Confusion concerning humane societies

I have been following the tragic story of the kitten in Arizona who was put to sleep by mistake. It seems the kitten's owner did not have enough money to pay for the surgery and the agency would not take a credit card over the phone. (which is very strange to me) The owner signed over the kitten to receive the necessary care after being assured the kitten would be treated and then sent to a foster home. The kitten was euthanized.

Now several groups are calling for the people who donate to the HSUS to stop sending them money because this kitten was euthanized in Arizona.

The HSUS does not operate this particular humane society. In fact, they operate only a select few sanctuaries in the United States. The one which comes to mind is the Black Beauty Ranch in Texas, but I know there are a couple of others.

When the uneducated see humane society in a name, they automatically assume the HSUS supports said agency. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We in animal rescue are constantly posting about keeping money local. Most humane societies receive no money from the HSUS or any government agency. They are dependent on donations of money from the public.

The tragic situation in Arizona should not have happened. In this case, the wire services picked up the story and then the whole country knew about it, but it happens all over the United States. Animals are taken in, kept for 5 days, and then killed if the owner does not show up to claim them. We had a situation in this area 4 years ago where another rescue group did not check a microchip. In this case the dog was turned in to an agency closer to their home, instead of the one who adopted the dog out. When the adoption agency found out the dog had been returned, they started calling trying to locate the animal. After a day of hitting a brick wall, they were notified the dog had been killed because of "an aggressive nature."

Were the people who loved this dog upset? Yes, we were. Would we have liked to strangle everyone involved? Yes to that. The problem is there were many animal at this particular agency who still needed a home. So what happens when the money dries up? What happens when the animals can't be fed? They all die.

Humans unfortunately, are not perfect. I wish we were. But please don't stop giving because an error was made. Please understand the HSUS doesn't govern humane societies. Please understand when you stop donating, animal suffer. That is the truth.

This does not lessen the hurt when an animal is killed due to error. Don't let the animal die in vain. Begin working toward changing policies. Volunteer to sit on the board of directors. There are many steps to take to change what is not right. Pulling the money does not change policy. It only hurts the animals who are left.