I received a mass emailing that came from a group called Change.org that expressed a call to action to sign a petition that it was critical for eBay to cease carrying dogs in their classified section. Here are some of the statements in that mass emailing:

A few years ago, eBay had plans to sell animals via online auction. Responsible breeders would never sell dogs via online auction, so this would have resulted in the site becoming a haven for puppy mills. eBay users and anti-cruelty activists spearheaded — and won — the fight to prevent eBay from selling live animals.

Despite eBay’s claims that it “do[es] not condone unethical treatment of animals,” eBay now allows puppy mills to sell dogs in its classified section.

This practice enables flagrant cruelty to dogs, and it has to stop. Tell eBay to shut down its sales of cruelly treated puppies and all live animals.

Puppy mill dogs spend their entire lives in small wire cages, without companionship, and often without vet care, exercise or shelter from the elements. As far as puppy mill owners are concerned, the dogs have one purpose: to supply the pet trade.

The USDA recently admitted that they’ve failed to effectively monitor commercial breeders and puppy mills. When it comes to sites like eBay Classifieds, it’s even worse: Breeders who sell directly to customers online aren’t subject to any USDA regulations.

To learn more about this situation, I turned to the Humane Society of the United States which has a Puppy Mill Campaign division and stays on top of legislation and practices around the issue of mass production and sales of puppies to the public. As is so often the case, there is a gray area in a topic that might at first glance seem to be black or white. My contact at HSUS replied:

The Humane Society of the United States
700 Professional Drive  Gaithersburg, MD 20879
humanesociety.org

The Humane Society of the United States has had a good working relationship with eBay, as an auction site, over the year. While they have not always agreed or acquiesced to our concerns about their business in relation to animals, we have always had high-level access to discuss those issues, and they have resulted in some good outcomes, such as eBay’s banning sales of any ivory in the US, and a decision by eBay/Korea’s auction site to stop selling pets.

eBay, as an auction site, does not allow the sale of live animals in the US, primarily because they support the idea that shipping animals from one part of the country to another can be problematic for the animals. A few years ago, someone at eBay floated the idea of changing that policy, but it was killed, in part because of our input.

A couple of years ago eBay bought an on-line classified site, kijiji.com, which has since become eBay Classifieds. When they first started up, we reached out to them and urged them not to sell pets, citing the disconnect with eBay/US’s long-standing policy against auctioning live animals. However, they believed selling pets through the classified section was different because classified sales were local, and the shipping hazards wouldn’t apply. We talked to them about the problem of having ads on their site from bad breeders and puppy mills, issues with “free to good home” ads, etc. It soon became clear that, for a lot of reasons, they weren’t going to drop the pets category.

At some point, they came back to us with a proposal for us to post information on their site, to tell people about puppy mills, point to info on adoption and choosing a good breeder, etc. While our preference would be that they didn’t sell animals at all, we decided to work with them for several reasons, starting with the reality that there was virtually no chance that eBay Classifieds would, at least at this point, stop selling pets, and that even if they did, it wouldn’t eliminate on-line classified pet listings. Someone else would just pick up those ads. Since eBay Classifieds had the largest share of the market, we reasoned that it was the best chance to reach the majority of classified ad buyers with a warning message. In addition, eBay Classifieds asked us to help educate them and their staff about what to look for in puppy mill ads, and have been responsive to our requests to drop specific ads or sellers when we can provide specific evidence of a seller’s problematic history. They are also trying to get more shelters to advertise animals up for adoption.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t continue to encourage them to change their policy, but we believe we will have better success with eBay on all animal issues by continuing frank and open dialog, and open channels of access to the people there who can make decisions that benefit animals, even though we recognize we won’t always win the argument.

We recognize that there would be great symbolic value to eBay stepping away from selling pets through eBay Classifieds. But the fact remains that eliminating pets from eBay would not eliminate online pet classifieds, just move them to other sites, and sites which would likely be less responsive to messaging about pets, adoptions, puppy mills, etc. For years, before the Internet, shelters around the country, and The HSUS, tried to get newspapers not to advertise pets for sale, to no avail. Unfortunately, classified ad sales of pets isn’t new, the emphasis has just moved from print to ether.

