QUOTE from Woody:
They support companion animals but prefer those animals come from shelters, they educate people about pet store dogs, they support euthanasia shelters, they support spaying and neutering for pet owners, they advocate against tying out dogs, they are against cat declawing...these are not lunatic liberal positions, whether you agree with these points or not (I happen to agree with all these points). END
I happen to agree with these positions too. And I accept that slaughter animals will always be bred and raised for food, but I will never accept that inhumane conditions and slaughter, and a life of misery, terror, pain, even agony, is acceptable just because they are born to be eaten.
What I don't agree with are terrorism tactics (which I do realize are the products of an extremist faction), the idea that dogs trained for SchH, sled-pulling, and other sports are abused (that is, that there is abuse inherent in the training and the actual competitions), and also some beliefs that in my own opinion may be generated by a skewed view of animals as furry humans (oversimplified, I know).
So while I consider myself an activist for the humane treatment of companion, farm, service, wild, and slaughter animals, I am careful which orgs I support and work for.
I want to add one other point that it took me a while to really "get." No-kill shelters can be a source of misery, IMO. Now that I know about shelter-crazed dogs, I have a slightly different view of no-kill shelters. Many mean "no-kill except for animals that canNOT be placed," but not all of them do......... and that's a very gray area for me.
And now I have contributed to hijacking Jeff's thread, and I apologize.
QUOTE:
I really have not had enough incedents during training over the last however many years to take notice. Spastic puppies on the tug account for all but one of my injuries as far as a bite is concerned. I have hurt my back catching really fast dogs, my knees from all the torqing that occurs from the bungee work, and the occasional dog that hits the kneecap area on entry.
I don't know too many people that have been hurt from a bite. How about everyone else? END QUOTE (excerpt from Jeff's O.P.)