“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”― Gandhi
The greatness of America will one day be judged on how it treated its companion animals. How Will We Be Judged?
We kill sick animals in shelters every day, when a few antibiotics would save their lives. How Will We Be Judged?
We spend millions of dollars euthanizing animals, but few dollars on spay & neuter to save lives. How Will We Be Judged?
We kill animals to empty shelter cages, when we could adopt them. How Will We Be Judged?
We kill companion animals because we do not like their breed. How Will We Be Judged?
We build elaborate million dollar Government buildings, and cheap animal shelters. How Will We Be Judged?
We show our children killing their pets is moral and allowed in society. How Will We Be Judged?
We discard our companion animals after years of them loving us, because we tire of caring for them. How Will We Be Judged?
We spend money to feed our bad habits, yet let our companion animals starve. How Will We Be Judged?
We adopt a companion animal, and then let them sit in a hot car and die. How Will We Be Judged?
We get a companion animal and then tie him to a tree his whole life. How Will We Be Judged?
We look the other way when people abuse their pet because we don’t want to offend them. How Will We Be Judged?
We spend money on pampering ourselves but do not donate a penny to save lives. How Will We Be Judged?
We spend millions for political bridges to nowhere, but no money for saving a homeless animal in our own town. How Will We Be Judged?
We send taxpayer money overseas to Nations that slaughter companion animals and eat them, and spend no Washington money to save, spay & neuter or even feed homeless American companion animals. How Will We Be Judged?
We kill 4 million companion animals every year when we could save them. How Will We Be Judged?
Steve Monahan, Executive Director
National No Kill Humane Society “a Voice for Life” NoKillHumaneSociety.org
Be Inspired! Read Rescue Renew Rehome and be inspired with the possibilities to rescue and adopt America’s homeless pets.
Learn 20 ways to save more our animals now: and learn how to set up private animal adoption shelters and community pet Villages across America to save all 4 million every year going forward.
You will read the story of Shiva the 911 Dog that consoled survivors at the Pentagon, and the stories of Ruby and Sweet Pea who were Rescued Renewed and Rehomed.
This book will also show you how working together we can adopt 4 million homeless pets yearly.
You will learn about the new Green Shelters and Green Villages, where pet owners come together as a community to care for, adopt and celebrate our pets.
You will learn about “Cause Marketing”… think Breast Cancer Runs and Ice Bucket Challenge and how Animal Shelters and Rescue Groups can learn to use it to raise the money they need to adopt all dogs and cats.
You will learn about America’s $58 Billion dollar Pet Industry and how it will help end the euthanization of healthy and happy shelter animals.
This is a game changing, break through book you must read. You will be buying copies for your animal loving friends, family and for your local Animal Shelter and Rescue Groups.
This plan will work! Loved this book! Very true! I am giving copies to everyone I know! Everyone needs a copy in their home! I can’t speak high enough of this book! VSI -February 2015
This book is great for those who want to help save Shelter Animals.This book is great for those who want to help and get the word out about opening and supporting no-kill shelters. If we raise awareness then we can start changing the world to make it a better place for us and our animals!!! D.G. Smith on January 2015
This is a wonderful book about rescuing animals from shelters. There is a long chapter by Leecy Madison about her work at the Pentagon after 9/11 with her DSR therapy dog, Shiva It’s about saving animals from shelters and the wonderful work pets do for us to enrich our lives. Sandra G. – January 2015
On Sale Now – all proceeds go to animal welfare education.
In our book RESCUE RENEW REHOME we laid out 20 intelligently thought out points to dramatically increase homeless pet adoptions in America. A 20 point program to end the killing of 4 million dogs and cats in our animal shelters each year. For this article we want to share with you point number #20.
To me this was the most difficult point to create. While the others are logical and use un-common, common sense, developed in our 10 years in dog rescue this last point was the hardest to say out loud.
