I spent last night with a man who has probably seen the worst things done to animals yet still quotes, in Teddy Kennedy fashion, “Today’s adversary is tomorrow’s ally.”

I spent last night with a man who allowed Michael Vick (who he admitted, he has called some of the worst names in the English language) to begin working with inner city children on the issue of dog fighting, because as he said, “They weren’t going to listen to me, a Caucasian in a suit.”

I spent last night at a town hall meeting with Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

I have to say, I was impressed.

And hopeful.

Pacelle’s visit came on the eve of voting for Issue 2, the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution to set up a governing board overseeing the livestock industry. Pacelle explained how the HSUS tried to talk to the Ohio agricultural boards to set into place more humane practices for livestock, including removal of the confinement systems currently used in livestock production–gestation crates, battery cages, veal crates. These are all methods that do not allow the animals to stand, move around, or even stretch their limbs. These are all methods that the entire European Union is phasing out and which seven states have voted to ban.

Pacelle left the meeting with the Ohio agricultural bigwigs expecting to get a phone call to begin negotiations on what the groups could do together to ensure better treatment for Ohio livestock. Instead, Issue 2 was quickly and quietly moved into place for the voters.

While Pacelle fears that Issue 2 will pass, even as he encouraged everyone in the auditorium at the Ohio Historical Society to vote no, he said the passage will not end the fight for humane treatment of animals in Ohio.

A fight Ohio currently seems to be losing.

While the HSUS has helped pass almost four hundred laws in the past four years at the state and federal level, very little has changed in Ohio.

In fact, I was shocked to learn that Ohio is one of the top three states for the worst animal laws nationwide. We have the worst laws on cock fighting, dog fighting, and puppy mills.

Pennsylvania, one of the leading states for puppy mills, recently passed legislation to crack down on the puppy millers.  Ohio has no such legislation. So guess where all those puppy millers from Pennsylvania are heading? You got it. Ohio.

My first reaction, upon hearing that Ohio has the worst animal welfare laws, was to joke to my friend, Monica, who had invited me to hear Pacelle speak, “Let’s move.”

And while it is true that it would be nice to live in a state that has more humane laws and where we would not have to fight for every little issue, who would help the animals in Ohio if we all packed up and left?

The mission statement of the HSUS is “Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty.” And that is exactly what we must do in Ohio.

While the HSUS will back us up in our fight, it is still up to Ohioans to work for Ohio animals. Because the HSUS is fighting a lot of large battles.

As Pacelle said, the Humane Society of the United States tries to help all animals, leaving county shelters to fight the daily battles of saving dogs and cats, while offering their support. The HSUS tries to look at the larger picture for all animals: working to stop seal clubbing in Canada, to protect horses being shipped to slaughterhouses in Mexico, and to save polar bears (and indeed all species) from global warming–issues county shelters and even state advocates don’t deal with in their day to day lives.

And Pacelle put a positive spin on everything, which I was so glad to discover. I had worried that I would be attending a meeting with an angry speaker showing gruesome footage of tortured animals. That was not the case.

Pacelle is engaging, open, and inclusive. He said the HSUS does not want to exclude anyone.  Not Michael Vick.  Not animal opponents. Not meat eaters.

While Pacelle is a “strict vegetarian,” he said the HSUS has never had a vegan agenda for the very reason that there are many animal lovers who do eat meat. And he will not exclude anyone who might be a strong advocate for animals.

Pacelle said he believes that with education, anyone can change. He cited examples of big game hunters who had changed their minds and were now animals’ largest advocates.

Pacelle even admitted that, as a child, his dog was tethered and his uncle purchased a puppy for his family from a puppy mill.

“I was so excited. Our puppy came from Kansas. That seemed so exotic and foreign to me as a kid.”

Kansas, of course, is puppy mill central.

Pacelle also admitted that no one knows how the passage of Issue 2 will affect Ohio puppy mills if the Ohio Agricultural community decides to place puppy mills under the oversight of the governing board. If they do, dogs in puppy mills may continue to be treated like the other confined livestock in Ohio.

Pacelle also asked all animal lovers, rescuers and non-rescuers alike, to become political advocates for Ohio animals. As one lady in the audience stated, a rescuer can save one animal at a time, one dog from a puppy mill, but if you pass legislation that stops dog auctions and shuts down the grossly corrupt puppy millers, you can save thousands of animals in one sweep.

We must all become more politically involved, while still believing that with education, our adversaries will soon become our allies.

If you would like to learn more about Wayne Pacelle, you can sign up to receive his blog, http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/

To learn more about the Humane Society of the United, visit their web site, www.humanesociety.org

Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States