Animal Community Center and LEED certification, it's a win-win

I've had a bit of a bumpy relationship with the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. I was a donor, then they started what I considered to be a really bad idea: horse and carriage rides at a local shopping center as a fundraiser. Having lived in NYC and seen how miserable carriage horses lives are, I thought it was both ironic and hypocritical for an animal welfare organization to rely on the labor of animals to raise funding.

To their absolute credit, the HSSV exhibited a true desire to engage in real dialog about the issue, and to really understand why I felt as I did (and withheld my contributions).

And after doing it for two years, they stopped...and told me that the arguments I raised influenced their decision. You can read more about the whole back and forth at any of these links.

And so I'm back donating again.

Meanwhile, they've opened a brand-new state-of-the-art animal care center and one of the construction goals of this new facility was to be the first animal welfare agency in the U.S. to receive LEED certification.

Some of the cool features include:

• A photovoltaic solar system to be installed on the building roof and carport, that will generate about 40-50% of the facility's needs
• Roofing material that reflects sunlight, and is designed to lower AC bills
• Just the way they placed and designed the building was deigned to leverage natural lighting!
• A kennel cleansing system which greatly reduces water use

There's a long list, and you can read more about the new Green Building here at the HSSV's site.

Some day I'm going to get myself out there to check it out. I have to wait until I think I can either a) resist the lure of a new kitten or b) have the time to actually get a new kitten and take proper care of her.

In the meantime, I'm watching what they're up to and nodding my approval from afar!

Comments

[michaleen]

It's very sad that your misinformed opinion impacted what they decided to do.

Our horses in NYC are not miserable - they are healthy, fit, and content, and lead purposeful lives.

Take jobs away from work horses, and they will cease to exist.

Your simple-minded thinking and wrong-headedness is anti-horse, not pro-horse.

And shame on the HS for buckling to stupidity.

[Elisa Camahort Page]

Suffice to say we will heartily disagree on this subject, and it sounds like you have a vested interest (with the reference to "our horses"). They serve a purpose *for you*, I agree.

And it's a shame you can't make an argument that doesn't rely on name-calling. Why don't you tell us all about the great things you do for "your horses" and tell us who certifies and regulates that you actually treat them as you say.

That's called making an argument, and it's one I'd be interested in seeing.

[michaleen]

Yes, I have a vested interest - and so does my horse.

My horse works for a living.

You want to take away his job.

Extrapolated, this means eradicating the need for horses like him to exist at all.

There is an epidemic of abandoned horses across the country is due to what is being called a “perfect storm” of a slow economy, highfeed prices, & recent national outlawing of slaughterhouses. This is a mammoth crisis - 1000s of horses being left to waste away in fields & paddocks, or surrendered to over-crowded rescues.

Closing down a business where horses lead content & exceedingly reasonable existences will only ADD to this problem.

A well-loved, cared-for horse with a job is a lucky horse.

Anybody hell-bent on putting carriages out of business should hop on down to the auction & buy a slaughter-bound horse and care for it for the rest of its natural life. That would actually be doing something to help the horses, not hurt them.

Your ersatz crusade was obviously a self-righteous vanity project, as you continue to preen over what you 'accomplished'.

Keyboard warriors don't buy and care for horses, groom them, feed them, provide vet & farrier care, retire them, or love them.

They only hamper those of who DO.

Congratulations on succeeding in that.

[michaleen]

BTW, there was no 'name calling' in my post. Please cite what you are referring to.

And in answer to your question about certification/regulation:

-The Dept of Health Bureau of Animal Affairs licenses the horse, requiring vet cert
-The Dept Consumer Affairs licenses the owner, the driver, and the vehicle
-The Parks Dept, NYPD, DOH, DOT, ASPCA, and DOC all have oversight and summonsing capabilities

If you need to be enlightened on anything else with regard to our business, please see my blog:

http://thewhiffletreenyc.blogspot.com/

[Grace]

I would 'resist the lure of a new kitten' UNTIL you can actually 'take proper care of it'.

It's not an A or B proposition, wouldn't you agree?

[Elisa Camahort Page]

re: name calling.

I don't typically try to make my case by calling people stupid, simple-minded, wrong-headed, self-righteous etc. It's not the way to win people over, generally speaking. Perhaps you've had good luck with that approach, I haven't.

On the other hand, thanks for providing the data about certification/regulation I requested. That is indeed a pretty effective way to debate the issue.

See the difference?

All I know is what I saw when I lived in NYC, and it was no utopian equine paradise.

Look, I certainly hope you are the exception to the rule and run a perfect busines, but I think the ASPCA says it all with this:

"As the primary enforcer of New York City's carriage horse laws—with firsthand knowledge of ongoing problems and violations—the ASPCA has concluded that neither our city's environment nor the current law can provide horses with the fundamental necessities to ensure their safety and well-being. We urge New Yorkers to help us put an end to our city's outdated carriage horse industry."

I know that whatever *they* say will, by definition, carry little weight with you, but it carries weight with me and a lot of other people.

[Elisa Camahort Page]

Grace, I think you're stating my point. I shouldn't go there until I'm ready to properly care for a new kitten. Yes, exactly.

My 20 year old amazing geriatric cat Samantha died a year ago December, 4 years after her 16 year old sibling Gabby died. I got them both as kittens at the NY ASPCA. They were with me my entire adult life to date, basically.

Not only do I feel like my lifestyle might not be right for a new kitten right now, but I'm not sure I am ready. but seeing kittens in the flesh would be very tempting indeed. Hence the staying away :)