I always try to be optimistic. I try to never judge anyone. I practice Zen and meditation and try to always focus on happiness. So this final point has weighed hard on my soul. But I could not write this book unless I expressed what I felt in my heart.
And that is: If we are to finally end the killing of healthy, loving, homeless animals in America we must speak the truth. We must look inside ourselves and really ask, why do we allow 4 million animals to be killed every year in America?
The first reason we kill shelter animals is because as I said earlier in this book… we are a disposable society. If we don’t like it we get rid of it. If something shinier comes along we get rid of it. If our pet acts out we get rid of it. If we tire of it we get rid of it.
The other reason is because as humans we always prefer to run from and avoid reality…and then lie to ourselves about it to make ourselves “feel good” rather than speak words of truth and own what we have done.
What are the two lies we tell ourselves?
The two lies are the two words we use to make ourselves feel good about doing something bad…something real bad…killing.
To deny it to ourselves we use two nice sounding words “Shelter” and “Euthanize”
But Shelter is not a truthful word. The definition of a shelter is …a place of safety and refuge. A shelter saves lives and brings help and hope to those that go there. So knowing that – why do we continue to lie to ourselves and use the word “shelter” when our supposed shelters are not shelters? What do you call a place that kills the homeless beings that come to it? I don’t need to name it, but we all know that “shelter” is not the name.
The other lie we tell ourselves to stay in denial and feel good about ourselves is the word “euthanize“.We tell ourselves that we “euthanize” homeless pets. We should use the word of truth – which is kill, not the lie of euthanize.
The definition of euthanize: (Medicine) to kill (a person or animal) painlessly, esp to relieve suffering from an incurable illness.
What incurable illness do our 4 million homeless animals have? What suffering do these 4 million homeless animals endure? And the procedure most shelters use is not a 2 step euthanize, but a one step. And that one step is not painless! What we are doing is killing. We must stop killing and stop using the word euthanize.
We must be honest with ourselves and our children and talk words of truth. The truth shall set you free. And if we start telling the truth we will set our souls free from the horrible burden we are bringing upon our society, by allowing innocent animals to be killed, while we use words that lie, keep us in denial and cover it up.
BLACK DOG FRIDAY is another example of an animal welfare adoption and Cause Marketing program.
Black Dog Friday.org is Green Pets America’s current cause marketing campaign, whose purpose is to educate the public on the black dog adoption syndrome.
The marketing strategy is to change the negative perception of black dogs from menacing to friendly. Black dogs are no different than other dogs, yet they are the least adopted in animal shelters.
To increase the rate of black dog adoptions we focus on education. We create educational marketing pieces – fliers and posters in shelters that portray black dogs with kids and families. We have created a national website for the base of operation.
Please download this poster, print it and take it to your local animal shelter to help them adopt their black dogs every Friday
Scripture states that man was appointed by God to have dominion over the animals. My hypothesis for this blog is therefore everything a man does to an animal; particularly our companion animal is either a lawful exercise of that responsibility, or a sacrilegious abuse, of that authority and responsibility.
Genesis 1:26-28: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Jesus came to redeem; is it also worth considering that man, made in Gods image and with dominion over the earth and its creatures has a redemptive function to perform as well in that Stewardship ? Man, in creating companion dogs from once wild wolves has already redeemed dogs to lay with the lambs. Additionally, these previously wild, untamed dogs now live together in peace with man. Dogs and man now enjoy each others company and mutually benefit each other in protection, and emotional and physical health and wellbeing.
As to inflicting pain and worse death upon animals in our Stewardship of companion animals. Make no mistake about this point; inflicting pain or killing of mankind’s companion animals is not Gods doing, it is the doing of man the stewards of animals. Will God be pleased with our stewardship when we kill dogs and cats in the “shelters” we have created for their safe keeping?
Killing and pain inflicted upon dogs and cats is therefore not God’s handiwork – but begun by Satan’s malice and perpetuated by man’s desertion of his post and stewardship. What does man inflict upon his fellow man for desertion of his post?
