Scraps & Treats

The Humane Society of Indianapolis recently announced the election of five new members to its board of directors. Those elected were Kate Flock, of Flock Real Estate Group, Otto Frenzel IV, civic leader and former banker, Byron Mason of Baker & Daniels LLP, Martha Plager of Doncaster Women’s Apparel, and Jim Rodefeld, a family businessman and civic leader in Richmond, IN. “We are really excited to have some local leaders in the ommunity join the board of the Humane Society of Indianapolis,” says CEO Martha Boden. The newly-elected board members will serve three-year terms. The Humane Society of Indianapolis has served Central Indiana for the past 100 years and last year more than 5,000 animals brought to the Humane Society were placed in homes thanks to the help of its volunteers and civic leaders. For more information visit www.IndyHumane.org.

 

Move over Great Wall of China, you’ve got competition. Angered by the number of unwanted dogs put to death each year in her native Ireland, artist Mary O’Connor has decided to take matters into her own hands. She’s created the Million Dog Wall Project to take a stance against euthanasia and pet overpopulation. O’Connor is asking people all over the world to upload a digital pic of their dog and email it to her website for the cost of $1 (or whatever is affordable). Once she hits the million dog mark, she plans to use the donations to print out a giant photograph of the pooches and display it in all capital cities around the world to show how important pets are to their people. So far, hundreds have sent in photos. For more information visit www.MaryPOconnor.com/dogwall.html or email dogs@marypoconnor.com.

 

Recent legislation across the U.S. has animal advocates smiling. Lawmakers in Maine made history in March when they enacted a first-in-the-nation law that allows judges to include pets in protection orders for spouses and partners leaving abusive relationships. Growing evidence of the link between domestic violence and animal abuse fueled the decision. In Santa Clara County California, an ordinance passed that calls for adding the word “guardian” to any reference to people with pets in county documents (the term is now pet “owner/guardian”). In making such a change, Santa Clara County joins other U.S. cities including Boulder, Berkeley, West Hollywood, and the state of Rhode Island. County supervisors are hoping the wording change will be part of an overall education program ultimately reducing
the number of stray and abandoned animals in the county. And finally, in Chicago, the City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits the sale of foie gras, a culinary “delicacy” made by the inhumane factory farming practice of force-feeding ducks or geese to create a diseased, fattened liver. According to HSUS, Chicago joins California and more than a dozen countries—including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland—in taking legislative action on the issue of foie gras and cruel force-feeding practices.