Letters needed:Animals get love, abused kids get cold shoulder

[Guest guest]

We need to write to both the editor of the Sun-Sentinel and the author of this article, Michael Mayo, to set things straight, about this issue. We have always been accused of loving animals/hating people. We now have a chance to help set the record straight.

 

>>And then drop me a line, just to let me know kids have vocal supporters, too.<<

Please let him know, that children have more supporters than he could ever imagine!

 

Our letters need to stress the connection between animal and human abuse/cruelty and the fact that in order to cut down on crimes against people, we have to start at the root of the problem, animal cruelty. People responding to crimes against animals, is a response to crimes against humans! We can't do anything about the death of the child mentioned in the article, but we can work to try to stop another child from falling prey to the same fate and we can only do that, if people listen and react to animal cruelty. The links below are all about this connection. You can use quotes from them, or even include the link to one, or all three in your letter. If you have a link that stresses these facts, please use it. Keep your letters as short as possible. Most importantly, be respectful and polite. Thanks, Rita

 

http://www.cfhs.ca/humaneeducator/HE2000-1/he00-1p1.htm

 

http://www.animalsvoice.com/PAGES/invest/randour.html

 

http://www.vospca.org/archive/abuse.html

PLEASE CROSSPOST. Thanks!

-

 

l0veas0ne

Tuesday, June 01, 2004 5:40 AM

[stopNightmareDogIndustries] Animals get love, abused kids get cold shoulder

 

Another step backwards for the animal rights movement.Letter to Editor: Web email form:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-letterseditor,0,4645389.customform---------------------------http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-mayo23may23,0,7194225.column?coll=sfla-news-col Animals get love, abused kids get cold shoulderMichael MayoMay 23, 2004Tony Soprano feels more for little ducks that quack than the people he whacks.In a way, TV's favorite mob boss is like many of us.We shrug our shoulders at man's inhumanity to man. But give us a

story about something cute and furry, or the way humans mistreat animals, and the floodgates open.And so it was last week. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel published a fascinating series investigating the dark side of the marine theme park industry and its adorable dolphins, whales and sea lions. Also in the news: the horrible death of 3-year-old Angel Hope Herrera, allegedly at the hands of a mother who spent her childhood being abused while the state was supposed to be protecting her.Do you really have to ask which got the bigger response?Readers by the score called and wrote about the marine mammals. Herrera's death didn't provoke one letter to the editor or any reader calls to the reporters who covered it."Now I feel bad," said Ursula Landsman of Pompano Beach, who responded to the marine series with a heartfelt e-mail. "I didn't mean to imply that I care more about Lolita than kids. Š But this is a real soft spot with me."Sally Kestin, the

investigative reporter who spent eight months on the marine park series, isn't surprised about the disparity. Kestin once covered Florida's dysfunctional child welfare system for the paper. She recalls doing horrific stories about abuse cases and getting a handful of calls. Two years ago, she did a series on dogs and cats being euthanized at animal shelters and got more than 500 responses.And then there's the reporter who did a series on homelessness and a week later asked the letters editor how much response it generated. Nothing. Then she did a story about a cat needing a home and got 38 phone calls.Karen Lacov, 43, of Pembroke Pines said she called to praise the marine series because, "It just touched a nerve."She is a vegan with five cats, someone who has contributed to animal rights groups in the past. She said this was the first time she responded to something in the paper.But why for animals and not people?"Because the animals can't

speak for themselves," Lacov said. "If they could speak and had a choice, I don't think they'd want to be performing tricks for people. I think they'd rather be at sea, in their natural habitat."As for Herrera's death, she said: "That happens a lot. You see stories like that almost every day in the paper, so you become more desensitized to it. And when you read some of the background you think, `She's not really worthy of being a mother.'"It's against this backdrop that people such as Andrea Moore try to make a difference. She is a child welfare attorney who serves on the board of Florida's Children First!, a nonprofit advocacy group that fights for the rights of at-risk children, especially those in foster care."What people tell me is that they're almost paralyzed, that they don't know what they can do," Moore said. "When they read things in the paper it's almost too overwhelming. They don't realize that a few moments of their time can make a big difference

in some of these kids' lives."Things such as serving as a tutor, mentor, surrogate parent volunteer in the school system or as a guardian ad litem for foster children in legal proceedings. Things that require only a few hours a week or month.Moore said only 40 percent of children who need guardians ad litem in Broward County are covered."The most important thing for some of these children is to see that someone outside the system cares about them," Moore said. "Somebody who treats them as a person and an individual, not a case."Saving the whales and adopting a kitty is all well and good, but doing something to help an at-risk child might feel even better. If you're interested in becoming a guardian ad litem, call Patty Walker at 954-831-6214. And then drop me a line, just to let me know kids have vocal supporters, too.Michael Mayo can be reached at

mmayo or 954-356-4508. 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Messenger