sutton078

As we again come upon the busiest fund-raising season of the year I, urge you to know your charities and to donate locally.  It is not a coincidence that amid a frenzy of holiday solicitations, predators claiming to be victims and fake organizations, try to capitalize on the “season of giving”. Additionally, real organizations can also mislead donors, omit material facts, and/or create a deliberate misimpression regarding the tax-deductibility and use of your gifts. So – fake charities, real charities asserting fake claims, and pretend victims with fake needs, though operating all year round, step up their efforts during the holidays. You can end up trying to claim a nondeductible gift, (an unincorporated self-proclaimed rescue group soliciting funds) or giving to an east coast organization like aspca with nearly 200 million dollars instead of to a charity that desperately needs funds for local pets, How many of you reading this did not know that the aspca and hsus are not national...

Courtesy Google Images The media needs to stop calling victims of rape and sexual assault "accusers''. It implies that there is no victim, but rather a shrill, angry, mean accuser who is victimizing the rapist. It is not done with any other crime. If you are robbed, killed, kidnapped or pick pocketed - you are a victim. Why is a rape victim an accuser? Why is the universally accepted legal language changed? In fact, it is the people of a state that accuses the defendant on behalf of the victim. This perversion of language and inversion of sympathy began with the allegation that Kobe Bryant raped a woman. Somehow, either the media on its own or in response to pressure from his legal and/or public relations team, began to refer to the woman as the "accuser" to soften the charge and to subliminally suggest that Bryant was the real victim. (That case was settled,) Now again, the 13 or so women alleging rape and sexual misconduct against another celebrity, Bill Cosby,...

courtesy spcaLA I am not an art expert, but I must ask why we need a live skinny dog with a pink leg, bees, ants, and hermitage crabs put into an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)? Is it art? Is it to attract customers? Is it entertainment? Is is ethical? I need not spell out the stress factors involved for a dog, roaming an exhibit, surrounded by crowds taking photos, making noise and trying to reach for him. For now, the exhibit is closed as the matter is under investigation by spcaLA and the Los Angeles City Department of Animal Services. It may very well reopen once in compliance with local requirements, which again raises the question - just because we can use animals this way - should we? I think not. The power to exploit members of a vulnerable class must include the courage to not do so, and a refusal to encourage those who do. 

On November 8th and 9th   spcaLA again partnered with Animals for Armed Forces®  to give pets to members of the military and their families at no charge. Photo courtesy of spcaLA Many veterans can benefit from a bona fide service dog to assist with head injury issues, and all can be helped by the therapeutic healing powers of a family pet. Unfortunately, the difficulties encountered by veterans in getting treatment for, or even recognition of their injuries, such as PTSD, have become insurmountable as we learn more each day about the ineptness of the Veterans Administration. As the daughter of a World War II veteran, I grew up hearing of the indignities and injustices delivered to our troops instead of  the support they deserve. My father served in the Air Force on a bomber crew. His plane was shot down and they landed behind enemy lines. They miraculously reached the allied forces wounded, hungry, scared and happy to be alive. While waiting for medical attention, th...

Courtesy spcaLA Halloween is the event that prompts Americans to collectively reflect and debate the issue of animal cruelty, specifically, cruelty to black cats.  This, in itself, may not be a bad thing.  The sad fact is that  animal abuse happens year-round, to all types of animals whether in families, as part of organized commercial abuse or as victims or pranks on the street.  If it takes the urban legend of legions of Satanists targeting black cats to remind us that animal cruelty exists, then so be it. Halloween is dangerous for all animals. While abusers might feel more comfortable targeting a loose black cat or other animal on Halloween night, the biggest dangers for pets on Halloween are far less salacious: chocolate, an often-opened door, guests in terrifying costumes, and pets dressed in costumes that are not meant for them. Do your pets (and yourself) a favor - give them Halloween night off. Settle your pets into a quiet room in your home, with dim l...

Your spcaLA has been on the front lines prosecuting crimes against animals since 1877. We have also led the campaign to prove that it is no coincidence that those who abuse animals will often commit violent acts against people. Your spcaLA also set the national example in creating programs that strive to address and reverse this progression including the launch of the only mandatory animal diversionary program for juvenile offenders convicted of animal cruelty, bullying or other qualifying crime, in the country. That said, we partner with the   National Law Enforcement Center on Animal Abuse , of National Sheriff's Association, which is coordinated by Interim Executive Director John Thompson. John has worked tirelessly to rally the masses to convince the FBI to add animal cruelty crimes to the National Incident Based Reporting System rather than classifying these crimes as "other". This comports with the goal of the system to gather reliable crime data which can reveal pa...

Notwithstanding the fact that the NFL has been the most hospitable sanctuary for the vulgar and the violent, (animal abuse, domestic violence, bar fights etc.), I am hopeful that some good will come of the latest horror story involving the Raven's Ray Rice. It is not coincidental that violence against the vulnerable allows for multiple targets in the same setting. In other words spousal abuse and animal abuse, abuse of the disabled and elder abuse and so on and so forth. The crime is the same – the opportunity reveals the victims. These are all parts of one deranged whole. As early as the mid-nineties spcaLA (not affiliated with any other spca) began a domestic violence program, ( Animal Safety Net) designed to provide a safe place for pets of victims of domestic violence thus removing a very significant barrier which often prevented a victim from leaving an unsafe situation. The catalyst for this involved a woman who was repeatedly beaten by her spouse who (the spouse) also tortu...