I was in Glendale earlier today and saw a road sign for the “Animal Shelter,” so we went to try and visit their dogs and it ended up being the local Humane Society. Upon entering we started talking to the lady behind the counter and found out that they self-labeled their facility a “No Kill” shelter. That was great, so I was curious to see if they were a legitimate No Kill shelter or one that poses as one, yet fails to follow the true essence of what one is supposed to represent. Right off the bat, they wouldn’t let us see the dogs, instead pointing us to a book that was on the desk. They only had about 20 dogs and were not an open intake shelter. They didn’t have any Pit Bulls and explained that the reason they didn’t is because they “don’t do well when kenneled.” I certainly commend this facility for what they are doing, and the lives that they are saving, but they are definitely not a No Kill shelter and actually serve to discredit that actual movement by calling themselves one. There are indeed real No Kill shelters in this country that have open admission and succeed in a number of programs that lead to 90+% save-rates. I don’t make this post to complain about Glendale, but you are either a No Kill shelter or you are not. It shouldn’t be something that is an advertising schtick or a trendy way to promote yourself. Every shelter SHOULD strive to be one, but by not being genuine in approach you make it much harder for the ones that are actually walking the walk. You also confuse the people (i.e. L.A.) and disingenuously lead them on, when all that good will and energy could actually be put to use doing it the proven way. This is a problem because there’s a huge misconception out there that there isn’t any such thing as a true No Kill shelter (and smear campaigns protecting systemic killers), and those people saying such things, believing such things, will gladly jump to use examples such as Glendale’s closed admission shelter, self-recognizing themselves as No Kill, as their “proof.” That’s a shame.

Animal cruelty is a big thing in my eyes. Blatant, torturous actions reveal the psychology of a person’s mind. Going further, and unchecked, it more times than not reveals a road map that leads to repeat offenses and eventually similar behavior being acted out on human beings. If you don’t think that this link is worth note, and worth taking extremely seriously, then there is something very much wrong.

Recently a young lady from Wausau, Wisconsin was arrested after she grotesquely and repeatedly tortured her boyfriend’s German Shepherd/Lab-mix, Mary, until she died on June 4th from having her throat slit. This woman, Sean Janas, even kept a diary detailing her twisted thought process and desire for Mary’s death.

Within the pages of the diary were these phrases…
“I need to find a way to kill her without it looking like I killed her.”
“I’ve done lots of things already. I’ve given her drano, bleach and a lot of pain pills. Lol. One night she got all tweaked out because of it, it was so funny.”
“I have never hated an animal so much in my life, much less hate one or beat one. But the pleasure I get from watching her whimper in pain and cry out for help as I shove drano and bleach down her throat is like no other.”
“I hate this dumb fucking dog. She keeps throwing up all over my floor and it’s getting on my nerves.”
“I beat the living shit out of her a few days ago and she’s got a huge sack on her head and won’t stop puking on everything.”
“I’m going to give her more pills and hopefully that dumb bitch dies. Steve thinks she ate something outside and that’s why she’s sick.”
“This fucking dog, I’m going to lose my fucking mind. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m just gonna keep feeding her pills and shit until she croaks.”
“We don’t have any money to take her to the vet so hopefully she just dies so I don’t have to ever see her dumb ass again.”

It’s pretty clear that she was deriving joy from the process.

This poor dog very likely suffered many months of consistent abuse, and the police complaint gives a small insight into numerous instances… Not only was the dog fed drano, bleach and loads of human pain pills, but it was constantly screamed at, beat with its leash, stabbed multiple times with knives, struck in the head with a glass bottle (requiring stitches), and ultimately had its throat slit. The neighbor once reported finding the dog wandering aimlessly with bloody wounds on its head. They also noted the constant yelling that they could hear through the walls. This is just a fraction of what this dog realistically endured. Even though the boyfriend, Steven Kuick, was upset and cooperated with police, he was very much aware of what was happening and by his inaction, in a way complicit with this insanity. Very sad.

Marathon County prosecutors have charged Janas with felony mistreatment of animals, giving poison to an animal and obstructing an officer. If convicted on all charges she’s facing more than 5 years in jail and a $30,000 fine. Janas is currently being held at the county jail on a mere $2,500 bond. Most importantly: The preliminary hearing is set for October 31, and it is here where a judge will decide if there is enough evidence to send her to trial.

