ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide. Founded in 1992, ANIMAL PEOPLE has no alignment or affiliation with any other entity.

 

This site built and maintained by: GREANVILLE ASSOCIATESand CRESCENT COMMUNICATIONS •Rev. 12.1.05 Copyright ANIMAL PEOPLE, INC. 1992--2006

 

 

 

 

 
   

 
powered by FreeFind

ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: January/February 2008

Obituaries

 


Perry Fina, 59, died on January 6, 2008 in New Milford, Connecticut, after a long fight with cancer. A former U.S. Navy Seal who served three tours in Vietnam, Fina upon leaving the Navy became an animal behaviorist. He and his wife Linda operated Hearthstone Kennels in New Milford for 29 years. North Shore Animal League president John Stevenson hired Fina as an animal training consultant in 1993. Fina joined North Shore fulltime in 1995 as director of special adoptions, training animals as companions for disabled people. He became director of operations in 1997, director of corporate development in 2003, vice president of national shelter outreach in 2006, and vice president of planned giving in 2007. Recalled North Shore in a memorial statement, "Ever the gentleman, Perry was renowned for his distinctive voice. At many League events, his was the 'Voice of God' that magically filled the room. Perry Fina devoted his energy, his mind, and above all his heart, to a vision of a better world for companion animals." Fina was also noted for his deadpan sense of humor, and was especially remembered for his leadership on September 11, 2001, when he saw the two hijacked aircraft hit the World Trade Center on his way to work. Among the last commuters to cross the Whitestone bridge before it was closed, Fina bunked for the duration of the crisis at the North Shore shelter, with other staff, who followed a disaster plan previously practiced during severe snow storms. By sundown North Shore had a mobile unit at Pier 40, near the World Trade Center, assisting the rescue dogs and pets stranded in the area. Fina also supervised distributing a temporary excess of donated food to other shelters throughout the regioe.

 

Murdaugh Madden, 85, died in Washington D.C. on January 13, 2008. Recalled longtime Massachusetts SPCA attorney Robert cummings, "Murdaugh was a legal advisor to the Humane society of the U.S. from shortly after its organization until his death. He was a member of the board of one of the two organizations which merged to form the World Society for the Protection of Animals in 1981, was one of the original WSPA board members, and remained on the board until his retirement 10 years ago."

 

Christina Winzer, 29, suddenly collapsed and died of an unknown cause on January 11, 2008 at the Los Angeles Depart-ment of Animal Services' San Pedro shelter. Winzer headed the shelter's community outreach and adoption program,. She previously worked for the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey, California. Winzer left sons Trevor, 7, and Daniel, 5

 

Vishwant Kumar, 65, founder of the Sai Animal Welfare Ashram in Mehrauli, a New Delhi suburb, and Shivraj, 35, the ashram caretaker, were found dead of poisoning on December 21, 2007, along with eight of the 60 dogs at the ashram. Kumar was reportedly involved in a dispute over ownership of the ashram land. "There is also the angle of people asking him to move with his dogs," Friendicoes SECA shelter and hospital founder Geeta Seshamani told ANIMAL PEOPLE. "His son would like to continue his good work but can't manage it himself, so he has turned to a few regular volunteers. The moment we all got the news," Seshamani added, [People for Animals founder] Maneka Gandhi offered to take all the dogs to her shelter at PfA Sadrana, and Friendicoes as well as the Sonadi Trust and Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre sent their vehicles and personnel to help out." Mrs. Gandhi told ANIMAL PEOPLE that she had known Kumar for more than 40 years.

 

Gwendolyn T. Britt, 66, died unexpectedly in Lanham, Maryland on January 12, 2008 of an unknown cause. A longtime civil rights activist, Britt was elected to the Maryland state senate in 2002. Recalled Humane Society Legislative Fund president Mike Markarian, "She was the main sponsor of two animal protection bills last year, seeking to ban gestation crates in factory farming and ban the use of steel-jawed leghold traps and wire neck snares for recreational trapping and commerce in fur pelts. Before her death, she was preparing to introduce a bill in the 2008 session to require labeling fur apparel, to protect consumers from being deceived into buying animal fur falsely advertised as 'faux,' and was planning to introduce a bill to ban force-feeding ducks and geese in order to fatten their livers to make foie gras."


William Deterer, 73, remembered by Baltimore Sun reporter Ruma Kumar as "a once-avid hunter who turned into a wildlife advocate and co-founded a bird and animal rescue center with his wife," died of heart failure on December 26, 2007 in Baltimore. Employed for 31 years at a meatpacking plant, Deterer quit hunting when he married his wife Gerda Reuss in 1984, after a 21-year-friendship, and in 1990 helped her to start Wild Bird Rescue, now called Wildlife Rescue Inc. The organization now handles about 3,500 animals per year, working in cooperatin with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Zoo, National Aquarium, and Carrie Murray Nature Center.

 

G.K. Vishwanath, 53, died on January 2, 2008 in Bangalore, India, from injuries suffered on November 10, 2007 when he was trampled by a wild elephant he was trying to keep from following two tame elephants into the Bannerghatta Biological Park public recreation area. A 15-year employee of the Karnataka Forest Department, Vishawanath had been assistant director of animal husbandry and veterinary services at Bannerghatta since 2005, following 13 years at the Tyavarekoppa Tiger Lion Safari in Shimoga. Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur had honored Vishawanath for his contributions to wildlife on October 15, 2007. Recalled Pablo Tachil, who heads the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action wildlife rehabilitation center at Bannerghatta, "He was a good friend and mentor--someone I looked up to."


Samuel Leonard, 101, died on November 11, 2007 in Ithaca, New York. A longtime Cornell University professor, Leonard discovered through a rat study in 1931 that estrogen can prevent pregnancy. This discovery was the basis of the modern pharmacological birth control industry, and of the pregnant mares urine industry, the original commercial source of estrogen and still a major supplier..