SPAY, NEUTER ETC.

Please let the school hear your concerns.
For the kittens,
Ulla

Ulla Pedersen
kindredspiritsnm@earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.


----- Original Message -----
From: Catherine Sloan Cunningham
To: Ulla Pedersen
Sent: 7/25/2006 2:47:01 PM
Subject: SHAMEFUL: oppose the death penalty, spay and neuter your cats and dogs


To the editor:
From their website: "Character counts at Gonzales Elementary - expectation is that all staff and students model and practice the six pillars of character; respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, citizenship, caring and fairness."
Posted on their West Alameda school marquee today: FREE KITTENS 690-3595. When we found out the five kittens were all given away, we said we hoped they would now alter the responsible cat/s. He said he thought his wife had done it and she thought he had done it.
While it may seem better to given them away than flush the litter down the toilet or let them go free, some people use giveaway pets as bait to train fighting dogs, sacrifice for satanic rituals, malicious pranks, a free kitten to set on fire or insert a firecracker into, to breed indiscriminately. Please, don't offer your pets FREE, unless you just don't care what happens to them.
My opinion is it is more important to teach children responsibility to animals than to bring more surplus pets into the world. According to the American Humane Association, within seven years, one female cat (and her offspring) can produce 420,000 cats.
Staff and volunteers of shelters. humane societies, animal control, and rescue groups work never-ending hours to save pets from the horrors of abuse and homelessness. Be a role-model for your children. Spaying or neutering is the single most important thing you can do to prevent animal cruelty. You personally can make a difference. Educate your children.
I submit offering free kittens from the Gonzales Elementary School marquee is not only using gross poor judgement, but a shameful misuse of school district property. Five kittens have gone to homes unaltered - you do the math.

I respectfully suggest a proper conviction for the guilty would be to organize an all school, mandatory gathering for students and their parents and invite the Humane Education volunteers from the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society who will be able to talk about overpopulation and the ramifications to the community and environment. Wouldn't it be a responsible, caring citizen to contact the people given the kittens and get them altered now.
Nettie Wilson
Santa Fe NM USA
505-501-3721
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