Knowing this, it’s imperative that people contact the necessary individuals and voice their thoughts on wanting to see Janas held accountable. DO NOT call for her death or advocate an eye for an eye. You make yourself look just as diabolical as she clearly is. Be respectable, passionate, rational; and lay out the obvious case for why she should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. This not only honors Mary’s life, but sets precedent and gives stiff punishment to someone that would likely hurt more animals or people going forward.

To contact the Marathon County Circuit Judge, Michael Moran, please call 715-261-1381.
To contact the Marathon County Circuit Judge, Gregory Grau, please call 715-261-1370.
To contact the Marathon County Assistant District Attorney, Lamont Jacobson, please call 715-261-1111.
To contact the Marathon County Courthouse directly please call 715-261-1000. You can also send them a fax at 715-261-1515 or an email here.

A picture of what is believed to be Mary has been unearthed from Steven Kuick’s Facebook page. She looks more like a Rhodesian Ridgeback to me, but nevertheless, this is extraordinarily sad. RIP.

Here’s some audio from when I called into Pit Bulletin Legal News to discuss how breed-specific mandatory spay and neuter laws are just another way to essentially ban a certain type of dog.

I don’t normally post stuff like this here but am concerned enough to say “screw it.” Many people in Louisiana are aware of what is going on and are begging the authorities for answers. Unfortunately they aren’t getting them. Their town hall that was held on 9/20 fell on deaf ears. Not a single official from any level of expertise showed up to answer the many questions from concerned citizens. You can actually watch the around 50 minutes of video of the town hall here.

The major concerns that have been voiced by activists is the huge amounts of natural gas and/or radiation that is being let off. This thing is growing, collapsing further, and every day growing closer to a dome that holds 1.5 million barrels of liquid butane that’s a mere 1,500 feet away. If air or gas were to get inside of this butane dome and it were to subsequently blow then we’re talking explosions of unimaginable proportions. Sheriff Waguespack spoke to CNN about this exact scenario.

If you live in this area (or in surrounding states) please keep abreast of what is happening and have emergency plans laid out for both yourself and your animals. The sinkhole was found on 8/3 in swamps between the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou communities in Assumption Parish. It is south of La. 70 South on a property that’s owned by Texas Brine Co. LLC of Houston. Again, if you live in surrounding areas please stay vigilant on seeking out information and have emergency plans laid out for both yourself and your animals. This site is right upwind of New Orleans. I’m not clear on the total number of shelters and/or rescues in this state, but please make sure that word continues to travel. I also post this with Villalobos in mind, knowing that they are located somewhere in this general vicinity…

From 8/9…

From yesterday…

A breakdown of potential scenarios…

If you’d like to petition the feds to get involved with at least providing the people with some answers, do so here. You must be a U.S. citizen to sign the petition.

*UPDATE*

Look at this…

Chicago, one of the cities with the strictest and most evasive gun restrictions in the United States, just had 57 murders in the month of August… Just as shocking, more people have been killed by guns in Chicago thus far in 2012 than troops have been killed in Afghanistan over the same time period. For 28 years handguns were outright banned in the city altogether, until the end of 2010 when the measure was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. And yes, crime was even higher then!

Since the outright ban was struck down by the high court, the city has remained vigilant in reworking the laws so that it is possible, but extremely expensive and difficult, to obtain a license. Even with the court’s decision, the fact remains that Chicago still has one of the toughest municipal gun laws in the country. This while Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, has cut neighborhood targeted anti-violence programs by upwards of $9 million due to budget shortfalls. Yet, at the same time, he’s out grandstanding publicly for even stricter gun laws. So let me get this straight? They do away with the education proponent, do away with the support within the poorest of neighborhoods, while pounding their fists on the table in hopes that another law will be the cure?

Chicago’s current murder rates continue to be extremely high. How did that 28-year handgun ban work? Police reported confiscating an average of about 10,000 guns per year. As I said earlier, the yearly murder-rate while handguns were banned outright was even HIGHER than it is currently, while handguns continue being heavily restricted. In the final year before the ban fell, more police officers were killed in Chicago by gunfire than in any other city in the nation. The city also maintained one of the highest violent crime rates in the country. Yikes.

