HSUS being seen for what they are!

HSUS: Is the Mask Slipping Off Over Fundraising Pitch?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 2:04:00 PM
By Greg R. Lawson, Director of Communications
Is the mask used by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to cover its agenda slipping a bit lately?
Of course, HSUS is no stranger to controversies surrounding how they raise funds. So it should be no surprise that many people are raising questions about the latest pitch by HSUS to raise $1 million by the end of the year for its “2010 Animal Survivors Fund.” What is surprising is that many of those ringing the alarm bells do not usually share our opposition to HSUS.
The e-mail and web solicitation in question comes from HSUS Animal Fighting Campaign Manager, John Goodwin. In the plea, Goodwin refers to “Fay”, a rescued pit bull that had been abused in a large St. Louis area dog fighting ring. While nothing in the solicitation appears to be technically inaccurate, some are disputing HSUS’ level of involvement in this issue.
In particular, many blogs that follow animal rescues questioned whether HSUS has done much to help the dogs after the ring was busted. According to several blogs, they felt HSUS was capitalizing on major media coverage of the ring’s bust in such publications as Time Magazine in order to raise money while the hard work was done by local animal shelters and welfare groups.
While the HSUS subsequently did eventually offer to pay $5,000 for surgeries to fix some of the dog’s injuries, some blogs expressed disgust at what they felt was a disingenuous fundraising tactic by HSUS.
At Pet Connection.com, Fay’s actual foster parent initially expressed concerns about the pitch by saying,
“I am rather sad that HSUS has chosen to use Fay 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 needed lips so her teeth do not fall out, her jaw bone stops deteriorating, 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.”
In another example, the KC Dog Blog, a blog that focuses on animal welfare issues, had this to say,
“Meanwhile, there's HSUS. While it is nice of them to give $5,000 to help Fay, that is just a drop in the bucket to the money needed to help these dogs. As the world's largest and wealthiest "humane" organization, they have a responsibility to help ALL of the dogs from this bust. There are 499 more dogs (at least 250 of which are going to be re-homed) that also need help. The $5,000 will just skim the surface on the overall need for help for these animals - and would be a drop in the bucket for an organization that brought in over $82 million in donations last year and over $150 million in cash and investment assets. Meanwhile, HSUS continues to raise money on the backs of the smaller local rescues and yet is not helping the dogs that are coming from these fighting operations.”
We at the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, see very clearly through HSUS’ mask. It appears that others are beginning to do the same.