An Open Letter To Joe Biden

December 13, 2008 | 2 Comments

Dear Joe Biden,

I’m saddened that you chose to buy a purebred* puppy from a breeder rather than adopt a dog from a shelter. There are plenty of wonderful dogs available at animal shelters, including purebred puppies. Just take a look at petfinder.com or pets911.com to search for exactly the kind of dog you’d like to adopt.

At a time when there is an unusually high number of animals in shelters due to family financial troubles, foreclosures, and the like, buying a purebred puppy sends a message about animals and about hope in general. You’ve told the American public that there isn’t hope for the homeless, that there isn’t hope for change, that there isn’t hope for a new start. You’ve sent the message that your wants are more important than another’s needs. You’ve sent the message that some lives aren’t worth saving.

But there is hope. You have a chance to redeem yourself. You can adopt a second dog, a companion for the puppy you just purchased. I’ve even identified some potential pups for your perusal:

mini
Mini needs a home! She’s currently at the City of Los Angeles North Central Animal Shelter.

fleur

Fleur needs a home! He’s with the Coastal German Shepherd Rescue of Southern California.

German Shepherds are one of the more commonly found dogs in animal shelters. Petfinder currently lists 7,638 German Shepherds.

If you need more persuasion, here’s some:

Sincerely,

Elaine Vigneault

—

*Given that the breeder in question has falsified documents in the past, there’s no reason to assume Biden’s new dog is truly a purebred dog.

Want to send your own letter to Joe Biden? Go here >>

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Homeless Pets, Politics 
2 Comments to "An Open Letter To Joe Biden"

Political Suicide?

November 21, 2008 | 3 Comments

Sarah Palin held a news conference in front of turkey slaughter:

This is the small farm. So if this disgusts you, imagine the factory farm.

Actually, don’t imagine it, watch it:

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Politics, veganism 
3 Comments to "Political Suicide?"

Whale Wars Review

November 8, 2008 | 2 Comments

Last night’s Whale Wars was good. I liked the show and plan to watch it regularly. It’s been edited to make it a pretty high drama show and well, I like that :)

It should also be noted that Ed, my husband, wasn’t interested in watching the show last night. He wanted to play a video game, but he caught a few scenes and he got hooked. Afterwards he remarked, “It’s a series!? Damn it, now I have to watch even more TV.”

Here’s an official Whale Wars description:

“During the 2007-2008 campaign, Animal Planet captured the intensity of Sea Shepherd’s mission and the trials and tribulations of the crew in a new seven-part, hour-long weekly series WHALE WARS, premiering Friday, November 7th at 9 PM. The series draws attention to this global conservation issue that has caused friction between several nations over the practice of whaling in oceanic territories. Highlighting both the controversial whaling trade and the tactics that Sea Shepherd and its staff and volunteers use to attempt to cripple it, the series documents the group’s three-month sojourn across the icy Antarctic waters at the far end of the globe. Each week on WHALE WARS, Animal Planet will take viewers on a powerful and adrenaline-fueled adventure to spotlight how the group takes action against these whaling operations.”

And here are my first impressions of Whale Wars after watching the first episode last night*:

  • While on the ship, they eat 100% vegan. Great! If only other organizations could take this simple first step. Why are vegans, the people with clearly demonstrated commitment to animals, second class citizens at some pro-animal events and organizations?
  • I appreciate and approve of the Sea Shepherd’s goals to save animals’ lives. I even approve of most of their methods,
  • I like their pirate flag. It’s fun, it’s hip, it’s appropriate,
  • I think this show will give people a better impression of direct action and animal rescue. They’ll see it more as rewarding, adventurous, noble work than as “terrorism,”
  • They kept saying “the Japanese” instead of “whalers” or “whale killers” or some other more descriptive, less xenophobic term. Ed noticed this too. We both disliked it. It doesn’t matter if you *mean* ‘Japanese government’ or ‘Japanese whalers,’ when you say “Japanese” to refer to a small segment of Japanese people, particularly when you say it as a white person from a country that fought Japan in WWII, you sound like a bigot. It promotes comments like this one found at YouTube in response to the video above:

    “The Country of Japan Disgusts me whether it be from the whales they kill, to the Tigers they say they don’t kill and eat,And to the Bears they kill and Eat. The Nasty Bastards they would rather kill and make a profit and kill to eat a Delicacy rather than to preserve The animal life that’s dwindling.”

    As if the USA is any different.

  • The crew is mostly composed of volunteers/ adventure seekers. This means there’s bound to be chaos. This is good for TV, bad for real life,
  • Animal Planet has a special warning before the show saying the show doesn’t represent Animal Planet’s views… blah, blah, blah. I don’t see that warning before other animal rescue shows. It  annoyed me that Animal Planet felt the need to dismiss the ideals and discount the intelligence of many of their viewers
  • I don’t like the “shepherd” connotation. I don’t love the mission statement:

    Sea Shepherd’s Mission Statement
    Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

    Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

    Why don’t I love it? Because it’s focused on biodiversity and species, not individual’s lives. It’s not about rescuing individual animals, it’s about some nebulous ‘environment.’ It has a human supremacist perspective.

*I haven’t read any other review yet. I wrote this without being influenced by other bloggers. That means, my opinion may change :)

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Politics, TV and Film, veganism 
2 Comments to "Whale Wars Review"

America’s Adopted Pets

November 7, 2008 | 5 Comments

Best Friends Animal Society has put together a photo pool of “America’s Adopted Pets.” The pool is part of the Obama Family Dog website and campaign to encourage the Obamas and others interested in adopting a dog to rescue one from a shelter rather than get one from a pet store or breeder: No More Homeless Pets. People who’ve rescued animals are encouraged to post their pictures. From the website:

“In America’s shelters, millions of purebred and mixed breed dogs are killed each year. Millions. And despite what some groups may want you to believe, the majority of these dogs are not sick, are not vicious, are not old. They are loving, healthy, adoptable dogs who just need a second chance. These dogs are victims of today’s throwaway society, and we all, as a society, need to do better by them.”

I’ve thrown a few pix into the pool, mostly of Floyd, because he’s similar to the kind of dog the Obamas claim they want, a dog who doesn’t shed (much). There’s no such thing as a “hypoallergenic dog” and I really wish people would stop saying that, but… poodles come pretty close. I submitted a photo of Floyd wearing an Obama bandanna, Floyd at the Capital Building, and Floyd in Central Park.

Here’s the Central Park picture:
My little dog

I want to help show the Obamas and the world that shelter dogs come in all sizes, colors, ages, coat types, and personality types. ANY dog you want can be found at a shelter or rescue group. There is NO reason to buy from a pet store or breeder - EVER.

Anyway, if you’ve got adopted pets you might want to share your photos >>

PS - I can’t imagine any action the Obamas could currently take that symbolizes HOPE more than rescuing a shelter dog. If there’s any hope for our country, if there’s any hope Obama will keep his promises, if there’s any hope for future generations, it should start with this VERY simple act: adopt a shelter dog. Give hope to the hopeless.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Homeless Pets, Politics 
5 Comments to "America’s Adopted Pets"

In Another Clark County

October 20, 2008 | 3 Comments

Las Vegas is in Clark County, Nevada. In Clark County, Kentucky, a junior in high school has been arrested as a terrorist for writing a fictional story about zombies.

“My story is based on fiction,” said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. “It’s a fake story. I made it up. I’ve been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies.” (source)

Hat tip: Green Is The New Red >>

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Politics 
3 Comments to "In Another Clark County"

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