This warning, which links to our responsible pet buyer tips, is displayed whenever you open a puppy ad on Ebay:

Important Safety Warning: Please take care when buying and selling animals. Learn more about responsible pet ownership and adoption. Avoid fraud by meeting all sellers in-person to pay for items. eBay Classifieds does not offer any transaction or payment services. Stay safe – read our safety tips.

Of course, we always recommend that anyone getting a pet consider adoption as the first option.

Do not be confused by emails urging you to buy those cute pet postage stamps from the USPS which claims the stamps raise money to feed shelter pets. No money goes to shelter animals — the stamps are simply a way to raise awareness of the need for more pet adoptions.

I have been receiving many mass e-mailings of the following email message which is incorrect:

“Starting April 30th you can buy stamps at the post office that help to buy food for shelter pets. You can pre-order them online. I think this would be a great thing to spread around. Could you please forward to your contacts? Please help spread the word!!!”

These stamps DO NOT help buy anything for shelter pets. I have gotten this message repeatedly and I can see it is “going viral” — I find it extremely misleading and want to tell you that purchasing the USPS’s very cute stamps does not trigger any donations. HALO is sending food to shelters.

One of my favorite website sponsors, HALO Purely for Pets, is the unsung partner in this postage stamp offering. Ellen Degeneres is part of the campaign to raise awareness of how many adoptable pets there are in shelters but it is HALO — the company she co-owns — which is the one working to actually feed shelter pets. HALO is going to donate 1 million meals to shelter animals with the social networking participation (not monetary donations) of the public — but it is NOT connected to the pet stamps. To find out more and how you can join in the campaign, go to

http://www.halopets.com/help

–Tracie Hotchner

It was a really emotional night on CAT CHAT® — a breed rescuer got a surprise $1,000 donation of food (i.e., Dinner Party and treats) from HALO — which I had no idea about! On an impulse I had asked Mary to call into the show. She runs a German Wire-haired Pointer rescue in Olathe Kansas (www.GWPRescue.com) and we had become pen pals.  I wanted her to explain what breed rescuers do and what happens to breeding dogs in puppy mills — she had written me about the emaciated, past-starvation dogs that have come in from puppy mills and abuse situations and how she needs to restore their health with good nutrition. I had gotten in touch with the Vice President, Marketing Communications of HALO Purely for Pets (one of my website sponsors and the company that makes the kibble my dogs eat) and asked if there was any discount for rescues and shelters to get HALO. Lo and behold there is!! (all you have to do is call 800-426-4256 and they will give a 35% discount to shelters and rescues). So I invited him on the show so he and Mary could meet on the air. She and I were both amazed because after the three of us had been talking for a little while David from Halo suddenly said that HALO was going to donate $1,000 worth of Liv-a-Little freeze-dried salmon treats and Dinner Party to Mary’s rescue!  She wrote in afterward:

Tracie and David,

Oh my goodness I am still shaking!

I cannot find words to express my appreciation and what a tremendous gift you have given our organization. I told my group I was speechless, (which was hard for them to believe) I was so touched I could hardly speak. Tracie, it was such an honor to be on your show.  David is right that you were the passionate force caring for the animals that put us together! Such a true Blessing! And we are forever grateful to both of you!

Our dogs come from extreme circumstances, and as I said seven out of ten come into our care in horrific condition. We will be looking at the same type of situation with the puppy mill dogs we are expecting from South Dakota as we did with the puppy mill babies in Missouri three months ago. We are so excited to have this opportunity to give our puppies/dogs a good diet, and build up their suppressed immune systems.

I will get the food ordered tomorrow… we certainly cannot tell you how this will help us in the coming days. There are no words to express what we are going into. When we went to the puppy mill bust in Missouri in May, I hyperventilated at the sight and smell which made me physically ill. The mothers and babies were locked in a complete darkness in a grain silo where they kept them. Some were so thin their systems could not ingest or digest food. But having the HALO donation will be one less stress for us to deal with, and we will distribute the food between foster homes.

This means so much…

Thank you, Thank you!!!!

You are too kind — I am only a bridge connecting people — and privileged to be one. My gift is having been there to witness The Moment of connection.  Mary you and your group are the ones doing the real heavy lifting — we are just cheering from the sidelines. Day in and day out you climb into the trenches and take in dogs who have been taken to the brink of ruin and you reincarnate them, in a literal and spiritual sense.

