In a series for this very blog, SuperVegan's Tod Emko turned upside-down my ingenuous perception of the Galapagos Islands. What I imagined to be, and what once was, an unscathed paradise for albatross, tortoises, finches, sea lions, and hundreds of other tropical-weather-loving species has become something of a perverted hell for human-introduced domesticated animals and the native species on which they prey. Disease-carrying feral pups and cats on Galapagos are decimating native species, and with no natural predators, the dog and cat populations are soaring. Hundreds of sick, injured, and abused feral mutts found their way to Tod while he was in the Galapagos this spring, and several even followed him home. Struggling to manage the overwhelming need for medical care and humane population control for these disregarded creatures, Tod enlisted the help of a veterinarian and the guidance and partnership of nonprofit Amigo Fiel to plan the Galapagos's first animal hospital and shelter.

Tod spared several hours last week from the two jobs that fund his apartment-menagerie to describe the cause and plans for this ambitious project.

Samantha Cohen: Your blog series, Blog of a Vegan Pirate in Galapagos, details your travails in the area this spring, including your experience with the exploded dog and cat populations there. For those who haven't had a chance to read your vibrant posts, could you explain the need for a Galapagos animal hospital?

Tod Emko: It may surprise a lot of people who haven't been there recently, but the Galapagos islands are under a lot more unnatural pressure than they can handle. The animals of Galapagos are suffering from too much human interference and development, and there is almost nothing restoring balance to give the animals a chance at having a future there.

Hello all. I've been getting a lot of requests to give an update on the Galapagos puppies that I blogged about earlier. So, just letting everyone know that the dogs are still in NYC, and still up for adoption.

The fosters have been holding onto them for as long as they possibly can, with three dogs (two untrained and having to acclimatize to NYC) in a NYC apartment, but the dogs will need homes soon. Hoover has been renamed Ben, and will likely be relocated to the North Shore Animal League for adoption through them. Not ideal of course, but times are tough trying to find homes these days.

If anyone wants to adopt them until then, though, they can email RescueRoxyBen@gmail.com. That's the email that the fosters set up for adopting the dogs.

Hello all. On August 9th, 2009, two of the most adorable and tragic Galapagos rescue puppy cases will arrive in the US, and both are available for adoption. Please help us find them a home!



Both puppies are ridiculously friendly and well-tempered, both love people and dogs and cats, both are trained easily, and both have endured some of the worst tragedies and tortures that no living creature should ever have to. They both greatly deserve loving homes to make up for their awful childhoods. Anyone interested in the pups can email me at tod@supervegan.com.

Here are both their stories:

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below describes the general argument against building an animal hospital in the Galapagos.

Argument 3: Apparent Apathy

This was the argument I heard the absolute most.

3: "Don't you understand? Cats and dogs are the problem here and no one is going to support vet care when animals are destroying the islands!"

Everyone I talked to said there would be no support on the islands for an animal hospital; just look around and you'll see animal suffering everywhere and nothing done about it.

I decided, I would try to make an animal hospital, but ONLY if the locals would support it. Alex taught me how it would have to be a hospital made by locals, run by locals, owned by locals, and supported by locals. That would be the only way this could work. No foreign control of it.

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker appeared on last night's Chelsea Lately to tout the benefits of his latest fad diet: freshly squeezed raw puppy juice.

Barker, a former vegetarian poster boy, ate meat for the first time in 16 years to speed the healing of a broken arm. He then gave up his vegetarian diet entirely after he was injured in a plane crash. Barker explained that his latest diet was inspired by the advice of his Los Angeles physician.

Puppy juice first made the news last month when former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin touted its age-defying powers on Oprah. According to Travis Barker, "Puppy juice is great for the skin. It gives my tattoos an awesome sheen, and it's totally worth the incontinence. Plus I haven't had a single herpes flare-up since I began using it."

Asked for his opinion, New York Times food expert Mark Bittman pointed out the environmental benefits of eating an overpopulated species, but added, "Puppies are cute. Why can't he just eat veal like everyone else?"

"It's cruel and barbaric to kill an innocent young puppy just for its miraculous healing powers," added celebrity chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz. "I'd only juice a puppy if I found one already dead, like on the street or something."

However, vegan expert Kathy Freston explained, "He only juices puppies that would be euthanized anyway. And if his doctors say it's necessary, well, who are we to judge?"

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below analyzes more of the arguments the locals had against Sea Shepherd operating in the Galapagos, and how the plan adjusted accordingly.

This next argument is also quite interesting. It's similar to the first, but angers people in a different and important way.

Argument 2: Poverty

2: "You rich gringos come here and antagonize all the poor locals who are just trying to make a living!"

The perception is that Sea Shepherd is trying to shut down poor people from making any living. Of course, this is also fascinatingly far from the truth. When Sean O'Hearn made his busts, the people he targeted were the crime bosses. Chinese businessmen, military commanders, high ranking politicians. The Sea Shepherd organization has zero interest in shutting down poor people (that and I was pretty miserably poor compared to anyone I was trying to oppose). But, the PERCEPTION that we do is very important, because so many people WANT to believe it.

When O'Hearn was initially deported from Ecuador, it was because the President heard that O'Hearn was kicking down the doors of impoverished fishermen and stealing their fish so they couldn't feed their families. Now, it may seem obvious that such a rumor - that the head of a major international NGO would be spending his time going around stealing from the poor - would require some fact checking. But the idea that this rich American was going around pushing his weight on penniless, helpless Ecuadorians was so attractive that the President didn't bother to check up on it. When the truth came out that O'Hearn was a humble man married to an Ecuadorian woman and that the couple had a two-year old child together, the President lost face because of his impetuousness, further cooling relations between Sea Shepherd and Ecuador.

The point is, this is an extremely powerful perception. One that wasn't going to be easily overcome. To address it, I had to spend time being taken on tours of the ghettos of the Galapagos. I didn't even know what I wanted to accomplish there initially, but I had to at least see the poverty and examine it.

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below describes what the first part of the new campaign strategy was like. We had to tackle the first and most prevalent argument against SSCS's presence in the Galapagos.

Argument 1: Galapagos Pride

The first argument against our interference was one of cultural pride.

1: "You judgmental foreigners come here and try to crush indigenous Ecuadorians saying, 'Oh, you primitive people, THIS is how you should run your own culture!'"

This was a very interesting argument. The truth is, Ecuadorians actually aren't indigenous to the Galapagos. Indeed, no humans are. And probably over 90% of the Ecuadorian settlers came here within the past 20 years, more than a decade after the UN declared the Galapagos an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and long after all the conservation laws were put in place for the Galapagos.

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below details the days leading up until my departure date from the Galapagos.

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below describes the increased actions that followed the initial smuggling investigation.

Increased Actions and Results

The revelations of the previous week were bleak, but my mentor had a good point that could not be ignored. Due to the nature of the problem, I realized that any investigation required overwhelming evidence, and evidence that left the government blameless. I increased the intensity of my investigation, and worked to gather as much evidence to get into the smuggling industry as I could.

On the other side of the problem, I tried to work to help the adopting effort, so that people could be presented with great, homeless animals that they didn't have to pay for. Nikki Wolf put his paws on the cages of feral cats who were caught in the wild, calming them as they were being socialized. A credit to his race, people would often say, "I DO NOT like cats, but I love Nikki Wolf." :)

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below describes the government reaction to the initial live animal smuggling investigation.