Dogfighting - dog fighting is a bigger problem than Michael Vick

Press Release - Please help us get the word out!

This Press Release is in memory of the animals tortured and slaughtered in dog fighting. As personally satisfying as it would be to spay and neuter Michael Vick (with no anesthesia), we prefer to teach people how animals SHOULD BE TREATED, and what a blessing they are in our lives. Thanks for reading it and passing it on. ~ Nancy Cronk at www.Animal Chaplains.com.

Press Release August 22, 2007

"Animal Chaplains To Honor and Bless All Creatures on World Animal Day"

~ from the Interfaith Association of Animal Clergy

While Americans have watched in horror as celebrity athlete Michael Vick admits being a willling participant in one of the cruelest, most horrific crimes against animals ever committed, America needs an emotional healing. That day is World Animal Day.

In what will look like a scene from the popular family movie, "Evan Almighty", scores of Animal Chaplains around the world will bless hundreds, perhaps thousands of animals in many different settings on October 4th 2007. At a pet cemetery on the east coast, to a city park in the desert, to a sandy beach on the west coast, they will walk in on a leash, fly in on a harness, and slither in their cages. Barking, mewing, bleating, mooing, whinnying and purring will join human voices in hymns of praise and worship. World Animal Day is a day dedicated to honoring, blessing, and protecting animals all over the world.

World Animal Day was founded at an ecologist's convention in Florence, Italy in 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October 4th was chosen as World Animal Day because it is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic Church holiday which is often celebrated with an annual "blessing of the pets". Since then, it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and has been widely celebrated around the world. Churches and synagogues in many faiths traditions have adopted "Pet Blessing Day" or "World Animal Day" in increasing numbers every year.

The Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains prepares for World Animal Day by referring its members and visitors to the official World Animal Day website. The site provides ideas and resources to individuals, families, community groups and congregations everywhere. People can post their pledge for volunteering at a World Animal Day event. In addition to blessing pets, volunteers will work at animal shelters, zoos, rescues, and other nonprofit organizations. Dogs will be walked, cats will be brushed, horses will be groomed, and fish will benefit from freshly cleaned tanks. Donations will be given to animal welfare agencies, and pets will be adopted. School children will collect pet food to be donated to charities, and bake sales and car washes will be held as fundraising events. Veterinary clinics will hold free spay and neuter days, or may offer to vaccinate pets at no charge. All over the world, on the very same day, the well-being of animals will be on the minds of millions of people.

Interfaith Chaplain Nancy Cronk feels a day honoring animals is very important at a time when the headlines speak of animal cruelty such as athlete Michael Vick's alleged ties to illegal dog fighting. Animal Chaplains would like everyone to know that every major faith endorses the responsible stewardship of the earth and all of its creatures. "Animals are sentient beings. They feel pain, and suffer. Deliberate harming of animals is in direct opposition to teachings in all of the major world faiths. Caring for animals is our global spiritual responsibility. If we can teach this ethic to all of our children, animal abuse and suffering will someday become a distant memory".

To find out how to get involved on World Animal Day, go to www.WorldAnimalDay.org.uk. To find out more about Animal Chaplains, go to www.AnimalChaplains.com.

(This article may be reprinted.)

Nancy J. Cronk

Founder, Chair and Chaplain

Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains

www.AnimalChaplains.com

Email: AnimalClergy@aol.com

Michael Vick will get a year of jail, and all of his dogs got "life". Where is the justice in dog fighting laws? Where has our humanity gone? Who will protect our innocent children and the creatures we love?

A horrible life - this little pup did not ask to be born into the world of dog fighting.

In a culture where dogfighting is overlooked, tolerated or ignored - innocent pups are

kept and raised to be vicious killers. Who are the winners, and who are the losers?

Killed by a vicious pit bull.

Victim of dog fighting.

Killed by a vicious pit bull.

Killed by a vicious pit bull. Cats and other smaller animals are often picked up or stolen to be used as bait for training vicious behaviors by dog fighting criminals.

Killed by a vicious pit bull.

Born to be loved, or born to be tortured, and trained to fight for it's life?

Victim of dog fighting.

Killed by a vicious pit bull.

This boy was attacked by a vicious pit bull.

Victim of dog fighting.

Pit bulls are born to love and be loved, like any other dog. Sick humans teach them to fight, and to kill. Who is the winner, and who is the loser?

And thousands more victims, both human and animal - may they finally be at peace. Our work is dedicated in their memory.

Every major world faith teaches us to be responsible stewards

of the Earth and all its creatures.

Each great faith teaches us to love animals and to be kind to sentient beings. Why aren't we teaching this to our children? How can we let these things continue? How many more must die before each one of us does something about it? What if the victim was YOU or someone YOU love?

Prayer for Animals

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,

especially for animals who are suffering;

for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;

for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;

for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;

for all that must be put death.

We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.

Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals, and so to

share the blessings of the merciful.

~ Albert Schweitzer

HELP US FIGHT THE CULTURE OF DOG FIGHTING AND ANIMAL ABUSE. HERE IS HOW:

Animal Chaplains provide spiritual leadership in regard to our responsibility toward animals and people. Animal Chaplains contribute to our communities in a variety of ways - we may give sermons, write articles, write books, deliver public speeches, run animal non-profit groups, counsel bereaved animal companions, take prayer requests, provide memorial services, teach animal ministry courses, and much more.

To become an Animal Chaplain, click here.

To contribute to our work, click here.

God bless you, those you love, and all of the sentient creatures on this Earth!

If you are theologically opposed to dogfighting, sign our petition by enteriing your info in the guest book here. Thank-you!

"According to a Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes were responsible for 65% of the canine caused human homicides that occurred during a period of 24 years in the USA. (Clifton, Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to November 13, 2006; click here to read it.)" From www.dogbite.law.com

For more information about the cruel realities of dogfighting, go to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at www.aspca.org.

For an article on what happens to the dogs after they are discovered, which mentions Animal Chaplain Karen Cohen, please click here.

Victim of pit bull attack

begs for harsher laws from his hospital bed.

This little boy was attacked by a pit bull.

“Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath, man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”—Ecclesiastes 3:19-21