Did You Know? Only 1% of Your HSUS Donation Goes To Animal Shelters

We’ve all seen them. Those pitiable pictures of dirty, skeletal dogs and cats. Or TV ads, usually with a celebrity spokesperson, pleading for funds to help starving, homeless and brutalized pets.

Here’s the thing, just how much of your hard-earned cash actually helps those animals?

There’s a site, humanewatch.org, that devotes itself to tracking the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). David Martosko is its creator and operator who writes frequent, straightforward and often times pithy exposes of HSUS.

Of note is a recent article that discusses a poll wherein 7 out of 10 Americans stated they believe HSUS is affiliated with thousands of humane societies around the country. Not so! Even more startling is Mr. Martosko’s accounting of just how very, very little of your generosity actually benefits the animals to whose welfare you doubtless believe you are contributing.

While I don’t endorse this site (I simply don’t know enough about it at this time), I have no reason to doubt Mr. Martosko’s apparently thorough research and I do suggest that you take a look for yourselves. More to the point, if you plan to give some of your hard-earned cash to any charitable organization, do your due diligence first. Make use of Charity Navigator and Charity Watch to find your charity’s rating and be sure you understand how the companies are rated.

Better yet, why not stick with local organizations where you can actually walk in the door and ask for information? And best of all, give a little of your time as well. You’re far more likely to learn where the money goes when you take a hands-on approach.

“Many years ago when an adored dog died, a great friend, a bishop, said to me, “You must always remember that, as far as the Bible is concerned, God only threw the humans out of Paradise” ~ Unknown