Finally, there is the question of compassion and of justice. We know that dogs are sentient beings…meaning they experience pain and hurt just as man does. Would a good steward purposely inflict pain, or worse death on that which God the father required of man to be a good and wise steward of? If I killed my Fathers dog for no good reason what would my Father think of me? What will God think of those stewards that with no good reason kill his animals?
Numbers 22:32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me.Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
God has sovereign power over His creation and has delegated the authority to humanity to have dominion over the animals (Genesis 1:26,28). However, with the authority to rule comes the responsibility to rule well. There is an inherent accountability in the command to “subdue” the earth. The word subdue means “to gain an intelligent understanding of and mastery over.”
Man is to be the wise steward of the earth; he is to bring the material world and all of its varied elements into the service and good of all people, and he is to do so with love and understanding. Only then will dominion be truly according to God’s command. When God gave us dominion over the animals, it was in order to care for, tend to, and use animals in a just manner. At the time that God gave mankind dominion over the animals, humans did not eat meat (Genesis 1:29). Eating meat did not begin until after the Flood (Genesis 9:1-3). It was at that time that animals then started to fear humans. However, although we now eat “meat,” we still bear a responsibility to care for and to treat animals humanely.
Stewardship over animals does not mean we have the right to mistreat, misuse or indiscriminately kill animals. Stewardship over animals entails a humane management of them as the companions of man God has ordained them to be. We must fulfill our duty to manage the earth and the animals wisely until that time when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb in the kingdom of Christ (Isaiah 11:6).
I passionately believe if God cares for his animals should we not as well? Should we not love them, care for their needs, advocate for their lives and protect them from harm. Loving an animal is a selfless and Godly act. The care and compassion we show an animal entrusted to us is a gauge of ones personal integrity.
Steve Monahan, founder – Green Pets America
“A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal” (Proverbs 12:10)
Freedom of Speech in America -Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. Even criticism of the government and advocacy of ideas that some people may find distasteful or against public policy are almost always permitted.Additionally, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media.”
Freedom of Speech is today being denied to Green Pets America.Green Pets America has recently been told by the police and government of Clayton County Georgia that with a new police shelter manager now in place we must sign a legal document that we would not say anything to anyone about what goes on relative to shelter animals in their care in the Clayton County Animal shelter. It is a gag request. If we refused to sign away our rights to free speech and say anything about the care of animals in the shelter we would no longer be allowed to rescue and save death row dogs.Additionally to go into the government shelter we would be required to turn in our cameras and turn in our cell phones upon entry to rescue death row dogs. We were to be escorted by an armed police officer to get in to rescue dogs. We were required to get a costly Police Criminal Background check. We and our staff and volunteers are are being treated like criminals when all we are trying to do is save shelter animals.Courageously our Executive Director Kristen refused to sign this illegal agreement. She refused to give up our free speech rights – and now Green Pets America has been physically banned from the government shelter. Now GPA cannot save the lives of Clayton County Shelter dogs.Green Pets America is a state of Georgia non-profit.
GPA is an IRS approved 501c3 animal rescue non-profit animal advocacy organization. We are licensed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, with a shelter license to rescue dogs from Georgia shelters.We have been recognized by the State Senate of Georgia and our home City of Woodstock, Georgia for service to Georgia’s families and animals. Yet we are being denied our freedom to rescue dogs per our State license. We and our thousands of supporters, all American citizens and tax payers, are being treated as criminals.We have rescued dogs for years from Clayton County. Under the previous shelter management we rescued and then vetted and cared for at our own costs, and adopted a thousand dogs. This has saved lives and perhaps $100,000 in euthanization and food costs for Clayton County. Green Pets America has helped improve their kill rate from 90% too much lower.We have saved hundreds of death row dogs from this shelter through the years and placed them into loving homes throughout Georgia…and now we cannot.
They have illegally taken away our free speech rights and refused our help to save lives.
