VET SPEAKS UP

To the Editor: Ms. Saffran calls me "extremist" and "fanatic" (Letters, Oct. 2). Let me set the record straight. Since graduating at the top of my Harvard undergraduate and my Cornell veterinary school classes, I have served as a consultant for cruelty case investigations on behalf of shelters and law officers. With the New York State Humane Association, I teach seminars on cruelty case investigations to law and animal control officers, and for my work in this area I received awards from the New York State Troopers, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the U.S., to name a few. I am a contributing author to publications on cruelty investigations and was the sole author for Good Housekeeping's "Ask the Vet" column. Because of my expertise in urban carriage horse conditions, I have been retained to assist in regulating or banning these tourist attractions in 15 municipalities and two states, and was retained to revise the protective codes for urban carriage horses in Philadelphia, where the practice is done humanely. I lecture annually to veterinary schools (e.g. Cornell, Tufts and the University of Pennsylvania), serving as a mentor for students. John Lowe, DVM, was hired by New York's carriage horse industry in 1989 to testify against local law 89 that gave carriage horses additional protection from their arduous lives. Without doing thorough examinations on all horses, he was again retained recently to give the "thumbs up" on their conditions. He serves the equine industry rather than welfare, in my opinion, like the American Association of Equine Practitioners, which promotes horse slaughter rather than humane disposition of unwanted equines. New York State Troopers do not give awards to fanatics, but rather to those who tirelessly give their time and expertise to uphold our state's laws. Holly Cheever, DVM Vice President, New York State Humane Association Member, Leadership Council of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.