For anyone who doesn’t know, Eight Belles is the athlete that placed 2nd in the 2008 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3rd. After crossing the finish line, she went into the cool down/slow down stretch, then after 1/4 mile she collapsed. Her jockey knew something was wrong and tried pulling her in, but there was nothing he could do at that point. Eight Belles had fractured her front ankles, splintering and breaking through the flesh. She had to be euthanized immediately.

PETA is now wanting the 2nd place title relinquished and the 400K winnings given back. Oh, please. This was a freak accident that could not have been prevented. As far as the care of this magnificent animal, these thoroughbreds are bred, raised and treated like royalty. They are essentially members of the family, and anyone knowing the nature of a thoroughbred, they love to run. It’s in their nature.

PETA is just trying to get their name in the news once more by jumping on the bandwagon on something that is high profile. What I would like to know is, where is PETA when there are animals suffering at the hands of clueless owners every day. My good friend, and editor of Sensible Life Magazine, just rescued an emaciated Great Dane the Friday before this Derby tragedy. The people who had the Dane called a local kennel owner and said they needed this 10 month old precious beauty gone that night, or they would have her euthanized because she was too big, and if no one would euthanize, they were going to tie her to the door of a shelter and leave her. Too big, huh? Uh…duh…what did they think would happen if they got a Great Dane?

These owners fed this pooch 2 cups of dog food a day and kept her crated for 18 hours a day. Where was PETA when this gentle, beautiful baby was suffering? Oh, that’s right -they were looking for high profile incidences so they could get their name in the news.

Aside from these PR stunts, let’s take a look at some of the spokespersons for PETA. Prime example, Pamela Anderson. One has to wonder, with all that plastic and silicone, hair dye and hair products, along with that spackle on her face and any medications she takes -what are the odds that some of that has been tested on lab animals?