Is this America?
We will not give up our constitutional rights. Too many soldiers have died for these rights. Too many wars have been fought to allow our First Amendment rights to be taken away by our own government. We will not give up our rights and we will sue Clayton County to stop this immediately.
Please do not take just our word for this. Read this email sent to us from the local Clayton animal humane society group that previous to the new appointment of a shelter director helped the shelter rescue thousands of the shelters animals.
This no-profit humane Society is rallying the local TV stations and media to make everyone aware of what is happening at the Clayton Animal Shelter.
Wednesday July 23, 2014
Clayton County Animal Control is a high kill “shelter” run by the police in the city of Jonesboro, GA. The captain in charge retired last month and his replacement has thrown out the volunteer group, the Partners, which over several years had saved thousands of dogs lives and slashed the kill rate, which had been 85%. This group saved Clayton County tens of thousands of dollars in fees the vet would have charged to euthanize. (The Partners and their attorney had very legitimate concerns about the restrictions the police Memorandum of Understanding would have placed on them. When they refused to sign they were asked to leave.) That highly effective group was replaced by one volunteer who resigned in less than two weeks due to the excessive restrictions placed on her by the police.
Volunteers had been able to take photos of the dogs to post on Facebook (Partners with Clayton County Animal Control). Now only Animal Control staff can take pics. You need an escort to go back where the kennels are — even to go to the restroom. And you cannot take a cell phone or purse with you. Licensed rescue groups and transporters need a police background check. These are proven people with established track records working with CCAC. Never needed it before.
Monday, July 28 2014, fifteen outdoor kennels which the humane society partners had donated to CCAC were taken down — 15 fewer kennels to hold dogs — and now CCAC is full again!
WEDNESDAY JULY 30, 2014:
Animal rescue organizations were told that Jonesboro, Animal Control would be closed on Thursday for maintenance and to pick up dogs on Friday. But then on Friday they were told that 22 dogs and 1 cat had already been euthanized the day before, including 7 that had confirmed adoption rescues.
People often ask me; how did you come up with the name Green Pets America. They generally say I understand pets, and America, but why green? They laugh and ask are your rescued dogs green? Well they aren’t green, but green is very important to us. Green plants us {excuse the pun} into the green movement.
What is the green movement?
The green movement as we think of it today has evolved considerably since the early days. To understand the modern green movement, we have to trace its origins back to the beginning.
So, let’s get started: While many people associate the beginning of the green movement with Rachel Carson’s breakthrough book Silent Spring green environmentalism is in fact rooted in the intellectual thought of the 1830s and 1840s. In fact, the “environmental movement” is a significant thread in the fabric of American philosophical thought most famously accredited to Henry David Thoreau. And later tangibly expanded upon during the era of American pragmatism in the latter half of the 19th century. Green Environmentalism is at once innovative and practical, idealistic and active, one could easily define modern environmentalism as quintessentially American.
“Green Conservation is as American as Teddy Roosevelt”
Though the federal government had begun taking actions to preserve our open lands in the late 1800’s, it was Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir who publicized and popularized conservation. Teddy’s visit to Yosemite in 1903 gained national publicity. By 1916 the National Park Service had been established with leadership by Stephen Mather.
But just as swiftly, the World Wars – sandwiching the traumatic Great Depression – forced environmental concerns to the background of public thought. While the Sierra Club continued to grow rapidly and became instrumental in establishing many vast National parks during these years, environmentalism as we know it today was not a concern for most Americans – or, consequently, the federal government.
It would take disasters and threats to bring environmental issues out of the sciences into the mainstream America again. Green environmentalism in America today isdefinedas leaders who advocate and educate for the sustainable management of resources and stewardship of the land and the environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior.
And, in its recognition of humanity as a participant in (not enemy of) ecosystems, the movement is centered on wellness, ecology, health, and human and animal rights.”
What is a Green Business?
What does it really mean to be a green business? Sure, many businesses are talking the green talk, but are they really walking the green walk?
