Happy Holidays, everyone!!!!

Snow Bunnies we are not

You may have heard the Mid-Atlantic had a bit of a snow sprinkling today.

A little over a week ago, I needed the AC in my home. Today at about three pm, it looked like this:




































Taking the dogs out involved coats, obviously.

It also involved Oscar, who is bigger and stronger, bounding bravely and happily through the snow, and Liberty, who is shorter, lighter, and not a fan of temperatures below 65F, only able to follow in his tracks, muttering foul things about me under her breath.




























On occasion, Oscar would veer off course to use the bathroom...





























...leaving Liberty stuck up to her chin (and only that shallowly because she doesn't weigh enough to get all the way to the ground) until I could make my way to her to break her loose.


























(I will spare her dignity and not show you a photo of when the wind blew her hood over her eyes, she got disoriented, and got herself wedged head-first in a snow drift with just her little red butt sticking out)



When Oscar decided he was done, he went back up his path, with Liberty, thankful at last, following behind.






































And at eight pm, my AC looks like this:

And I have a self-made pit bull-rito that looks like this:
(you have no idea how mortified Oscar would be if he knew he was touching another dog while he slept)

Are you an animal lover? DON'T support the HSUS!!!

They talk a good game, but they don't quite play by the rules. Time and again, the Humane Society of the United States (which, by the way, has nothing to do with local Humane Societies in your communities) has asked for donations and done so using names and faces of dogs they have had no hand in assisting. They make it sound like they're sending money to help that dog, and dogs like it, but those animals are NOT benefiting from HSUS funds, and it is reprehensible to suggest otherwise.

Check this out:

This is Faye. She survived because of you.


I’ll never forget Faye’s story. I bet you won’t, either.

Our team met her in Missouri, when The Humane Society of the United States helped rescue hundreds of animals from the horrors of dogfighting. She’d been wounded badly in a fight, and a dogfighter had mercilessly cut off her lips. She was in tough shape, but we found her in the nick of time.

Watch our moving video to see Faye’s happy ending — then become a Humane Hero with your monthly donation to our 2010 Animal Survivors Fund.

Faye’s a lucky survivor: She now sleeps in a warm bed in a safe place. To help save thousands of animals just like her in the new year, we’re doing something we’ve never done before, and it’s BIG: We’re hoping to raise a million dollars online by December 31 for our 2010 Animal Survivors Fund.

It’s ambitious — but so are our plans for saving animals next year. We’ll not only continue to help bust dogfighting rings, but we’ll also take on the individuals and industries that profit from animal suffering — from people who club baby seals to death, to those who confine animals in factory farms, to those who abuse dogs in puppy mills.

Your gift of $20.10 a month for 2010 — just 66 cents a day — can help thousands of animals like Faye not just survive, but thrive in the new year. Click here to watch Faye’s video and make your tax-deductible monthly donation today. Thank you for everything you do for animals.

Sincerely,
John Goodwin
Manager, Animal Fighting Campaign
The Humane Society of the United States

Sure sounds like they've taken your money and done wonderful things for sweet little "Faye," right?

Then why do you suppose this was in the comments in an earlier post on the topic?

I am rather sad that HSUS has chosen to use Fay (not Faye)in their fund drive. Fay has never received a dime from HSUS. How do I know? Because I am the one that is fostering Fay. Fay is currently going through expensive surgeries to recreate medically need lips so her teeth do not fall out, her jaw bone stops deterioating, and she can live a normal life. HSUS never contacted us regarding Fay. In the video John states she is in a loving home…really…thanks for the compliment but Fay is LOOKING for her forever home.

If you really want to help Fay, please go to our website, http://www.muttsandstuff.com and click on the donate now button. If you want to help the other 35 dogs we took with their own health issues….please donate. We are a small group that can use the help.

There are endless stories of similar claims from the HSUS, for good they did with survivors of Bad Newz Kennels, for good they did during a recent fight ring bust in MO (when the group working so hard there was the Humane Society of MO, NOT the US) which brought Fay to safety, and countless others. The HSUS has no problems taking your money or the credit, they just have a little problem with follow through, and actually doing the work.

Know where your money is going, and who is receiving its benefits. Generally, donating to smaller, local groups is best - they need the money more, and it will affect your general area more directly.