The “greatest spectacle in dog walking” is upon us again, offering an opportunity to walk around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with proceeds going to help the animals. Or are they?

The Mutt Strut is the biggest fund-raiser for the local animal welfare organization with the brand name “humane”. Organizers have recruited local celebrities to promote the event. Historically, the Mutt Strut has annually raised more than a quarter million dollars and is expected to do so again. So one might ask…

Just where does the money go?

According to the latest available IRS Form 990 for IndyHumane, beneficiary of the Mutt Strut, gross receipts for the event in 2011 were $327,930. Direct expenses to run that Mutt Strut were $125,060, or 38% of the receipts. Translation: For every dollar spent walking the track to “help the animals”, only 62 cents goes toward the animals. So when more than 1.25 million dollars in grant money to help “fix” the problem of too many stray animals is awarded to a coalition headed by this organization, can we be certain that that is where the money is actually going?

Where else might the money be going?

The bigger the agency budget, the more donations are required to “help the animals”. Consider these 2011 numbers for IndyHumane overhead:

Total salaries and benefits: $1,454,575
Executive salary: $100,000
Mailing services contractor: $170,000
Professional fundraising expenses: $42,567
Total fundraising expenses: $449,551
Total liabilities: $3,059,632

How about other local, recognized animal welfare organizations, ones that don’t kill treatable, adoptable animals?

The Indianapolis area has a number of organizations dedicated to the rescue, care, spaying/neutering and adoption of homeless animals. For example:

Southside Animal Shelter

Total salaries and benefits: $179,081
Executive salary: $0
Mailing services contractor: $0
Professional fundraising expenses: $0
Total fundraising expenses: $1,791
Total liabilities: $ 19,458

FACE Clinic

Total salaries and benefits: $1,006,444
Executive salary: $49,732
Mailing services contractor: $0
Professional fundraising expenses: $0
Total fundraising expenses: $24,997
Total liabilities: $63,418

What about these other local, unrecognized animal welfare organizations that, together, cares for and adopts out thousands of animals each year, with a fraction of the overhead of the brand name agency? They include:

A Critters Chance
ARPO
Beagle Buddies
Chihuahua Rescue
Every Dog Counts Rescue
Heart for Dog Rescue
Indiana House Rabbit Society
Indy Great Pyrenees Rescue
Love of Labs Indy
Lucky Dog Retreat Rescue
Mended Hearts Indy
Waldo’s Muttley Crew

The balance sheet for each of them is:

Total salaries and benefits: $0
Executive salary: 0
Mailing services contractor: 0
Professional fundraising expenses: 0
Total fundraising expenses: marginal to none

When you’re thinking of making a donation to help animals, consider the demand on the organization’s resources. The higher the operating expenses, the lower the amount of your donation that actually goes to help the animals. Give with your heart AND your head.

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Animal Philanthropy – Where Does the Money go?

Where does the money go? Some history. Part II

For some time, mtA has been emphasizing the importance of using accurate words to describe the fate of adoptable animals who are killed for population control. Only by communicating honestly can we heighten not only our own awareness, but also the awareness in the general public to this draconian practice and expedite the needed changes in the life-saving equation.

Misleading the public into believing that killing healthy, adoptable animals is “euthanasia” is a deception, a lie, and a disservice to the animals. This has been the practice through decades of Humane Society of Indianapolis administrations – administrations that have self-proclaimed the agency as a “leading voice” in animal welfare.

mtA has put this habitual practice under a microscope on several occasions: Will the euphemisms ever go away? and
When can we put these euphemisms to sleep?

We are pleased to see that the HSI has finally decided to join mtA in the use of accurate vocabulary. Recently noted in the middle of the agency’s surrender page is not only the absence of the word “euthanized,” but also an accurate and candid description of the environment and potential fate that animals will face at our municipal facility:

IACC is inadequately funded by tax dollars and is overwhelmed. They took in 17,741 animals in 2010. 8,879 were killed primarily due to lack of space. That means 24 animals lose their lives 365 days per year.

It is heartening to see this progress being made! We are hopeful it continues.

Honest communication is essential for the dignity of any organization and those it professes to serve. Honest communication is an essential element in building the foundation for meaningful and genuine reform.

Addendum 01/10/13
Note that the reference to the language accuracy relates to the “middle of the agency’s surrender page…”

After seeing this post, an astute observer within the Industry shares:
What is sad in this is that they use the term kill only when describing ACC and use 2010 number although they have up to date numbers which are more favorable to ACC. It is interesting how one organization will paint another to make themselves look better even when they claim to be supporters and fighting the same fight.

A euphemism is a way of softening reality. Euphemisms have their place — when comforting a bereaved friend, to ease the blow of bad news, or to avoid deliberately hurting someone’s feelings. In such situations, euphemisms are a kindness. They prevent causing pain.

Using euphemisms to deceive the public into accepting what’s unacceptable — now that’s a different story.

Deception is a malignancy on our humanity. It comes from governments, private industry, people running for office — anyone with something to gain by lying. Because if you tell a lie long enough, loud enough and often enough, people will believe it.

