Dan Christensen, whose SD property was raided and whose dogs were seized one year ago under an illegal warrant, has not gone away quietly:
Now he’s filed a $5 million lawsuit in federal court against Second Chance Rescue Center, the Humane Society of the United States and Turner County, including several officials.
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In the court papers, Christensen says those agencies took his dogs illegally. He was then charged with 173 counts of inhumane treatment of animals, all of which were dropped after a judge ruled the search warrants Second Chance used to get on the property were obtained illegally.
If HSUS ends up paying any money to Mr. Christensen – either by court order or as an out of court settlement – do they dip into the donor pot for that cash? If so, is it disclosed to potential HSUS donors that their money may be used to settle lawsuits after HSUS illegally raids someone’s home and seizes their dogs? (How do you work that into the glossy donation form with the adorable puppy pictures?)
That’s an interesting question. Hopefully we’ll find out soon! I wonder who foots the bill if an organization like the PSPCA (that is partially donor funded and partially government funded) does the same thing?
Maybe they have a slush fund for screw ups.
“If HSUS ends up paying any money to Mr. Christensen – either by court order or as an out of court settlement – do they dip into the donor pot for that cash?”
Yes, of course. NPO’s regularly do this.
“If so, is it disclosed to potential HSUS donors that their money may be used to settle lawsuits after HSUS illegally raids someone’s home and seizes their dogs?”
ROTFL. It’ll get a little footnote in their financial statements. That’s all. HOPEFULLY, it will at least make major news outlet headlines.
This seems to becoming a trend to seize breeders animals and distort the truth with colorful adjectives “deplorable etc” to gain the support of the public & their pocket. The general public does not understand what the goals of the Hsus are. There is something wrong just in the way the terms raids & seizures are used if it was about caring for animals it would be about assisting & educating
A trend that started around, what, 1960? It’s just become a lot bigger business since around 1999.
I wonder if Christensen can request some compensation specifically for helping out other victims of the HSUS?
They probably carry insurance for exactly this.
Though some extremely large organizations “self-insure.”
With the size of their bank account, it would make no sense to pay an outside agency for their insurance. They would be better off putting money in a fund and letting it draw interest.
Not that I want them to survive, mind you. The HSUS should be jailed en masse.
Thumbs up to the owner. High time someone took on HSUS before they wipe out our pets and farm animals.
By the way, I’m past sick and tired of animal radicals being behind my hearing daily many times on tv that “vegetarian diets promote health and prevent cancer”. Excuse me for interjecting reality, but what killed truth in advertising? Isn’t it time to bring it back as there’s no proof to this idiotic claim?
what other “pot” is there?
deplorable, horrific, unsanitary, filthy, dust covered, knee deep in feces, urine burned, need a mask to enter, dental disease, parasite ridden, mud covered, cramped, caged, one a scale of one to ten TEN…stacked, the worst I have ever seen.HOARDER. etc.. and so it goes.. the lexicon of dog stealers is growing by leaps and bounds..
Watched the video of the initial raid – or at least the part that was released to the press.
The released section tends to be a montage of the worst shots they’ve found. Rotting limbs, puppies covered in feces, emaciated dogs, open sores, etc.
I saw nothing of the sort. Is it the type of breeder I would purchase from? No. I prefer my puppies to be born underfoot, not in a converted barn. But the place looked clean, the animals looked in good spirits and well fed.
The only thing the foster mom would say about illness was parasites and a bladder issue. In 172 dogs you’re likely to find parasites. Even if the animals were receiving frequent deworming treatments, recontamination is so simple – all it takes is a flea.
A bladder issue? Likely to be easily overlooked in a kennel situation (early warning signs include increased frequency of urination – not something likely to be noticed) although if we’re talking bloody urine type bladder problems, it’s another ballgame.
But the fact that an internal disorder and some parasites were the worst ills she could come up with? Sounds extra fishy to me. Add to that – the HSUS initially claimed that on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst) these animals were kept in conditions that would score a NINE.
Funny, how such horrid conditions produced so little incriminating video tape, huh?
Kim said, “…although if we’re talking bloody urine type bladder problems, it’s another ballgame.”
Why? I’ve seen it in a friend’s puppy. The vet put it on antibiotic that weren’t working so the owner took him off of them. He began adding water to the puppy food everyday and the problem disappeared. Just because there’s an illness doesn’t mean it needs a vet and it blood can show up quickly. Same is true for ear infections and the like. I never had doctors for my kids and they’re all fine, two are in their twenties. Giving the body time to heal shouldn’t be a crime. I say it makes good sense and that drugs are causing lots of problems.
Just to add – also noticed that no one else is talking about the condition of the dogs either. If we were dealing with a situation here that truly rated a nine, don’t you think you would have found pictures of this on your latest HSUS pledge drive leaflet?
I bought a puppy from Dan Christensen back in 2007. He (“Gus”) came to us on the airplane in a brand new crate well prepared for travel with all his shot records in tow. He didn’t have any parasites or issue of any kind. He is a happy, slightly insane typical shorthair. I just recently came across all theses articles about Dan because we were thinking about getting another dog from him.
Has anyone heard what happened to Dan’s case against Second Chance? I saw a headline from a Sioux Falls newpaper (didn’t want to pay for the full article), that Second Chance there was closing it’s doors!