Winograd on Pit Bull Meeting: "The Dogs Lost Almost Everything"

Update, 4/10/09: Optimism has returned. Please see the following post--"Best Friends: New Collaboration with HSUS to Save Pit Bulls."

Remember my optimism in the post "HSUS Issues Interim Policy on Individual Evaluation of Rescued Dogs"? You know, the optimism in statements such as this one--"I believe that organizations as well as people can change course, and there is a possibility for change here, on this issue"? It's gone. And given what Nathan Winograd is reporting from the meeting referenced in that post, I can't help but wonder if there was ever any plan to open true dialogue or to really reconsider the kill-em-all position that I (and so many others) lamented after the Wilkes County deaths (my posts in response were here and here). Was the announcement of the interim policy and of the plan to discuss the issue further at this meeting merely an effort to quiet the outrage of all the people who were horrified--vocally horrified (and promising to withhold future donations)--at the Wilkes County killings? I'll be interested to see what others present at the meeting report, but for now, here's what Winograd reports in "Pit Bulls Go Bust in Las Vegas":

The long awaited meeting in Las Vegas has occurred. And the dogs lost almost everything. No doubt it will be spun as constructive dialog and no doubt that some groups will claim victory. But from the dogs’ perspective, it is a tragic reaffirmation that HSUS is incapable of leadership and should no longer be viewed as such.

According to Wayne Pacelle and HSUS, No Kill advocates are the ones harming these dogs because No Kill rhetoric undermines their ability to stop dog fighting. According to Pacelle and his team, law enforcement will not want to get involved if they are going to be asked to treat the dogs humanely.

HSUS also refused to commit resources to help save the dogs (saying No Kill advocates were harming their ability to raise funds to do so), refused to revisit their dog fighting law enforcement manual which recommends that all dogs be killed, refused to back down from their statement that these dogs have an “unstoppable desire to fight,” refused to back down from their belief that we can’t save these dogs and that we shouldn’t really try because it isn’t fair to other dogs at the shelter, and basically reaffirmed the HSUS position that if dog lovers just shut up and let them quietly kill these dogs, they can continue to fight dog fighting. . . .

See the rest of Nathan's post for more of his take on the meeting and the situation in general.

Photo: Best Friends Animal Society