual, though.
Sounds like the Court had a little trouble digesting that figure, but HSUS's Chris Schindler backed her up on it:
"THE COURT: Sir, did you want to add something?
MR. CHRIS SCHINDLER: I'm Chris Schindler. I'm the Deputy Manager, Animal Fighting Law Enforcement, Humane Society of the United States. Your Honor, basically agree with all the things that everyone else has said. . ."
Pennies from heaven? Not hardly.So, where did that $190,000 figure come from?
Did Best Friends Animal Society, which walked off with a huge chunk of Michael Vick's money, really hope to get $190,000 per dog for the Wildside Kennels pups?
Or did the Humane Society of the United States just make up more shit--also known as perjury--in order to impress the court?
Hard to say, isn't it?
Plenty of questions, not many answers
Yes Biscuit is building quite a list of unanswered questions.
Caveat's got some good ones, too.
Me? I'd like to know if Arrington and Schindler are going to just -- poof! -- disappear, now that HSUS's heartless, sick fuck up in Wilkes County is becoming public knowledge.
Kinda like what happened to Laura Maloney, LA SPCA's former director.
The woman who okayed the slaughter of Floyd Boudreaux' dogs made a hasty move to Australia, beyond the reach of subpoenas, reporters and pesky bloggers, before Floyd's trial began.
Will HSUS disappear Arrington and Schindler? HSUS's date with "national pit bull stakeholders" in a no-tell hotel in Vegas is fast approaching and Arrington and Schindler are pariahs.
If HSUS wants to convince the world that "change" is a word in its vocabulary, too, I'm thinking Arrington and Schindler's days are numbered.
Not that ditching two little baby Dog Fight Czars will make a difference.
The final question
Does the Humane Society of the United States speak for you?
Or are you as revolted by all the lies, killing and fund-raising masquerading as "animal protection" as I am?
What's it gonna be?
HSUS got the $190,000 from the amicus brief filed in the Michael Vick case. The brief was signed by ADOA, the Animal Adoption Center, Best Friends, The Cape Fear APBT Club,CHAKO, The Maryland Dog Federation, The National American Pit Bull Terrier Association, The Real Pit Bull Foundation for Advocacy and Rescue, Spindletop Refuge,Villalobos Rescue Center, &Worthy Companions Domestic Animal Rescue
ReplyDeleteGee, I'll bet my next paycheck it didn't cost $190,000 to rehabilitate any of the Vick dogs. And, every true breed rescue knows that amount is nothing more than BS.
ReplyDeleteArrington is hot!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (#1), can you substantiate your assertion? Can you cite the amicus directly?
ReplyDeleteIs it still online anywhere, anyone?
I saved it from the Valparaiso Law School website where Special Master Rebecca Huss teaches. It's on pages 29-31 of the amicus brief.
ReplyDeleteIt was disingenuous for HSUS to use the figure from the Vick Amicus Brief in this context. The court was mislead.
ReplyDeleteAs one who knows what was in the brief, you Anonymous are a liar. The fee was set in the amicus at $2500 per dog and the guv'mint done said that WAS NOT HIGH ENOUGH so they raised it. So nowhere does it say $190,000 per dog. That was probably for ALL the dogs combined oh great fibber.
ReplyDeleteBluedog of course it is still online
http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffects/0710_Vick_Amicus-Brief-090207.asp
And you just know mama's got the original copy. Check your email in a bit......
thanks for the link, Philosophical!
ReplyDeleteThe amicus brief reads (emphasis aded) . . .
"Amici estimate an average cost of $2,500 per dog for assessment and rehabilitation. To the extent that the Government has calculated an amount in excess of that figure, Amici adopt the amount estimated by the Government."
So, for the 53 Vick dogs, the estimate was $132,500 -- for all 53 dogs.
Not exactly $190,000 per dog, is it?
So, again: where did that $190,000 come from ?
Are we looking at perjury? Extortion? What?
Very interesting...so, who is Anon who is posting this shit all over the place? It's at Yesbiscuit's place, too.
