Is PetPac Really
Working for Animals?

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about an organization called PetPac, which describes itself as a grassroots organization protecting the rights of pets and owners. Their main focus seems to be lobbying for and against pet legislation.

Since I’ve always thought that any chance of winning the battle against animal abuse would come through compassionate pet laws, I was very optimistic when I first heard about this group.

But then I did some research and found several things that lead me to question PetPac’s true motives. In fact, the more I dig, the more I’m convinced they may actually be hurting the pets they claim to be protecting.

Here are some of the red flags that make me very suspicious of this group. Further down the page you’ll see detailed information on everything I have found so far.

• Founded and Funded by Breeders.
  
  
• Lobbies Against Legislation Meant to Help Pets.
  
  
• Believes Pets Should Remain Property.
  
  
• Founder, Bill Hemby, associated with two other charities being sued. In one case, he is also named as a defendant for a number of charges.
  
  
• Fellow associate, Kelley Moran, also has a questionable history and worked with the same charity has Hemby.
  
  
• Non-Profit Created as a Source of Income?
  

I certainly don’t believe that all breeders are bad, but when it comes to animal rights legislation; their concerns rarely even come close to matching those of animal advocates.

But then I started reading the actual bills and my anger turned to puzzlement. Most of the bills they lobby against don’t contain anything that would threaten responsible pet owners. Here are a couple of the recent California bills they actively campaigned against:

AB 241 (Also known as the Responsible Breeder Act)
AB 241 would make it a misdemeanor for anyone to have more than fifty intact adult dogs or cats. Excluded are animal shelters, veterinary and research facilities. Fifty intact adults plus their offspring is still a heck of a lot of dogs to care for, so why would any animal lover or reputable breeder fight this bill?

AB 1122
AB 1122 would make it a misdemeanor (with increasing fines for repeat offenders) to sell or give away any live animal on a street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk. It makes exceptions for shelters, pet shows, 4H and FFA clubs, etc.

Reputable breeders don’t need to sell their puppies on a street corner, so again, I don’t understand why anyone except back yard breeders or puppy millers would be against this bill.
Both AB 241 and AB 1122 passed the California Senate but were vetoed when they reached Governor Schwarzenegger’s office. He issued this statement on AB 241:

"I am returning Assembly Bill 241 without my signature. This... measure simply goes too far in an attempt to address the serious problem of puppy mills. An arbitrary cap on the number of animals any entity can possess throughout the state will not end unlawful, inhumane breeding practices. Instead this measure has the potential to criminalize the lawful activities of reputable breeders, pet stores, kennels, and charitable organizations engaged in raising service and assistance dogs. For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill."

Apparently Governor Schwarzenegger feels protecting the status quo for breeders is more important than putting an end to puppy mills. Sadly, PetPac is proud to have been one of the strongest opponents of these bills.

PetPac claims that animal rights extremists are threatening our right to own pets. Unfortunately, they use this alleged threat as a scare tactic to con animal lovers into joining their fight against pet legislation.

The truth is that most animal rights members have their own pets and could never imagine a life without them. They work hard trying to protect animals from abuse and neglect.

By contrast, the only thing PetPac seems to be protecting is the idea that pets are property to be used as their owners see fit.

In fact, if you read their pet owner's bill of rights, the entire document centers around an owner's right to make all decisions regarding their property.

As an animal advocate, I believe it is wrong to think of pets as property. Yes, they do belong to us, but only in the same way that kids belong to their parents. They are not inanimate objects to be used, abused and discarded at will, and it's about time we finally have humane laws to reflect this.

Before starting PetPac, Bill Hemby was already associated with two other charity organizations that are being sued for allegedly taking donations and not using the money as promised.

Hemby is reported to be a director of LEAP (Law Enforcement Apprenticeship Program) and a director of governmental affairs for COPS (California Organization of Police and Sheriffs).

According to this article, he is also named as a defendant for his involvement with LEAP for a number of charges including filing and distributing false and incomplete records, failing to disclose expenditures, preparing false returns, failing to provide services, failing to maintain adequate books and records and a claim that funds were illegally distributed.

Hemby may very well be cleared of these charges, but there seems to be a pattern here that is too serious to ignore.

Kelley Moran, is listed as PetPac's Campaign Director and he also owns the political consulting firm, Moran & Associates. He shares a bit of history with Bill Hemby as he too worked for the COPS charity as a Political Affairs Director.

He also owns the COPS Voter Guide, that sends slate mailers with political endorsements to citizens. Interestingly enough, in spite of its name, the voter guide is no longer actually supported by law enforcement.

Accusations have been made that the COPS voter guide sells endorsements to the highest bidder. In another strange twist it turns out that the voter guide may also have taken money from both sides of an issue that is supposed to be close to Kelley Moran's heart.

Moran is the National Director for Yes on Gay Marriage and according to this article, he even married his same-sex partner of 16 years.

Allegedly, while actively campaigning for Yes on Gay Marriage, his voter guide may also have accepted money from a group pushing YES on 8 which strongly opposes gay marriage.

If that's true, it may not be illegal, but it doesn't say a whole lot for his moral character either.

Honestly, it seems like Bill Hemby and Kelley Moran have quite a history working with charities, so I have to wonder if PetPac isn't just another creative business endeavor.

In fact, they may have actually found the perfect way to make money. After all, LEAP and COPS attracted unwanted attention when people started noticing that maybe the donations weren't actually being spent as promised.

But what if a non-profit is a political lobbying organization with no promises to spend donations in any particular way?

You could easily set up a charity, pay yourself a salary and hire friends as political consultants, strategists or anything else you might legally be able to explain.

Add in an emotional subject like pets and the money is practically guaranteed to roll in.

Unfortunately, this new found windfall may be at the expense of the very animals those donations are supposed to be saving.

However, I was able to find information at Guidestar.com. Guidestar provides free charity information when available, but you do have to register first.

According to their 2008 IRS Form 990, $424,648 was received from the public, with a big chunk of the money used for Hemby's salary ($72,500), website services ($51,949) and legislative services ($57,693). Another category, contributor contacts ($119,434), could cover a multitude of expenses that would be hard to dispute.

While there's nothing glaringly dishonest about the way the money was spent, it is interesting to note that Kelley Moran is the Campaign Director, his business Moran & Associates is credited for online strategy and he's also listed as a partner with the website design company, Plus Three.

It certainly makes you wonder how much of those donation dollars are ending up in the pockets of Hemby and Moran.

When it comes to giving away my hard earned money, I prefer donating to local animal rescues. Most shelters are run by volunteers or barely-paid employees, and it's a great feeling knowing your money is actually being used to take care of the animals.

Return from PetPac to Home Page