Pet peeve, literally a peeve about pets!

[warpspeedpetey]

i saw a telethon in the area the other day for various pet charities, in the wealthiest parts of town they have adopt-a-pet centers in expensive retail store space, we have pet shelters scattered throughout the area where stray and unwanted animals are cared for, fed, watered, and kept warm.

but just last winter, they found a man who froze to death down town.

i cant help but to be angry that while that man froze to death, some animals had warm kennels, they had food and water, what did this son of G-d have?

someone please tell me why its ok to let a mentally, or physically ill man freeze to death while there are resources being used for stray animals?

PETA and like organisations are immoral, as long as one human being does without the necessities of human life, they are taking the bread from the mouths of people and giving it to animals

what can we do about it?

[Squishy]

Their are 1000 upon 1000s of churches that sit empty while people freeze to death on the streets. We could start a campain to allow people who are homless to live in churches ?

The tax free status of churches in america and other countrys? could be removed with those taxes going to pay for homless shelters and food.

What has sparked this for me is i see people homless in the citys near to where i live yet i continually see new churches being build that are shut and locked most of the time. Instead of bashing an innocent charity that people CHOOSE to donate to. Mabey look a bit closer to home with all the wealth that the catholic church and others like it have and distribute that to the homless people.

[zzz]

Originally Posted by Squishy

Their are 1000 upon 1000s of churches that sit empty while people freeze to death on the streets. We could start a campain to allow people who are homless to live in churches ?

The tax free status of churches in america and other countrys? could be removed with those taxes going to pay for homless shelters and food.

What has sparked this for me is i see people homless in the citys near to where i live yet i continually see new churches being build that are shut and locked most of the time. Instead of bashing an innocent charity that people CHOOSE to donate to. Mabey look a bit closer to home with all the wealth that the catholic church and others like it have and distribute that to the homless people.

VERY well said!!!

[limerick]

Street people tend to try to maintain some semblance of dignity despite their difficult situations. We do not have to ask permission to scoop a dog up off the street and take him to a shelter; sometimes human beings want to try to remain self-reliant even when faced with sickness or death. To force a person into a shelter against his will may be in his best interests physically, but perhaps not emotionally. We still all have the option to decide how to deal with our own personal economic failures. I would go to a shelter, but not everyone would.

Limerick

[Watchman]

Originally Posted by Squishy

Mabey look a bit closer to home with all the wealth that the catholic church and others like it have and distribute that to the homless people.

The Catholic church is one of, if not the largest charitable and relief organizations on the planet. Mabey you should look a bit closer before criticizing.

[jmcrae]

Originally Posted by Squishy

Their are 1000 upon 1000s of churches that sit empty while people freeze to death on the streets. We could start a campain to allow people who are homless to live in churches ?

The "Inn from the Cold" program already does this. Homeless people come to churches in the evening, are given supper and a bed on the floor of the church, and then sent away with breakfast and a sack lunch in the morning. Of course, it is only a band-aid solution. No one can live forever travelling from church to church, sleeping on the floor.

[jmcrae]

Originally Posted by warpspeedpetey

but just last winter, they found a man who froze to death down town.

i cant help but to be angry that while that man froze to death, some animals had warm kennels, they had food and water, what did this son of G-d have?

someone please tell me why its ok to let a mentally, or physically ill man freeze to death while there are resources being used for stray animals?

Obviously people are more important than animals, but at the same time, it can't be an "either/or" situation. Too many stray animals on the streets are also a health and safety hazard to people, as well.

PETA and like organisations are immoral, as long as one human being does without the necessities of human life, they are taking the bread from the mouths of people and giving it to animals

By that logic, anyone who adopts a pet instead of a child is sinning. I don't think so, though - we are called to care for each other, of course, but we are also called to care for the animals, too. There needs to be some kind of balance.

What I find strange is that, when we are having "boom" times, we have so many people living out on the streets, and some of them freezing to death, but when we go into a recession, for some reason we have fewer homeless people, and fewer people freezing to death. (I haven't heard of anyone freezing this year at all, but last year when we were all supposedly richer than God, several people froze to death out there.)

[Cristiano]

Originally Posted by zzz

VERY well said!!!

Have you opened your house to a stranger?

[Bananaslugmom]

Originally Posted by limerick

Street people tend to try to maintain some semblance of dignity despite their difficult situations. We do not have to ask permission to scoop a dog up off the street and take him to a shelter; sometimes human beings want to try to remain self-reliant even when faced with sickness or death. To force a person into a shelter against his will may be in his best interests physically, but perhaps not emotionally. We still all have the option to decide how to deal with our own personal economic failures. I would go to a shelter, but not everyone would.

Limerick

90% of the homeless are mentally incapacitated in one way or another. The trick is to get them help, keep them on their meds, and help them regain their dignity and place in society. This is much easier said than done. And while I agree that we have many churches that appear to sit empty at night, there is a lot more involved with a move like that. First of all with a Catholic church, reverance still needs to be maintained. At my current parish 5 nights out of 7 there are vaious organizations and groups, that are actively working with children and young adults. So there are safety issues to be considered as well.

When I lived in SD the parishes could participate in opening up their halls. Volunteers were recruited several weeks in advance to help with bedding, food, etc. Its quite an undertaking.

