My mom found this on line. Thought y'all'd like to know- A brief guide to America's shelters, who is taking
> > credit for what, and
> > where
> > your donations go.
> >
> > By Wayne Cavanaugh
> >
> > Did you ever get mail from the "humane society"?
> > Donation solicitations,
> > Christmas cards, free address labels? Was it from
> > the Humane Society of the
> > United States (HSUS), the American Humane
> > Association (AHA), or the American
> > Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
> > (ASPCA)? Did you ever
> > wonder
> > who they are and what they do? What about during
> > disaster relief efforts,
> > did you ever wonder where to send your donations?
> > Don't know the answers to
> > these questions? You are not alone. Even among the
> > most dedicated dog lovers
> > there is huge misunderstanding and confusion when
> > it comes to our nation's
> > shelters and the SAS that is, the Shelter Alphabet
> > Soup, that comes with
> > them.
> >
> > In the late 1990's, a group called the California
> > Coalition of Animal
> > Advocates
> > convened to try to find answers to issues
> > dog-related population issues.
> > Their work included a study to find out who and
> > where the animal shelters
> > where in America. It sounded easy enough until they
> > discovered that a
> > national
> > list of shelters did not exist, and, contrary to
> > popular opinion, there wasn
> > t
> > a "humane society" or any other type of
> > organization that oversaw all of
> > America's shelters!
> >
> > So who, what, and where are the nation's shelters?
> > Who are these big fund-
> > raising groups, and how are they related to
> > shelters? Where do they get
> > their money, and who is running them? To start, the
> > coalition funded a study
> > to create shelter list of every shelter in America.
> > They knew it would
> > always
> > be changing and would never be complete, but they
> > also knew it would be a
> > lot
> > better than what existed, which was nothing. They
> > hired university graduate
> > students to do the only thing that would work the
> > students called every town
> >
> > municipality, city, village, township, hamlet and
> > county in America and
> > asked
> > if they had a shelter, what they called it and who
> > ran it. The answers were
> > interesting and the list was compiled. Today, there
> > is still no national
> > organization overseeing or coordinating America's
> > shelters. Here are some
> > facts that most people do not realize.
> >
> > The Humane Society of the Untied States (HSUS) does
> > not operate a single
> > animal
> > shelter in America or anywhere else. That's right,
> > not one. Makes you wonder
> > how many people send them money thinking they were
> > the local animal shelter.
> >
> > The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
> > to Animals (ASPCA)
> > does operate a shelter and an animal hospital - they
> > are both in New York
> > City.
> > That's it, a New York City shelter only. It is a
> > highly regarded shelter,
> > but
> > New York clearly isn't the nationwide shelter list
> > some people think of when
> > they think of the ASPCA. To be fair, the ASPCA does
> > humane work all over the
> > nation,
> > but as far as operating shelters, well, no.
> >
> > The American Humane Association (AHA) operates no
> > shelters, but does have
> > about
> > 300 shelters that are affiliated and agree to
> > maintain AHA standards of car=
> > e at their shelters.
> >
> > What about the SPCA? Is there a national
> > organization called the SPCA
> > (society for the prevention of cruelty to animals)?
> > Nope. Sorry. "SPCA" is
> > simply a term, or abbreviation, used for most any
> > animal shelter but it is
> > NOT a
> > nationwide organization. It's a generic for what we
> > say instead of "dog
> > pound",
> > "animal shelter", or "humane society".
> >
> > Now you can see the confusion! When national groups
> > use words like humane
> > society,
> > or letters such as SPCA in their name, people think
> > they are giving to their
> > local shelter. But they, of course, are not.
> >
> > So who runs the local shelter in your town? It could
> > be anyone from
> > volunteers,
> > to your local government, to a private party. Many
> > rural areas simply have a
> > person, with a few extra kennel runs, who the town
> > pays to house the strays.
> > In more populated areas where actual dedicated
> > buildings exists, the
> > shelters
> > are funded by any combination of tax dollars,
> > donations, adoptions fees and
> > dog
> > license fees. (It is interesting to note that the
> > shelters house dogs and
> > cats,
> > but since hardly anyone licenses cats, the dog
> > license fees pay the bills
> > for
> > both dogs and cats.)
> >
> > These shelters are named anything from the "SPCA of
> > Whatever County" to the
> > "Humane Society of Whatever Township", but are not
> > affiliated with either
> > national
> > group, the ASPCA or HSUS. Within a county or state,
> > the shelters may meet
> > for
> > educational purposes or to share information but
> > not as a member of a
> > national
> > fund raising group that operates and fund shelters.
> >
> > So what does the ASPCA, HSUS, and AHA do with all of
> > their money if it is
> > not going to your local shelter? Each has their own
> > agenda. They all
> > advertise,
> > use money to raise money, and draft and lobby for
> > legislation. Some may
> > agree
> > with none, all, or some of what they support. The
> > AHA has the contract to
> > oversee
> > and ensure the safety all animals used while
> > filming a movie. They have done
> > so
> > for years and have done an admirable job. However,
> > they are also opposed to
> > hunting.
> > So are the ASPCA and, obviously, HSUS. Do they help
> > protect animals? Yes,
> > they
> > do.
> > But does their agenda agree with your individual
> > ideas and philosophy? Hang
> > on,
> > you better check. Check a lot. Go to their websites.
> > Call them. Dig deeper
> > into
> > their agendas. See what legislation and advertising
> > campaigns they are
> > spending
> > donated
> > money on. HSUS for example, in addition to the
> > troubled PAWS legislation, is
> > also
> > spending donations on a new campaign to prevent
> > America's youth from hunting
> > before
> > they are 8 years old. (For those familiar with the
> > PAWS bill, this is
> > typical
> > HSUS set limits first then adjust them to
> > extinction!) These campaigns and
> > laws
> > are often being funded by well intended people who
> > think they are giving to
> > their local shelter!
> > But you now know that is not true.
> >
> > With Hurricane Katrina, watch the big PR money being
> > spent by some of these
> > groups, and other dog organizations, as they exploit
> > the hurricane victims
> > by trying to raise money that goes who knows where.
> > Is that money all going
> > to relief? Let's hope so. We have heard that good
> > money is starting to get
> > spent
> > in the hurricane ravaged areas. Or is some going to
> > fund anti-hunting and
> > anti-breeding legislation? It almost seems as though
> > where some see despair
> > and horror, others see a PR opportunity, so who
> > knows? The bottom line is
> > that there are thousands of shelters in America, all
> > of which are
> > individually
> > operated and funded locally. They always need
> > resources and support. Then,
> > there are large groups who raise money by using the
> > goodwill of words like
> > "humane" and "cruelty" in their national name. To
> > add another layer of
> > concern,
> > while your local independent shelter is not run by
> > HSUS, AHA, or the ASPCA
> > (unless
> > you are in New York City), you really have no idea
> > what the mission of your
> > local
> > shelter is. Your job is to ask. There are many,
> > many excellent and worthy
> > local
> > shelters that need your donations and will use them
> > directly to help dogs.
> > But
> > before you open your wallet, ask what will be done
> > with your money.
> >
> > Consider donating food and supplies which can't be
> > as easily used to pay
> > government lobbyists. Ask what they believe in.
> > Then ask yourself what you
> > believe in and
> > where you draw the line.
> >
> > We should and we must help those less fortunate. We
> > must not forget the
> > people
> > and the dogs who need help from the hurricane. We
> > must do so from our hearts
> >
> > though, and not to take credit or exploit the
> > situation. And we must make
> > sure
> > our efforts are in line with our private individual
> > beliefs.
> >
> > Copyright 2003-2005, United Kennel Club, Inc.
> >

