I’ve had dogs and cats all my life and I love my pets. A while back I realized that whether the issue is budget cuts or pet food safety, when politicians are considering local, state and federal policy, their actions directly affect pets. That’s why we started Pet Defenders.

For too long municipal, state and federal budget cuts have affected those least able to complain: our pets. Time and time again as we saw in Hurricane Katrina, pets are forgotten. Too often bureaucrats don't think of our families – which include our pets – when they respond to political pressure to cut budgets. There are millions of pet lovers in America and many organizations do a great job rescuing and protecting animals but no organization puts enough political pressure on our leaders to get them to change their ways.

Pet Defenders brings the issues of our pets into the political arena by contributing to candidates who are opposed to across the board budget cuts. We directly communicate with voters about politicians that have pet-friendly or pet-unfriendly positions. Pets need a voice in the political process. Pet Defenders is that voice.

Marty Stone