What’s the lesson here? That actual criminals don’t stop using something just because it’s “banned.” That actual criminals don’t stop partaking in certain behaviors just because the sources for such behaviors are “banned.” This gun ban doesn’t affect a legitimate criminal. Let’s be honest. It actually serves to embolden them, now knowing that they’re far less likely to ever encounter an armed victim! The ban does affect some people however… It affects the law-abiding citizens who are no longer able to legally protect themselves from the criminals that will opt to carry a gun and murder you regardless.

Just like with the banning of alcohol, drugs, dogs… It serves to create a hyper-vacuum of criminality, a fear-based irrationalism, and an underground market of access, while those causing no harm to anyone are the ones who are consistently punished. First, by the insistence that they cannot “have” or “do” something on its face, but then by the system itself, as it uses the innocent happenings that will inevitably occur (someone having a firearm at home in order to protect their family, drinking a beer, smoking some pot, having a friendly dog of a certain breed or type) as examples and then throws the book at you for the warped publicity. Are the violent criminals ever targeted? Were the organized and bootlegging criminals ever targeted? Are the drug kingpins and pushers of narcotics into cities ever targeted? Are the dog fighters and animal abusers who exploit Pit Bulls and other types ever targeted? Rarely.

Unfortunately the focus is rarely on actions, or on the people who choose to partake in the actions that we’ve all deemed to be abhorrent. It’s far easier to just grandstand and ban things with a magic wand. Violate rights. Ignore root causes. Talk out of your ass. And while letting the real perpetrators of the crimes alone, to continue violating the now “new rules” that have been established, because after all, they don’t follow rules to begin with.

After reading this article and watching the video, why is a straw man argument being presented by the journalist, the family and the cops? So, if the dog “was” a Pit Bull then that justifies the cops in shooting and killing it? Why are all 3 parties debating over whether the dog was a Pit Bull or not? It’s as if the family is trying to prove the dog’s innocence by making sure everyone knows it “wasn’t” a Pit Bull. Well, what else does that imply then? Is everyone implying here that Pit Bulls are guilty and deserving of taking bullets to the face? This dog (or any dog), Pit Bull or not, doesn’t deserve to be the victim of a cop’s power trip. ALL types of dogs are capable of being innocent bystanders. This type of false debate, false implication, does just as much harm to dogs as a whole as any gun could ever do. RIP Scar.

No one wants to focus on or give any attention to “WHY” something has happened. Even rescuers. They make a string of bad decisions, shit hits a fan, and it’s all of a sudden someone else’s fault, or the blame is attempted to be wrongly tossed in 1 direction instead of honorably shared. This is no different than when there’s a dog “attack” and then the dog involved takes the total blame for his treatment, his environment, his surroundings that likely manifested this “attack,” and yet the owner goes freely about their merry way. Then all dogs of that breed are demonized, and their genuine contributions as a whole get soiled in the eyes of outsiders due to this singular circumstance that involved 1 dog. The same thing is true when an irresponsible rescuer bottoms out, then flails in every direction in an attempt to deflect their share of the blame. Now all rescuers look bad. Common sense, folks. You can’t claim to be a Pit Bull advocate and then live your life that happens outside of that specific pocket in a way that ultimately boxes up others unfairly, the same way Pit Bulls are boxed up daily. Think about it.

A few days ago Pam Ashley came to my page and posted a comment in response to my open letter to her… I’ve since updated the original post with a handful of the most disagreeable dialogues (Pam’s included). You can link directly over to those updates by clicking here.

Her communication has since went further, thus prompting this new post…

Quite bluntly, Pam doesn’t make any sense at all… In her initial op-ed she said, “Statistics do not lie.” I even quoted her in my original post, responding in a way that used her chosen statistics, and numerous others, against her point. Now, in the comments many months later, she’s claiming that statistics do not mean anything. Here’s actual quotes from Pam, posted in my comment section from yesterday: “Do statistics on either side of the argument mean a thing? No.” & “My statement is meant to say that people choose to believe what they want regardless of statistics… Talk about closed minded!” Then she mentions her self-proclaimed favorite quote, which is pictured below…

