The Missouri Connection

* * * UPDATE * * *

Spidey was troubled by the fact that Karen Aquino directed a Missouri shelter, but resided in Pittsburg which is north of Joplin and just west of the Missouri/Kansas border. Your web crawler wanted to make sure that this was one and the same person. Yes, the address was the same for the home listing and for the registrant of the Jopline Humane Society website a/k/a the  Joplin Adoption and Resource Center (AARC) on 140 E. Emperor Lane. Another source verified that she is indeed the director. In fact, according to that bit of news, the AARC often reaches out to the "4-States community."  I am not sure exactly which four, but Missouri is bordered by 8 states.

The white pages search revealed a listing for W.R. Aquino with one Karen L. Dixon in the household. During the interview, Karen told the reporter that "I've been in this field for 27 years now. . . I come from New Jersey where I was president of the NJ Animal Welfare Federation, on the Governor's Task Force, NJ shelter and animal regulations committee, president of the animal legislative committee and have worked on the HSUS shelter team who are brought in to evaluate and advise shelters on proper shelter management, fundraising, animal husbandry and board structure, etc."  JEEPERS!

Well well well. Things are certainly falling into place now! Lo and Behold Karen Dixon-Aquino is the Chief Executive of the Animal Welfare Association, Inc. (AWA) in Voorhees, NJ. The Director is Susan Cosby.  She was Executive Director of the Animal Welfare Association was a past Chief Operating Officer at Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association and  is also currently the CEO of the Pennsylvania SPCA.  Oh, really???  It's a small world after all.

Many of our readers will be familiar with another well known director of the AWA - Bob Baker. Baker, the self-proclaimed "top puppy mill investigator in the country," has worn many hats in his day including Field Investigator for the Humane Farming Association, the director of Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and Field Services for the SPCA, Chief Investigator for HSUS and VP of CAPS - the Companion Animal Society.

This sticky web is out to trap all kinds of animal owners. It also explains why animal rights campaigns have been ramped up in Missouri and the states surrounding it. Even Kansas, smack dab in the middle of the United States - 82,277 sq mi of mostly rural Heartland - is under attack. Radical animal rights activist, Jason Miller of Bite Club of Kansas City, is leading the way with a vengeance. Miller is also press officer for the Animal Liberation Front Press and a darling of the Negotiation is Over website.

While he and his posse grab the headlines, other groups also work relentlessly to target breeders and animals owners. The KC Citizens for Canine Causes at puppymillprisoners org (Stephanie Henshaw 913-221-3662) is notorious for picketing Petland stores. In 2008 and 2009, a HSUS investigation tracked back pet store puppies to their source and suggested that many of them were coming from large-scale puppy mills. And their website has a prominent link to CAPS  which is the Companion Animal Protection Society.

Who is on the CAPS Advisory Board?

Kathy McKee - Animal Advocates of Arizona 

Darlena DeBartolo King of California (Northern - Bay Area)

Ena Fisher, California (Northern - Sacramento) HSUS Animals and Religion, All for Dogs 

Junior Pulayya in Florida - Florida A&M Animal Law School

Josh Colvin -Iowa Operations Manager/Cruelty Intervention Coordinator at Animal Rescue League of Iowa

 Jan Price, Kansas SCARS - Second Chance Animal Refuge Society in Auburn

Nancy Minion, Co-founder and President of Second Chance Animal Rescue, Minnesota

John Maher, Attorney at Law New York City Animal Law Coalition 

Libby Williams , Founder and President, New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse (NJCAPSA), in New Jersey;

Mary O’Connor-Shaver, Founder and Director of Ban Ohio Dog Auctions 

Ruth Steinberger - Oklahoma Coordinator for Oklahoma Alliance for Animals

Randy Turner, Attorney at Law, Texas

Ida McCarthy Illinois

and Ann Olson Minnesota.

Whew.  We are sure to revisit this web in the near future and add many more details.  I just wanted to share what I've found so far.  We need to keep a close eye on these people.  If you have more information you want me to add to A&N, just give me the facts!