
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994                   TAG: 9405290096
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-8   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

HOAX HAS THE ASPCA SNARLING

A letter offering to buy unwanted dogs from animal shelters to be cooked and canned for human consumption is apparently a hoax, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says.

Two Fredericksburg-area shelters are among hundreds nationwide that received the letter, written in a farcical Asian dialect, last week.

Joan Paylo, spokeswoman for the New York-based ASPCA, said the letter has been traced to "professional hoaxters" in New York City. She said that the agency will turn over its findings to federal authorities for possible prosecution for wire and mail fraud.

"This upset thousands of people at a deeply emotional level," Paylo said.

The Stafford County Animal Shelter and the SPCA shelter in Fredericksburg received the letter, which purportedly came from Kim Yung Soo, president of Kea So Joo Inc. of New York.

Patricia Metzger, president of the Fredericksburg SPCA, said she was shocked by the letter.

"It's difficult for me to see companion animals as food," she said.

The letter said unwanted dogs should be a source of revenue rather than an expense.

"Many country eat dog," it said. "Korea, China eat dog, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia eat dog. Dog is healthy for you. This way your cost of business is less. You make more money, more people happy. You get cleaner air. No burn up dog. No waste dog. People no pet disappear. Everybody happy."

The letter offered to pay 10 cents per pound.

"We're not in the business of selling any animals," said Stafford animal warden William P. Tinsley, one of many shelter operators who called the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States.

"We were offended on a number of levels," said Rachel Lamb, director of companion animal care for the Humane Society.

The letter was racist, Lamb said, and the sale of shelter dogs either for research or slaughter is illegal in most states.

Virginia shelters can sell unidentified dogs to state agencies, federal agencies, agencies of other states and licensed federal dealers.

The letter appeared to be sent from MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village on May 17 or 18, according to the ASPCA.

Agents found that the address on the letterhead was a commercial drop box in a copy center.

by CNB