The animal welfare industry has become adept at deceiving the public with euphemisms about the fate of adoptable animals. It’s a dispirited, institutional drumbeat message: healthy, adoptable animals are “euthanized” or “put down.”

With the exception of WRTV6 and Kara Kenney’s outstanding reporting of animal welfare issues in central Indiana and Patty Spitler’s heart-warming tales of these beautiful animals with Pet Pals TV, local media outlets have been hypnotized into joining the chorus. They repeat the lie that ending the life of a healthy adoptable animal is “euthanasia.”

Let’s look at the facts.

Euthanasia is defined as the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment.

It is NOT the act of ending a life because space is limited, or because someone has decided that life is inconvenient.

But wait — it gets worse

Redefining euthanasia is bad enough. But now, according to a press release from the Creative Department, an advertising/branding agency retained by the Humane Society of Indianapolis, “…IndyHumane Animal Welfare Center was created to decrease the number of euthanizing procedures on animals brought into the Humane Society’s locations around Indianapolis.”

Euthanizing procedures?? Wow — that moves it one step farther from the reality of killing, doesn’t it? Just another routine “procedure”.

We’re a lot more comfortable with a procedure. The medical profession and the insurance companies have already paved the way for that. We no longer have surgery; we have “medical procedures”.

Everything’s going to be just fine.

People perpetuating this euthanasia euphemism want to be comfortable. And maybe that’s the problem. Killing animals makes us uncomfortable. We don’t want to make anybody uncomfortable. So instead of confronting and solving the problem, we modify the vocabulary so it sounds acceptable. We clean up the reality.

But that doesn’t change it.

Into the weeds

By trying to hang a new definition on the word euthanasia, some perpetrators of this deception have put themselves in an awkward position. Take for example this statement from IndyHumane’s website:

“The Humane Society of Indianapolis offers dog and cat euthanasia services to the community by appointment for pets who are suffering and terminally ill.”

Wait a minute. The IndyHumane Animal Welfare Center was created to decrease its euthanasia service? A service that offers a merciful death for suffering and terminally ill animals?

Oops.

The challenge of honesty

Are we repeating the “euthanasia” mantra to shield ourselves from the painful reality of these animals’ fate? What is it costing our personal integrity, not to mention the welfare of the animals for whom we profess to advocate? Do we say what we mean and mean what we say? Or do we just declare that we’re telling the truth….until we believe we are?

“We tell the truth, even when it may be painful.”

“We don’t put animals down for space – animals are only euthanized due to major medical concerns or severe behavior and aggression problems.”

People lie for a lot of reasons. Says Robin Lloyd in “Why We Lie”
“ It boils down to the shifting sands of the self and trying to look good both to ourselves and others, experts say.

It’s tied in with self-esteem.”

Animals, however, don’t lie. They are brutally honest in their expression. Only the human animal is capable of lying and deceit.

We have a lot to learn from animals. Are we listening?

It’s time to arouse our sleeping integrity and speak honestly about what we do to adoptable animals. Only by facing that ugly reality can we hope to change it.

Customer service is the signature of any business. Nowhere is it more important than when dealing with people in distress — which is why we found this incident so disturbing.

It involves a woman’s attempt to retrieve her lost dogs, which had been taken to IndyHumane — the new identity the Humane Society of Indianapolis has chosen. Their website proclaims that

We respect every animal that comes through our door as a valued life…

We can be trusted to do what we say we will do. We tell the truth, even when it may be painful. We make decisions based on what we believe is the right thing to do for the animals, their owners and their prospective owners.

But Ashley Scott, the Boone County resident who became separated from her dogs, discovered that just because an organization has “humane” in its name doesn’t necessarily mean that is reflected in its practices. Instead of compassion, Ms. Scott was treated with suspicion and rudeness, and threatened with having her precious pets turned over to Indianapolis Animal Care & Control where, as they pointed out, “they euthanize dogs every other day.”

That doesn’t sound like valuing the animal’s life, respecting the strong bond between humans and animals, or being compassionate in decision-making to us.

Read Ashley Scott’s story here.

There seems to be a vast disconnect between IndyHumane’s projected image and reality.

Humane: characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, especially for the suffering or distressed.

Empathy: the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by another sentient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion.

Neither of these qualities, however much they are trumpeted on IndyHumane’s website, was apparent in the interaction Ms. Scott had with the people representing IndyHumane. Threatening to send her dog to a kill shelter as a psychological weapon is profoundly disappointing. Add to that the lack of compassion shown to the woman who was just trying to save an animal’s life, and the resulting picture certainly doesn’t match the values and vision IndyHumane claims.

Painting a warm and fuzzy picture of loving, compassionate care and everything being “all about the animals” is an outstanding way to entice people to open their wallets. But when the reality contradicts the image, it’s deception. Whether intentional or not.

One has to wonder — what if, unbeknownst to the people she was dealing with, Ms. Scott had been a generous donor?

John Aleshire, Executive Director of The Humane Society of Indianapolis and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church has it right when he says

“We can’t be the Humane Society if we’re not showing respect, love and compassion. These are as natural to us as breathing.”

We agree, Mr. Aleshire. At least, with the first sentence.

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