People, Planet, Profit – Triple Bottom Business Line
People, Planet, Pets, Profit – Quadruple Bottom Business Line
A “green business” has the environment, a social benefit to America, as well as profit. Hence the term Triple Bottom Line; standing for Profit, People, and Planet.
Essentially, the triple bottom line takes ecological and social performance seriously, building it into a three-part organization model that functions along three axes: people, planet, and profit. In other words, rather than considering only profit in measuring a business’ success, the triple bottom line gets companies thinking beyond money to social and environmental factors as well
“Green” is a term that’s thrown around a lot these days to refer to all types of things. From consumer goods, to automobiles, to building to lifestyle choices, everyone’s talking green.
At the very core, green businesses choose to operate in an earth-friendly fashion. They work to adapt their policies, practices, and principles so that they produce a positive result for the environment–whether they’re trying to solve an environmental or societal problem, or they’re just attempting to produce a product that has a smaller footprint.
Green Pets America is a green non-profit business. We have to mentally operate as a profit business however to carefully manage our resources and assets. We however go one step further. We add one more criteria. We expand from a triple bottom line to a quadruple bottom line. We add Pets. Our “Green” definition is People, Planet, Profit, and Pets.
So, in practical terms what does “Green” in our name have to do with the green movement? It means many things on multiple levels. It ties us into the green movement. People, who understand and respect green, understand our values. They understand and relate to our mission and goals. Green is a mission and a value to us. It means we focus on the triple bottom line as any good 21st century business, planet, people, and profits.
But we also add pets. Those who practice “green” understand the desire to not dispose of garbage and pollute our waters and land. Those who respect our planet and people and businesses making profit understand if we should not dispose of garbage, shouldn’t we not dispose of our animals as well. So it means don’t dump, discard and dispose of 4 million shelter animals a year. To us green means recycle, it means fresh and new and sustainable. We educate about the green concept of rescue and recycle. Recycle means adoption. It means foster homes. It means save lives, not destroy lives.
And Green means community animal shelters that are built green. Green shelters protect the environment. They save money for taxpayers. They are cheaper to maintain. They respect the land. And green shelters are good for the animals and the employees and volunteers who work there. Green shelters are open and airy. They are beautiful places for the communities’ citizens to go reclaim a lost dog or adopt an abandoned dog or cat. Green shelters save more animals.
“Green Pets America – the leaders in eco green shelters. The future of animal welfare in America”
When something bad happens we all wonder why. Why me, why now? Truth is in life sometimes things just happen – and we never learn why.
Well I feel I’m one of the lucky ones. Something very terrible happened to me, but unlike most I found out why – and the why has been a life changer.
I started out, probably just like you, chasing the American Dream. I was fortunate to live in a time when the dream could be caught a little quicker and a bit easier. All you had to do was want it, persevere, work hard and take some risks. But if you did those things you would be rewarded.
Well I chased and eventually caught the dream. I had a loving wife, 4 great kids, a high level corporate career, a beautiful home, nice cars… all was well.
Then my world collapsed and the dream with it. One thing I learned is what we pursue in the outside world eventually changes. Nothing material lasts forever. But most important I learned that what you pursue on the inside; who you are, what ideals you believe in, what makes life really wonderful; even more wonderful that the American dream, is what’s inside of you. It’s our inside spiritual being that is real, more real than our outside.
So what does all this have to do with saving our shelter animals? It has everything. For if my world had not collapsed, had I not been told I had a few months to live….and then against all odds survive, gave me something else. Something better. The chance to see how valuable life is. Surviving death gave me a second chance and a new view on what life is about.
I have learned that we can achieve the impossible, that things can change for the better, and very quickly if Grace and fortune is with us. God and doctors gave me a second chance at life. With that new chance I want to give others a second chance as well. My purpose in life now is to give homeless shelter animals a second chance at life.
