Letter to the Editor: The hypocrisy of some animal lovers

Dear Editor,
I write with a pained heart to expose the hypocrisy of some of the so-called humanitarian organizations which claim they love animals and look out for their well-being. I write against the backdrop of the vitriolic, caustic and downright hateful remarks made by some in that community against a certain artiste who posted a Facebook post in which he was seen burning an already dead dog. The comments against his life were atrocious and hateful to say the least. But on to my own story.
A few days ago, I discovered that a stray cat had delivered a kindle of kittens in my yard. There were three kittens in the kindle, and the mother had disappeared abandoning her kittens. Two of the kindle were healthy kittens and one was lame with some kind of injury to both of its hind legs. Due to the fact that I am a cancer survivor, who is allergic to pet dander, I immediately called the Humane Society to have them keep the kittens until some cat lover could adopt them.
I did not realize that I would be met with so much stone-walling and excuses from ALL the organizations that claim to love animals, some seemingly loving animals more than people based on their hateful comments on that Facebook post.
The Humane Society initially indicated that they were full and could not keep the kittens, so I would have to keep them until they had space. The Dogs and Cats of Antigua also had an excuse: they had had a ring worm outbreak at their facility and could not keep them. The PAAWS stated that they were full and did not do that sort of thing but I could put up a picture on their Facebook page to see if someone would adopt them.
Of course, not one of these organizations took into consideration: a) these were stray kittens, not mine; b) I am allergic to pet dander and therefore could not keep the kindle; and c) their organizations touted their love and care for animals.
Eventually the two healthy kittens disappeared. During the interim, my daughter decided to feed and take care of the sick kitten. Every couple of seconds, we could hear that kitten cry out in pain and anguish. It was in desperate need of some attention. I again tried the Humane Society and was, at this point, assured that the kitten would be taken in once we got someone to treat its legs.
I called the Ark Veterinary Clinic for assistance and explained my situation. I was told that I would have to pay for the care of the kitten and that they did not have space to keep it after treatment. Treatment they said could cost upward of $500. I then called Pioneer Kennels seeking some assistance in that regard. They were happy to help and asked me to bring the kitten. When we got to Pioneer Kennels, a very kind young lady, I believe she was the receptionist, sought to call the Humane Society just to ensure that some space would be provided once they had treated the injuries. However, the HS representative, once again stated quite coldly that they had no room in the Inn and that what they had originally told me was that they would “put down” all the kittens. I was appalled as I would never have agreed to that since the other two kittens had been healthy. What was more isthat they said that this would require a donation. Ridiculous!
Eventually, seeing that no resolution would be reached on the future of this kitten, the young lady at Pioneer Kennels told me that based on the state of the animal they would have to “put it down” humanely.
I am simply writing to recount my very unpleasant, unhelpful, heartless and very cold contact with these organizations that publicly claim to “love” animals over people. The fact of the matter is that they feign public outrage over the burning of a dead dog but, off the social media platform, have no place in their hearts for kittens that were alive. Had Pioneer Kennels not offered their assistance and had my daughter and I not been so taken up with the well-being of this kitten, it would have died a very painful inhumane death.
My sincere appreciation to Dr. Radcliffe Robbins and his staff at Pioneer Kennels for their
kind assistance. Kudos to you!
Jacqui