It is for all the reasons and more that I strive to teach the Corporal Works of Mercy to our young children in my CCD classes. There is no better way to show and share your faith than by living the Corporal Works of Mercy. Help can be given in so many ways and I think we need to start the young with the baby steps and show them how to live their faith through the various ministries of Catholic Social Justice. Only then can we begin to change the world and how we treat them.

Pray! Ask for the intercession of St. Dymphna ~ patron saint for those who suffer with depression and mental anxiety. And get involved ~ donate food all year long, donate blankets, donate 1 day a month at a soup kitchen. Others may see and follow the example. Change begins with you!!

[nicolep]

The original post is based on the premise that all pets are saved and no homeless people are saved. That's simply not true.

It's quite easy for me to take in a few foster cats every now and again. It's not easy for me to take in a homeless person. I give money to organizations that help homeless people (and help serve food and give clothing that I no longer need) while I provide care for various animals.

As a society, we could be doing more for people. I completely agree. However, saying that an organization is wrong for helping animals, especially PETA is treading on dangerous ground. I wonder how long the human race would survive if all of the animals and insects were obliterated? The rate we're going, it won't take too long for that to occur.

It's not as simple as helping people over animals because they are children of God. It needs to be balance (with the heaviest emphasis on people).

Honestly though, I see a lot more organizations helping people than animals. It depends on where one looks and what one is willing to see.

I also know that the homeless shelters in my city (there are three) usually stay empty. People go in to eat and leave afterwards. The animals are kept in pins to keep them from going outside. Do you suggest we do the same with people? Or do we let them choose?

[warpspeedpetey]

Originally Posted by Squishy

Their are 1000 upon 1000s of churches that sit empty while people freeze to death on the streets. We could start a campain to allow people who are homless to live in churches ?

The tax free status of churches in america and other countrys? could be removed with those taxes going to pay for homless shelters and food.

i like the idea of using churches to house the homeless, in fact we already do, we also deliver a great many social services through Catholic Charities, if you tax the church and give it to the poor, your just doing what the church already does.

What has sparked this for me is i see people homless in the citys near to where i live yet i continually see new churches being build that are shut and locked most of the time.

yeah, thats a good use of resources

Instead of bashing an innocent charity that people CHOOSE to donate to.

yeah im saying thats an immoral choice, its evil to feed and house strays, and not worry about the homeless

Mabey look a bit closer to home with all the wealth that the catholic church and others like it have and distribute that to the homless people.

we already do through Catholic Charities and other outreach programs.

so we did look closer to home. now we think other people should too.

[warpspeedpetey]

Originally Posted by limerick

Street people tend to try to maintain some semblance of dignity despite their difficult situations. We do not have to ask permission to scoop a dog up off the street and take him to a shelter; sometimes human beings want to try to remain self-reliant even when faced with sickness or death. To force a person into a shelter against his will may be in his best interests physically, but perhaps not emotionally. We still all have the option to decide how to deal with our own personal economic failures. I would go to a shelter, but not everyone would.

Limerick

sure, your right, but the resources to house and feed that dog, should first go to the poor and homeless, whether they choose to use a shelter or not, they still need food, clothes, blankets, personal items, etc.

[warpspeedpetey]

sorry, but i grew up in the country, a stray should just be put down if you cant find the owner.

i know some people wont like the idea, i dont mean to offend, but i ate the first calf i ever raised, sentimentailty for animals doesn't mean much to me. yes, even for my personal pets

i dont agree with that, adopting a pet isn't a straight trade off with adopting a child.

until every person is cared for, animals shouldn't be taking the resources we could use to feed a child in africa

i havent heard that myself, housing rates vary with the economy. i dont know of anything that would be countercyclical to that.

[jmcrae]

Originally Posted by warpspeedpetey

i havent heard that myself, housing rates vary with the economy. i dont know of anything that would be countercyclical to that.

I think it's probably because people hear all kinds of wild stories about the boom here, and arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs, thinking they're going to get a job right away. It doesn't really work like that, though. But when the hype is over, they stop coming - and stop living on the streets and freezing to death.

I suppose they move on to Vancouver from here.

[warpspeedpetey]

Originally Posted by nicolep

The original post is based on the premise that all pets are saved and no homeless people are saved. That's simply not true.

well, i meant more in the vein of all resouces used for animals, should be used for people, until all the people are takin' care of, its immoral to donate to animal charities

It's quite easy for me to take in a few foster cats every now and again. It's not easy for me to take in a homeless person. I give money to organizations that help homeless people (and help serve food and give clothing that I no longer need) while I provide care for various animals.

taking in animals as pets is not bad, but donating money to an animal charity while people charities need it is what i mean.

As a society, we could be doing more for people. I completely agree. However, saying that an organization is wrong for helping animals, especially PETA is treading on dangerous ground. I wonder how long the human race would survive if all of the animals and insects were obliterated? The rate we're going, it won't take too long for that to occur.

im not talking about being anti -enviro, im talking about the money used for animal charities

It's not as simple as helping people over animals because they are children of God. It needs to be balance (with the heaviest emphasis on people).

wheres the line?

Honestly though, I see a lot more organizations helping people than animals. It depends on where one looks and what one is willing to see.

I also know that the homeless shelters in my city (there are three) usually stay empty. People go in to eat and leave afterwards. The animals are kept in pins to keep them from going outside. Do you suggest we do the same with people? Or do we let them choose?

neither, just if you give money to peta that you could give to save the children, your committing an immoral act