At 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, animal lovers came to Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Mich., for the 19th annual Compassionate Feast. Hosted by the Humane Society of Huron Valley, the Compassionate Feast is described on their Facebook as being “an elegant evening benefiting our community's homeless animals.”
As guests arrived, they were greeted by Darla and Zola, two adoptable dogs. Live music played while guests checked in and received their name tags. VIP guests, who were invited to arrive half an hour earlier, got a free goodie bag.
The event began with a silent auction of 206 donated items and the purchase of 50/50 raffle tickets. The items included baskets with alcohol and treats, baskets with pet toys and goodies, signed memorabilia, jewelry, a dress worn by Taylor Swift, nights out with gift cards, and more. While guests perused the items and put their first bids in, they could enjoy an open bar featuring two special drinks, the Silky Cosmopawlitan and PrimeStaff Smash.
At 6:45 p.m., around 500 guests moved into the Grand Ballroom for dinner and guest speakers. The three-course meal began with an Autumn Greens Salad for both vegetarian and vegan guests. Washtenaw County Commissioner Justin Hodge walked onto the stage to ”Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti and opened the night. He gave a speech about the importance of HSHV’s work and giving everyone an opportunity to thrive and be successful, especially the animals who can’t vote to protect themselves.
This led to a video about the Friends For Life program, which the humane society’s website describes as a program to help seniors and vulnerable pet lovers access essential care. The video talked about providing over $100,000 in veterinary care and helping keep people and pets together because “animal welfare and people welfare go hand in hand.”
“Gonna Fly Now” played once more as Hodge came back on stage to thank a few of the many sponsors of the night. He then introduced Karen Patterson, Vice President of Volunteers and Humane Education at HSHV, and Dr. Sharvil Shah, member of the HSHV Board of Directors, to present the Humie Awards.
First up was the Humane Youth Award, which recognizes a junior volunteer aged 12-17 who is making a positive impact on the lives of animals in their community. The recipient of the award was Clara Piekert. She plans to study biology and continue her work advocating for animal welfare.
Next was the Legislator of the Year Award, recognizing a legislator making progress for animal welfare. This was won by Michigan State Representative Matt Koleszar, for his work with introducing and pushing House Bill 4849. Also known as Queenie’s Law, this bill would end experiments on cats and dogs in Michigan’s public institutions if passed. The bill is named after a beagle who was experimented on and ultimately died at Wayne State University. As he closed out his acceptance speech, he urged audience members to write to their local representatives to support and help pass House Bill 4849.
The final award was the Lifetime Achievement Award. This went to Susan Kornfield for her pro bono legal services provided to HSHV, among a lifetime of donations and volunteer work for them. One of her most recent cases with them was defending them and winning a $1 million lawsuit brought about by hoarders who had their animals taken away by the humane society.
At 7:30 p.m., dinner was served. Vegetarian guests enjoyed a Farmer’s Market Roasted Vegetable Purse and vegan guests enjoyed a “Chicken” Masala. Guests chatted during this brief break and could sip on a complimentary coffee if they desired.
While the second course wrapped up, president and CEO of HSHV, Tanya Hilgendorf entered the stage to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Her speech, titled “Compassion and Courage” centered around her cat, Courage. He was a rescue, who fought hard as he was diagnosed with cancer twice and had his leg amputated, but ultimately had to be put down for his well-being. Hilgendorf encouraged every person in attendance to fight for the courage in their life. She thanked all of the staff, volunteers, and sponsors who make the mission of HSHV possible and are constantly fighting for animals.
Hilgendorf said, “This feast is about the people who defend and care for animals.”
She went on to talk about all of the progress that HSHV has made, yet more still needs to come. Hilgendorf shared that around 97% of all U.S. citizens say they are against animal cruelty, yet there are no committees at any government level focused on animal welfare. There are also no quality penalties for animal cruelty, citing two separate cases of animal cruelty resulting in a $250 fine and a $50 fine.
Hilgendorf concluded her speech by saying that we must keep fighting together and that, “Compassion only creates more compassion.”
The second video of the night played, focusing on animals at the shelter and how compassion and courage benefit us all. As the video played, the final course came out. Vegetarian guests were served Pumpkin Pecan Cake and vegan guests had Chocolate Pot de Creme.
The final speaker of the night was Dr. Aysha Akhtar, who entered the stage to “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys. Dr. Akhtar is the co-founder and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences, a military veteran, neurologist, and preventive medicine specialist. She has spent much of her life advocating for animals and founded the Center for Contemporary Sciences as a way to advocate for human-relevant testing as a replacement for animal experimentation.
Dr. Akhtar opened her speech by sharing a story about her father who had diabetes and how she heard two common narratives growing up: animals in experimentation are well protected and we need animal experimentation to produce medications, like the ones her dad would use. Her speech revolved around dispelling these narratives.
In the first half of her speech, she talked about how animals in experimentation are not well protected. She started this point by establishing that much of animal experimentation is done under the basic research category, which is curiosity-driven research, not done for drug development as many people think. This research is funded by our tax dollars, either from public institutions or agencies like the National Institute of Health.
Dr. Akhtar went on to explain that the only federal statute relating to animal protection in experimentation is the Animal Welfare Act. However, this act excludes around 95% of animals used in experimentation in the U.S. and excludes non-animals such as reptiles and birds.
For the animals that are included in this act, the standards are substandard and not well-regulated. There are several standards outlined, but all you have to do is check off the standard and that is taken as all the confirmation needed. The act also provides no limits for what can be done to animals, such as starvation or excessive pain. Thus, just about anything can be done to animals in the name of research.
The next topic was dispelling the myth that animal experimentation is needed for the sake of people and finding drugs to help with human illnesses. She shared that, as a neurologist, she has had to diagnose many people with injuries and illnesses that have no medications or medications that only relieve a few of the symptoms. Additionally, 90-95% of animal-tested drugs and vaccines fail in human trials, even though they were marked safe in two different species before the human trial.
To put this issue in perspective, she shared a gambling analogy. Imagine three people run out of a casino with thousands of dollars in hand, this must mean gambling is an effective means of making money.
Dr. Akhtar said, “We see a few successes and think that the whole system works.”
Furthering her point, she gave examples of stroke experiments and HIV vaccines, tests that have been done on animals for years and still have no effective medications or cures in humans. Her last point in dispelling this myth was that these tests fail largely because we are using species with different biologies than humans. This can lead to adverse events not predicted by animal tests, resulting in human harm.
Dr. Akhtar proposed one of many upcoming solutions: the human on a chip. Scientists can now take cells from a human organ and place them on a 3D structure, or chip, and the cells grow into that organ in an environment akin to the one in the body. The organ then functions as it would in the body. Scientists then grow several different organs and place them together to create a lab-grown human body. This is just one of many methods being developed as an alternative, more effective first trial instead of animal tests.
To end on a positive note, Dr. Akhtar explained some signs of change. In 2021 Joe Biden signed into law the FDA Modernization 2.0 Act which has helped start to change the narrative. She encouraged the audience to educate the next generation, update policies and regulations, change the narrative, and increase investments and funding into new research for alternatives to animal testing. Her last note to guests was one of hope, that she truly believes animal testing can be eliminated in this decade.
At 9:30 p.m., the night started to close. Justin Hodge re-entered the stage to draw the 50/50 raffle winner, with the grand total coming to about $1,800. Guests checked whether or not they won a silent auction item and picked it up on their way out.
As guests made their way out, the final video played. Animals from the shelter said thank you. They thanked all the volunteers, the people in attendance, and the donations that helped them be comfortable during their stay at the shelter.
