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There's a man who lives
in eastern Appalachian Kentucky who's not a whole lot like you
and me. You say that you care about animals--that you believe in
animal welfare and the right of animals to live a life free of pain,
suffering and fear? Well, I'm quite sure that you do.
However, just how much are you personally able or willing to give up
to address all of those concerns? Unfortunately, most people
because of previous commitments, families and work, find it difficult
to spare even a very few minutes of time. Some people try to do
the best they can by writing a couple of letters, some people gather
together periodically to carry signs and protest--some may even talk
to others with the hope that they can do more than they are able to do
themselves. However, the man I'm talking about--the man who has
practically single-handedly changed the course of history insofar as
animal welfare in Kentucky--is a very simple, dedicated man--a man who
has personally written Kentucky's governors, the commissioner of
agriculture, the attorney general and every single state legislator at
least three times in the past five years. As a matter of fact,
this man is the only person in the 212-year history of the
Commonwealth to have made an open records request to each and every
one of Kentucky's 120 counties--all with the intention of obtaining
and analyzing the records of those individual counties to determine
whether or not they were in compliance with Kentucky's animal welfare
laws. And, when he found out that many of the counties had less
than humane animal control programs and shelters--his organization,
The Trixie Foundation--filed the largest class-action lawsuit of its
kind ever filed in the state--against 397 Kentucky politicians, which
included the commissioner of agriculture, 70 county judge-executives,
and over 300 county magistrates and commissioners. The outcome
of the lawsuit? In the winter of 2003, the Kentucky General
Assembly passed legislation ending the barbaric practice of
euthanizing unwanted shelter animals by gunshot--and, giving the
counties just two years within which to comply with the new minimum
animal shelter standards. Absolutely incredible--people
statewide were simply ecstatic! Moreover, even the older,
well-established national animal welfare organizations (who themselves
could have helped, but didn't) were amazed at what he had
accomplished--practically all by himself!
By
now, you might be asking yourself, "Who in the world is this person?
Why have I never heard of him or The Trixie Foundation before?"
Let me tell you something--several years back, this very same man
humbly told me about receiving a letter from an aged, elderly woman.
In the letter she wrote, "You are proof that God sent angels to live
amongst us." You know, I don't know about you, but I personally
can't help but believe that this is "the man" and "the organization"
that truly deserves and needs our help and financial support.
Oh, by the way--the "name" of the man? Randy Skaggs. . . .
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