No pets should have been "adopted" to anyone - the human tragedy of the storm would only be compounded by finding out that your pet had been given away by its "rescuers".

But every person who wanted to adopt an animal that was in any distress, should have been allowed to foster it for three months and if not claimed within that period, a legally watertight fostering agreement becomes an adoption agreement.

Insisting that you be allowed to pick out a fluffy white dog because you've donated $25,000 is unreasonable and of course HSUS couldn't start selling lost property to the highest bidder. At least, not with the eyes of the nation upon you.

The description of the posh conditions for VIPs is familiar. While animals suffer and die alone and unheeded (except by desperate volunteers who are deliberately prevented from relieving their suffering), the money sent for them is spent by the human employees on fancy meals and hotels and travel and huge salaries and awards dinners for themselves. This is standard behaviour for the big, successful players in the animal welfare biz. For saying so, the BC SPCA is suing AAS.