After reading Gladys Haak's Letter to the Editor in the Galveston County Daily News and our announcement below (as a result of said letter) regarding the cancellation of our fundraiser and our boycott of Haak Vineyards & Winery, we are hopeful that everyone will let the Haaks know they will no longer patronize their business either through the below contact link or by regular mail.

It would be very hypocritical for any animal welfare organization to support this way of thinking or this type of behavior.

Haak Winery's Contact Page

Haak Winery
6310 Avenue T
Santa Fe, Texas 77510

Regarding Gladys S. Haak's letter to the editor published April 22, 2007 titled, What Has Happened to Our Animal Priorities?

First let me say that I cannot remember ever reading a letter so full of hooey in my life, especially since it was written by someone considered to be a pillar of our community! While I do not consider this matter funny in the least, I do feel the letter is totally laughable.

Mrs. Haak's depiction of her four-year-old daughter being savagely attacked by a feral cat who would not let go was ridiculously sensationalized.

Cats who have never known the love and protection of a human simply survive the best way they know how. They become known as feral (a word I have seen used loosely and incorrectly as of late). These cats simply do not attack people unless backed into a corner and they must fight their way to freedom; something any of us would do in the same situation.

Let me also say it is a complete farce that feral (or stray) cats cannot be domesticated. I take exception to that statement and have proven it time and again. As a matter of fact, one sleeps on my pillow every night.

If Mrs. Haak's story would have been about a stray dog, it would have been much more believable. Dogs forced into the same situation as the cats in question can certainly stalk and attack; feral (or stray) cats do no such thing.

While I am deeply sorry for Mrs. Haak’s little girl being bitten (cat bites can be very nasty), I do not buy the way it happened. Most likely, the little girl (who should have been supervised to begin with), tried to approach the cat and it was looking for a way out. Sadly, it ended up being through this innocent child.

It was hard enough to read Mrs. Haak publicly announce her desire to send money to the legal defense fund of Jim Stevenson who has been indicted for killing domestic life but, to tell the world that she and her husband dug a deep hole and then killed at least ten cats was more than I could bear.

These animals were put on the street by us (mankind). They are not wild animals; they are domestic house cats. We owe them more than this.

Shame on anyone with the same thought process as we all read in Mrs. Haak's letter.

Our third annual major fundraiser, "Wine with Whiskerville" slated for June 2, 2007 at the Haak Winery has been cancelled. This decision put our organization in a major bind. However, we cannot patronize someone who kills the very creation we are expected to provide for and protect.

Anyone wishing to help offset our expenses and support our efforts to rehabilitate and re-home countless cats and dogs Mrs. Haak would describe as feral by donating may do so through our web site, www.whiskerville.org or by calling (409) 948-1112.

Wydell Dixon
Whiskerville Animal Sanctuary, Inc.