ReplyDeleteOff to linkety-link-link.
Keep Readinng the brief -The $190,000 is from page 29 of the amicus brief under section A RESTITUTION. That is where HSUS came up with it.
ReplyDeleteThe Vick Amicus Brief was authored by Flora Edwards, Russ Mean, and Dawn Capps.
Anonymous, you must either provide your documentation or stop posting.
ReplyDeleteThe portion of the amicus brief I quoted above came from the "C. Restitution" section -- link provided above.
Furthermore, the brief's conclusions--which appear over Flora Edward's signature-- read, in part. . .
In addition, amici recommend that:
1. The Court impose a variance sentence of 57 months with a $250,000 fine to be used for the design of a public education program combating the crime of dogfighting and to promote responsible dog ownership.
2. That the property known as 1915 Moonlight Road, Smithfield, Virginia be subject to forfeiture and be to a no-kill shelter for abused and neglected dogs to be operated by a qualified rescue organization and that as part of the forfeiture Vick be required to pay for the renovation and conversion of the property.
3. That restitution be set at a minimum of $2,500 per dog.
Page 29, Section A
ReplyDelete....
Rehabilitation of fighting dogs is a time consuming, labor intensive effort which requires 4 to 6 hours each day per dog. Qualified trainers earn between $50.00-$75.00 per hour. At 5 hours a day, 30 days a month, this $9,70 dollars per month of training. To this, add food and veterinary care, and the price to rehabilitate a fighting dog is a little more than $10,000 per month. If training and rehabilitating a dog takes 18 months, the cost rises to $180,000 plus the run cost of $10,000 or $190,000 per dog.
That's where HSUS got the figure, page 29 of tha amicus in the VICK case that had nothing to do with this case.
"That's where HSUS got the figure, page 29 of tha amicus in the VICK case that had nothing to do with this case" -- and in direct contradiction to what the amici recommended.
ReplyDeleteCuriouser and curiouser.
I gotta make some phone calls.
Well, it's still horseshit, and HSUS knows it.
ReplyDeleteThat 190k was someone's wildass guestimate (based, I think I recall) from some trainers' excessive fees.
HSUS KNOWS how much it actually costs.. all they have to do is ask Best Friends (high end) or Bad Rap (low end).
Dawn is very accessible; I'm sure she can provide back up for the source of that figure
I remember reading that the Best Friends people were hitting the restitution fund for about $190,000 per animal for four animals that they "rehabilitated."
ReplyDeleteDon't almost all of us know animals that were "rescued" from the fighting trade who, if anything, rehabilitated themselves? I know one that was a lovebug from the very beginning. He is a muscular mutant monster about the size of a mastiff and no one has ever been able to get him to growl. He loves everyone to the point of being a nuisance.
Why should the goal always be to try to make them safe around babies?
Vick's dogs were clearly not gamebred, they had the typical appearance of UKC show bred stock, some of them quite attractive. as far as rehab, if they were good dogs to start with, you put them in a run, offer food and water and quiet for a week or so and then ask them how it is with them. the good ones will say FINE, BOSS! and some may take a bit longer to approach if they have been traumatized or if they were born with faulty wiring in the head. that does not sound like so costly a procedure to me.
ReplyDeleteVick's dogs were so clearly not of game strains, they were exceedingly typical UKC show bred dogs. what kind of rehabbing are they talking about, does anyone spend this much mazooma to rehab a human criminal in cases where it is both possible and desireable?
ReplyDeleteyou take a "traumatized dog", feed it, ignore it for a while, let it calm down and perhaps get a little bored, speak nicely to it and in a couple or three weeks, if it WAS ever a good dog, you have a good dog again. One who is very eager for human contact.
Let me tell you what the REAL pit dog temperament had to be to get the job done. Absolutely NOT inclined to EVER bite people. The ONLY risk was to other dogs. (This was a problem requiring good management to control unwanted risk to dogs, both your own and others.)
