???Who to give money to???

[furtech]

Although I give generously to a number of worthwhile charities every year, the Katrina situation has just overwhelmed me. Seeing dead and suffering people is horrible; there are not words to describe my feelings when they show the animals that had to be abandoned in the evacuation. You've probably seen the footage, so I won't recap. Priority is given to humans in disasters like this. I don't argue with that. At least can think and plan and have thumbs; wild animals survive or not (just a part of nature). But pets...whether it's a dog or a cat or bird or snake or even an insect: they depend on us. The situation is so huge that I know many will perish in terrible ways, with owners-- especially those who thought they would be back in just a few days-- suffering terrible guilt and anguish.

I want to make donations, but I want to money to go to the organization that would make the best use of the money (things are tight all over). I looked up the HSUS (Humane Society) and ASPCA and discovered that they're being run by PETA-like loonies. A former mucky-muck of the HSUS (Michael Fox) is the one who said that the life of an ant is equal to the life of a child and that the term pet "owner" was offensive. A former president of the ASPCA (Roger Caras) was another extremist in his views of eating meat and animal rights, as well as pulling in a huge salary.

So who do I give money to? Who would make best use of it? People-wise it's a no-brainer: the Red Cross (they don't always spend efficiently, but damn-- they're right there on the spot!) and the Salvation Army (huge organization, low salaries and color-blind).

But animals? I wish there was a way to give it to local organizations who generally spend the money more efficiently. Maybe, in this case I should ignore the extremist ideologies of the ASPCA or HSUS and just send them money if they're on the job?!?

All suggestions and opinions are welcomed...and I'll make my own decisions. But sooner is better than later!