Date
April 28, 2005

Contact
Patricia Haight, Ph.D. – 480-394-0578

Elliot Katz, DVM – 415-388-9641


In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley
CA 94941

IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.

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IDA TO AWARD TOP HONOR TO ARIZONA’S TOUGH ON CRIME SHERIFF
In Defense of Animals to present Sheriff Joe Arpaio Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on April 30

Phoenix, AZ.- In Defense of Animals announced today that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been selected to receive the international animal advocacy organization’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented on Saturday, April 30 at IDA’s benefit, Fiesta of the Dancing Hooves. The event will be held from 6 to 11 pm at Dreamspinner Farms located at 28326 N. 54th Street, Cave Creek, AZ.

The IDA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime of commitment and compassion for animals and leadership in advocacy for them. The award has been given only five times in the more than 20-year history of this international organization whose membership is more than 80,000 worldwide. Previous recipients include world-renowned primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall, and humanitarian/animal advocate, Caesar Chavez.

Sheriff Arpaio’s accomplishments that led to consideration for the award include:

  • Formation of the Animal Crimes Unit, a group of trained investigators, supervised by former Phoenix mayor, Thelda Williams, who work under the authority of the Sheriff’s Office to investigate reported incidents of suspected animal cruelty and to bring animal cruelty offenders to justice.
  • The MCSO Animal Safe Haven Programs (MASH I and MASH II), no-kill programs in which dogs, cats, horses, and other animals taken as evidence in cruelty cases are given safe hospice and loving care in order to recover from the trauma of abuse and neglect. Convicted inmates work with the animals under the close supervision of the Sheriff’s staff learning skills that have allowed many inmates to find jobs after their release. Across the country, animal advocates cry out for programs to house animals taken from cruelty cases. MASH is a five-star model program in which animal victims and jailed inmates are rehabilitated by their contact with each other.
  • Sheriff Arpaio is an outspoken, no nonsense advocate who works tirelessly to stop animal cruelty, to educate citizens on animal care and to increase awareness about the link between animal cruelty and human violence. He also has established a program in which victims of domestic violence are able to house their animals at MASH so they can be feel free to leave violent homes knowing that their animals are safe.
“The Sheriff has an absolute commitment to protecting animals, a commitment that extends back decades to his years as a drug enforcement officer when his working dogs were his loved and trusted companions. Sheriff Arpaio has worked quietly and steadily for years, sometimes weathering severe criticism, to create the finest Animal Crimes Program and MASH, the finest housing program, for animal victims of crime in the country. It is a win-win program for animals and humans, “said Dr. Pat Haight, IDA Southwest Regional Director.”