All I can say is GO SABRES! May you keep up the awesomeness and kick Ottowa's ass tomorrow night! I certainly hope so!

That's all. Have a good night, everyone!

:)

So, how about those, Sabres, Huh! Hopefully, they can keep up the momentum and not stink up the show, like a certain football! Let's see, yesterday I got a gift from one of my favourite customers. She brought me back bracelets from Yemen. I had a hell of a time getting them on because I have borderline Man-hands (thank you, dad!), but I prevailed and they look really nice. They're staying on until I can't take it any more. Got to go. Have a peach of a day, especially considering that it's absolutely gorgeous outside!

Hockey Starts Today! Go SABRES!!!!

I drive myself crazy with the thoughts that run round in my head. They never stop. What doesn’t help is that I have a memory that remembers far too much and forgets far too little. And what it does forget are things that I probably ought to remember but can’t because there’s too much other crap stuffed in there! I think what compounds the problem is that I’m emotional. I was reading a research article that links thoughts to emotions- with every thought there is an emotion. I have a theory of my own about myself that is because I feel everything so keenly, it causes me to remember everything so keenly. I wonder if there is a way to convert this to teaching myself French? Or to remember all of those historical facts I was exposed to in my four years of undergrad? Of course, if they were Simpsons’ quotes, or movie lines, or song lyrics, I wouldn’t have any problem. Or if they were mixed in with slights- real or imagines- that I have received over the course of my lifetime (those from the opposite sex stand out particularly well.)?

I am a bleeding ball of insecurities wrapped up in a five foot two, blonde haired, blue- eyed package that disguises it all rather nicely under cheerfulness or disdain. I am haughty, jealous, bitchy, mean, nasty, cutting, vindictive, possessive. I am loving, loyal, kind, generous, talented, silly, romantic, honest, cheerful, caring. I am me and I have great dualities. I have this tendency to look at someone as “Mine!” and I get horribly jealous. I don’t know why. I’ve always been this way, but those that truly know and truly love me know that there is nothing I wouldn’t do for them, that those I love, I love deeply. Of course, the flip side is, those that I hate, I hate deeply as well. Those that I hate the most were once ones I loved very deeply. I think there is only one on that particular list, however.
There go those dualities again.

Today, I am so moody, I can't stand myself. I hate when I get like this, but there isn't much I can do to snap out of it. And we're listening to Billie Holiday today, which was good when I used to mire myself in my misery. I don't like to do that anymore. I want to be my cheerful self. Damn my caprcious ways!