ReplyDeleteWhen dogs are fought according to the old rules, there are two human handlers in the pit with them who must be able to do their job with out being bitten.
The REAL gamebred dogs were the best dogs to have for people companions. There is NO correlation between dog aggression and aggression toward people in the true American pit Bull Terrier. The average person can not grasp that fact. I am talking about the OLD ways here, and not the moderntime Gangbanger scumbags that fight dogs. They are the "pitbull problem" and they need to be dealt with.
This is so sick to me. HSUS should have no say on these dogs. They have no experience and no authority. I have a Wildside Kennel dog from Xena and Vader. He is by no means a mean dog. I am so sad, so sickend. I hope chris and amanda get their ass rheemed inside out, bastards!!,and can they be charged for lying in court?
ReplyDeletesend me five dogsand one millon dollras and i will rehab. them and keep them for the rest of there lives,i am a pitbull expert,i know more than most any person knows about a pitbull,take a look at my videos,joes dogs before the hsus 1-2-&3, and heck i will let the dogs sleep with me for a millon dollars.
ReplyDeleteJoe woodall
ps, please send in cash
just in from canton,ga in ref to the north ga. dog fighting raid,the grand jury came in and said that they willNOT be persuring dogfighting charges agaisnt MR RANDALL THAXTON!!!!! after a year and half and months in jail nand they still have his dogs,lets see what happens now. one thing i do know LAW SUITS
ReplyDeletethe animal control in cherokee county is wanting to deam two of randalls dogs dangurous this is a death sentence for two dogs they have had for a year and half took them from randall yard with out any problem all the dogs were friendly now two are dagerous wonder who made them this way.i bet the animal control?
ReplyDelete2-18-09 thaxton goes infront of the animal control boardin cherokke county,they want to deem two of his dogs dangerous,when forensic expert dr. melinda merrek said when she took the dogs they were all deemed all human freindly,what the hell melinda merrek,i think you should lose your job as well as anyone else involed in this horse crap.
ReplyDeletefor 190 thou you could send a dog to Harvard for a while. not for the whole four years, but still. what dog trainer would dream of charging this much to work with a dog actually diagnosed as being in need of severe reprogramming? I know lots of trainers and none of them can wrap their heads around this number. these people are just dog killers, and passing themselves off as saints.
ReplyDeletemore good news thaxtons 2 dogs will not go in front of the cherokke county animal board,after of one day of me Joe Woodall,explainig to the commisonners,how if they do this holds them responciable for the rehaibilton of thiese dogs that there animal control is responcialbe for you can not pick or be mean to a dog unless you want it to bite,this is what cherokee county done to this dogs,they have beaten them for over a year now.
ReplyDeletethey are going to give me randall thaxton dogs back,after not being charged with dogfighting what i cant understand is why they wont give them back to him,but at least they are getting saved, i am going to try and have the news there at the animal control when they are realeased,so we can doceument the shape they are in now randalls lawyers( barry bishop,johnathan kessler) that he could not when they had expert, like melinda merrk, and a few more.take a plea bargin is what they said. turn your dogs over.randall replied to them,to go to hell.
ReplyDeleteJoe Woodall said "this is what cherokee county done to this dogs,they have beaten them for over a year now."...this, if true, is horribly troubling, how do you know this, and what are the circumstances?
ReplyDeleteThe truth is the original, honest people that were involved in this spectacle bailed because it became a monetary and publicity stunt for others cause. They were in the original brief for the dogs and the plight and mistruths of dogfighting. It was all lost in the plight of the dollar. Read the list again and see who did not take dogs for that simple reason. Those are your real saviours of the breed.
ReplyDeleteKilling a dog is not technically MURDER because that word applies legally only to the killing of another human being. HOWEVER the people who want to see these dogs dead have the TRUE SOULS of the TRUE MURDERER,
ReplyDeleteThe souls of murderers inhabit the bodies of those who want to see dogs dead, dogs who have done no harm to them. and amazing how these people, none of whom own the breed, are all experts on their temperament around people.
ReplyDelete