In America we believe in Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That reverence for life extends to all life; human and animal. Our companion animals love, serve and protect us. They deserve our love and protection in return. Today there is no longer a need to kill homeless shelter pets in America. We now know how to save them all.
I believe without a doubt that despite the fact that we kill 4 million pets in our Shelters in America…we can save them all. Facts are facts. We now have the ability, the experience, the money and everything else it takes to save all America’s healthy shelter animals. What are we waiting for?
Our new animal welfare book…How To Save Them All…is coming out in August. This book will share with you how you can be a part of the Green Pets America eco-green no-kill vision to save all of America s shelter animals. This book will show you exactly how to help your local animal shelter become a eco-green no kill shelter. And surprisingly it is not that hard. If you want to accomplish it and if you have hope and faith it can be done. It has been done the past few years in over 500 shelters across America. From big cities to small cities. From wealthy areas to poor areas. From urban areas to rural areas.
I was given a second chance; you have the opportunity to give yourself a second chance as well. You do not have to face death. You can start over today. You have a chance to do something remarkable with your life. And you have an opportunity to give every dog and cat sitting on death row a second chance at life.
Never lose hope. Every great achievement in America started with an idea and then hope and faith. Believe in the American Dream…believe in yourself…believe in something much bigger than yourself… and everything is possible.
Mexico City has passed a new law requiring that all dogs and cats be microchipped and sterilized. ‘Potentially dangerous’ dog permits will also be required for breeds considered aggressive; such as, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Mastiffs. Dogs permitted as “potentially dangerous’ cannot be walked in public without a muzzle, the Associated Press reports.
Mexico City pet owners, breeders and veterinarians are actively protesting the law which additionally mandates registration (licensing) of all cats and dogs, according to the Associated Press.
The Mexican Dog Fanciers Federation said the law was rushed through in early May without adequate consultation. Veterinarian group and breed clubs are arguing the law could endanger thousands of jobs at clinics, pet salons and breeding and training facilities by causing a sharp drop in pet numbers, according to HNGN.
The most controversial aspect of the law, of course, is the requirement that all pets must be sterilized. Mexico City, with nearly 9 million people, has a serious problem with strays, puppy mills, animal mistreatment and illegal pet sales, the AP reports.
The law is not yet formally enacted but is definitely designed to establish a new level of responsibility for animals and reflects a changing attitude that caused Mexico’s middle-class to spend $2.2 billion on pets in 2013.
The law also requires that collars are worn with visible ID tags, that dogs are leashed in public places; and adequate food, water and space is provided for owned pets, according to the AP.
Two other requirements designed to increase animal and public safety are that trainers cannot work with pets in public, and children under 14 will not be allowed to walk pets without an adult being present, the report states.
CULTURAL CHANGES IN MEXICO REGARDING PETS
An owned dog’s life in Mexico has traditionally consisted of days chained to the roof of the house, says Newsday.
Mexico has an estimated 20 million dogs or more, many of them roaming the streets hunting for food in the trash or spending their days shut up in apartments by owners who see them simply as living burglar alarms.
Last year, the problem gained international attention when authorities said five people had been killed by a pack of feral dogs in the Cerro de Estrella park in Iztapalapa, a poor eastern neighborhood of Mexico City.
LAW INTENDS TO ADDRESS PUPPY MILLS AND ILLEGAL SALES
“The decision to sterilize pets should be voluntary,” said Juan Luis Martinez, administrative director of the Mexican Dog Fanciers Federation.
Breeders who claim to be “legal” say the law violates an owner’s right to breed animals responsibly.
By forcing legitimate facilities out of business, puppy and kitten breeding in the hands of unscrupulous dealers who sell animals out of car trunks or from crates at street markets the AP reports.
Martinez told the AP that the law’s requirements, including fines from about $100 up to as much as $5,000, could encourage noncompliance and lead people to dump more animals in the street and parks.
What do you thinks about this. Should we consider it in America? ….Yes or No?