So, in essence, she’s basically admitting that the only statistics that mattered to her were those that propped up her initial argument. Then once confronted with other statistics, they all of a sudden don’t matter at all, but her’s still do. Which is why I find her favorite quote ironic, because that quote is fundamentally speaking about a person who is diametrically opposed to dialogue and taking serious another point of view. That’s her in a nutshell. She can’t say the same about me, because at least I respected her’s and others opinions enough to respond to literally everything that they said. Whether you agree or disagree with what I actually said, the acknowledgement of the many debated topics is there. Pam’s retorts leave you with the feeling that she didn’t even read anything that was written, let alone think on it. She instead just goes through a repetition of vague defenses. All rights and wrongs aside, it’s pretty obvious that she isn’t coming from an open place. Irony. Her favorite quote condemns her.

So here we are. There’s been a back and forth, albeit kind of scattered. I can’t make or force anyone to even remotely want to respond to actual points of debate. I can’t force someone to want to have a genuine and rational conversation. What I can do now is at least extend this invitation…

Pam,
I’d like to personally invite you out to Los Angeles, California so that you could accompany me on a visit to one of the local shelters out here. I’d love to film you actually meeting the dogs, and then interview you on camera claiming that each of those individuals should be euthanized and for whatever reasons that you’d like to openly justify on film. We could even speak to the shelter staff and see if they’d be willing to let you stand in the room while they euthanized some. I’d be willing to film that too, and then put whatever message you’d like to attach to it out and into the world unedited. Please note that this would all be filmed and shared on the internet to be seen by countless amounts of people. If you are so confident in your positions and in your opinions then I’m sure that we can expect to have your video public service embraced by the majority of society. I’d love to give you that opportunity to put your face onto your chosen message of outright Pit Bull elimination. Why? Because I’m confident in the opposite, that you’d be exposed as a hateful and spiteful individual who couldn’t hold her own in a 2-way conversation, thus doing Pit Bulls the ultimate service. I have no doubts that I could raise the money to cover not only your flight but a local hotel as well. This would be contingent on you signing a contract agreeing to fully take part in the video documentation, as well as the interview and video conversation with myself. What do you say?

*UPDATE*

Pam, as expected, quickly declined…

But, “No redeemable value”? Really? The chance to put your voice and message on video, to be virally shared on numerous platforms and having the potential to reach a very large amount of people. The chance to speak to thousands of pro-Pit Bull people directly, and thousands more people in general, spreading your “wonderful” and “righteous” message. The chance to school me (critic of the witch hunt) in an interview, on film. The chance to have your views embraced, since they are so awesome and the public is bound to overwhelmingly agree with her on this, right? You’d think that someone who was remotely confident in their ways of thinking would actually at least consider this idea. Apparently not. Yellow streak?

This challenge is simple… It’s a call to action for the many people who are not familiar with, or who have a learned opinion about Pit Bulls. Don’t you want to have an opinion that’s genuinely based on some real life experiences? Or are you the type that just accepts hearsay as literal fact? The best answer to your predicament is to simply make an effort to visit your local shelter and meet a few of these daunted Pit Bulls in person. There’s no better facilitator of the truth than the dogs themselves!

I was able to make small talk with this guy on the way out of the shelter. I was also in the lobby during his multiple attempts at getting any kind of assistance. He walked in 3 different times in a span of around 45 minutes, no one ever took the initiative to help him or see to it that someone else help him.

Neither of the front desk girls even got out of their chairs. The manager was in his office, with the door shut, approximately 5 feet away. They didn’t pull anyone aside, they didn’t tell Gil (the manager), they didn’t walk to the back room to check for someone, they didn’t go anywhere themselves to at least show the guy that some amount of effort was being made. They barely even responded to, or acknowledged him. All they did was ask each other if there were any volunteers on the floor today.

This all happened the night of March 22nd. I immediately made a post about what I’d seen on my Facebook page, and the comments started rolling in. A frequent rescuer at Carson added her 2 cents, actually posting that the day before this happened she had witnessed another potential adopter walk out after being denied a “play pass” because the desk workers failed to track down a kennel attendant. Instead of getting off of their asses to go look, they just made the call that “they aren’t giving out play passes at this time.” So charming of them. All of this is totally, totally, totally unacceptable behavior from anyone being employed in this line of work.