Is it bad form to suggest that bringing strays all the way from Iraq to the United States is not the most efficient use of resources? I hope not. Because since Operation Baghdad Pups was launched in 2007, I've sometimes thought about how saving dogs from a war zone, a place where humans are barely surviving, verged on the absurd. In any case, I'd stopped thinking about it––until today, when the New York Times reported that one of the Iragi dogs brought to the U.S. last June by Operation Baghdad Pups was, belatedly, found to have rabies. This, not long after the U.S. triumphantly declared the canine rabies virus eliminated. The pup in question, a sweet-looking Lab-mix called Crusader has been put down, and the Center for Disease Control has now launched an investigation, searching for animals or humans who may have been in contact with Crusader. What a sad mess.
2 comments:
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Operation Baghdad Pups (OBP)is a subdivision of SPCA International a 501(c)(3) non profit with revenues of over $500,000 a year.
Dogs brought in through the OBP already have homes. They probably are shipped in cargo on regular planes and so costs involving the dogs are minimal.
People just love to give generously to just this type of charity--in other words, these particular dogs are the "money shot".
$$$ donated DOES NOT necessarily go towards teh OBP program. As it says on the site donations are used to:
"To further the mission of SPCA International to stop euthanizing adoptable and healthy animals. The outcomes of this program will be maintaining the human/animal bond and a reduction in surrendered animals."
Large dog charities are businesses that are run by real business people. While they may love and help animals, they also like cars and houses and those sorts of normal things that salaries provide. OBP brings in money.
Btw, SPCA International is not rated by Charity Navigator (a charity watchdog) yet since it is a fairly new charity.
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