How thrilling for me to be associated with a company that shares my admiration of your dedication and my desire to support you in any way possible. You have earned it, believe me, and it’s an honor to help you.

I got this nice note from Kori, who came on DOG TALK® to discuss her wonderful new family business of transporting pets from shelters where their days are numbered to those that can give them a chance at a second home. Kori is also FEMA certified so I am introducing her to my friends at HSUS and ASPCA so that they can turn to her for extra help the next time disaster strikes and affects our pets, or for helping transport dogs from puppy mills that are shut down by the efforts of these great animal care organizations. And remember — if you need to have your dog or cat driven anywhere, the Kents will do the trip in their own van “Anywhere Pets Go.”

Dear Tracie,

I’m sorry that I have not written to you any sooner, but I wanted to sincerely thank you for  our interview on your radio show.  You sincerely put me at ease, and helped me talk about everything that I felt was most important.

As far as my business, things are starting to pick up locally which as I said before will help us to be able to stay afloat and be able to begin doing our long distance transports before you know it.  I am really happy at how things are coming along and I have found a new sense of sureness that everything will work out just fine for my company despite the state of the economy.  So again, thank you, as I really enjoyed speaking with you.  I hope you will think of me in the future for another interview, as I really did enjoy this one that much.  This was my second radio interview ever, and the other person did not put me at ease the way you did.  You are a FANTASTIC host and I wish you all the best.   Keep up the good work, as you are really doing a lot for the animal community.

Kori Kent
Anywhere Pets Go
www.anywherepetsgo.com
(716)684-6667

When I was recently on Martha’s TV show I was celebrating some of the purebred cats so people could learn more about them. The first cat we saw was Martha’s own newly-adopted Himalayan, Sir Frost. I want to clear up any misunderstanding about the other cats: they were all privately-owned by wonderful listeners to CAT CHAT® who took a whole day of their lives to have their beauties spotlighted. But my listeners know that I urge everyone to consider adopting as their first resource for adding a cat to their lives, especially because at least 1/3 of all cats in the shelter are purebreds. So you get the look and temperament you might want, while saving a life and being part of the solution, not the problem. Here are a couple of interchanges I had on this topic:

FROM RICH: Why would you introduce purebred cats when there are so many homeless cats that need homes? Push for adoption, not breeding of more cats. This is also the case for dogs so we can put an end to puppy mills. Thanks for listening.

I WROTE BACK TO RICH: If you ever had a chance to listen to me on CAT CHAT® on Martha’s channel of Sirius/XM you would know that I am all about adoption and rehoming and NOT giving your pets up for adoption when you encounter problems. Maybe you didn’t see the whole segment of my visiting Martha on her show? Martha explained that she just adopted her new cat Frost and his sister Snow from the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) at age 10, making it clear that adoption is the way to go, even with elderly pets. If you have a chance to look at my website TracieHotchner.com you’ll see that I support rescues and shelters across the country, some that are cats-only, and my book THE CAT BIBLE makes it clear that at least 30% of all animals at shelters are purebred, so that’s the first place to go when looking for a new pet. My work with the Humane Society of the Untied States to educate about the horrors of pet store and puppy mills is well known, so please spend some time getting to know who I am so you can call me on the air and share in my efforts. Thanks for caring about the animals.

I GOT THIS SWEET REPLY FROM RICH: Hi Tracie. I stand corrected. Thank you. I really didn’t know much about you, only little tidbits that I have seen here and there. In the future I definitely will make myself more familiar with the whole story before I open my big mouth. Thank you for taking the time to tell me about yourself, and [your] love for animals. The dogs and cats need all the help they can get. Thanks again.  Rich

SO I WROTE HIM ONE MORE TIME: Dear Rich – What a kind note and don’t apologize for having a “big mouth,” the animals need us to make a lot of noise for them! I would much rather have you mistake my intentions so I can clear it up than have you not care enough to find a way to contact me. From my perspective, your question was one worth asking, because I always tells people to Question Authority, even mine! Your gentlemanly response showed who you are.

Tracie