May, 2009: Backyard breeders are busy opening up emails today. The anti-pet-legislation group "PetPAC", started by dog breeder William Hemby, continues to sent out emails begging for money on the backs of California's shelter animals.

To the unfamiliar, this is how the PetPAC appears to operate: send out repeated emails about pet related issues that will inflame animal breeders. When donations come in, the Chairman of PetPAC (Mr. Hemby) then pays the PetPAC lobbyist... Mr. Hemby.

According to the Secretary of State's website, the money that was paid to PetPAC lobbyist Mr. Hemby was almost $70,000 for just a 6 month period (4). Nice work if you can get it... misrepresent animal legislation while trying to demonize those good souls who volunteer their time to make the world a better place for dogs and cats.

Mr. Hemby breeds "Morgandell Borzoi & Silken Windhounds" and lists dog litters on his website www.morgandellborzoi.com. He frequently confuses political groups working to reduce pet euthanasia in shelters with animal terrorists, saying that "animal rights extremist groups like the Animal Liberation Front"(5) are behind spay and neuter legislation, and that the volunteers working to save the lives of dogs and cats through legislation are actually "people [who]want to eliminate all dogs and cats in California"(5).

If you have donated to PetPAC and would like to attempt to receive your donations back, due either to PetPAC's misrepresentations or due to Mr. Hemby's financial practices, please use the form below, or visit www.PetPAC.net and fill out their contact form.

TIRED OF PETPAC'S NONSENSE? Use the form below if you have donated to PetPAC, but would like to try to get your money back. "I mistakenly donated to PetPAC, not realizing where my money went. I would like to receive a refund of my donation." My Name: My Email Address: My Donation Amount: Approximate Donation Date: Comments:   Please note: information will be forwarded to PetPAC, but we cannot guarantee you will receive any refund.

For information about what SB 250 is and what it actually does, please visit www.YESonSB250.com.

April, 2009: Kelley Moran, the PetPAC frontman who has accepted "management fees" of up to $300,000 for coordinating "voter information guides" in the past(2), has been caught red-handed in an embarrassing scandal related to California's Proposition 8.

According to the Bay Area Reporter:

Kelley Moran and Barry Wyatt are with Yes on Gay Marriage, an organization that, like others, seemed to come out of nowhere in recent weeks after the passage of Proposition 8, which eliminated same-sex marriage in California. Moran, who said that he married his same-sex partner of 16 years last summer, said last month that what sets his group apart is that it is leading the charge for a march on Washington.

But, Mr. Moran was found to be directly profiting from a slate mailer sent out supporting the restrictive, anti-gay Proposition 8 late last year. The article goes on:

The slate mailer carries the names of both the COPS Voter Guide and the California Vote by Mail voter guide, as well as the Yes on 8 logo. Records filed with the secretary of state show that Yes on 8 paid the COPS voter guide at least $25,000, as well as a total of at least $50,000 to the California Vote by Mail Voter Guide. ... Last year, according to data filed with the secretary of state's office, the COPS voter guide paid at least $245,000 to Moran and Associates, which Moran is president of, and at least $105,000 to Barry Wyatt Associates.

The hypocrisy of the men involved with PetPAC does not require further comment. When it comes to money, "anything goes" seems to be the motto.

If you wish to learn more details of how Mr. Moran operates, just Google "Kelley Moran Barry Wyatt".

Where do donations to PetPAC go?

PetPAC likes to claim that they are a "grassroots" organization, which implies that the group is volunteer based and working out of passion instead of working for profit. But the donors who send their money to this group may not realize where it really goes.

According to filings with the Secretary of State (4), Lobbyist Hemby took over $67,000 just for work in the second part of 2007.



PetPAC's leaders have a history of using donor's money to pay themselves oversized paychecks. Another representative of PetPAC, Kelley Moran, was paid a "management fee" of $300,000 by the PetPAC related group COPS in a previous year. (2)

Do PetPAC donors know where their money goes?

When PetPAC's Chairman started the group, he was doubling as the Director of Governmental Affairs for COPS, the group that was called out by the Sacramento Bee in 2006 as one of the top (or bottom) 10 groups in the state for using their private commercially fundraised money on the charities they collect money to support. COPS was revealed to use just 15.3% of that money on actual charity. Is PetPAC destined for a similar path?(3)

According to quantcast.com, over half of PetPAC's web site visitors earn less than $30,000 per year. How would these donors feel if they knew where their money was really going?

PetPAC's web site reinforces a central role of the organization - gathering money.

But the site doesn't inform visitors about what percentage of donations are used to compensate the "grassroots" leaders of PetPAC.

The main page of the PetPAC site entices visitors with misinformation about animal welfare groups, and pushes visitors repeatedly to send money.

Members who sign up to "learn more" receive emails with misleading talking points to use against reducing pet overpopulation, always concluded with further requests for funds.

Donating to pay PetPAC does not help the dogs and cats of California.

Please license your pets, spay and neuter your pets unless they are used for legal breeding, and join the thousands of responsible pet owners volunteering to provide a better future for California's pets.

For more information on how to actually help pets in California, visit:

For more information on backyard breeders and their favorite group PetPAC, visit: