Humane Society boss on leave says she is victim of smear campaign; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/4/16

Madasyn Czebiniak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Humane Society boss on leave says she is victim of smear campaign:

"The allegation in the change.org petition that has drawn by far the most attention concerns Ms. Braunstein’s decision to purchase the collie for her family, reportedly for $1,000.

It’s an allegation that is, on its face, “bizarre,” said George Loewenstein, Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, speaking just as an observer. “Ridiculous conflicts are not generally about the conflict itself, but an internal power struggle,” he said. “When people are really beloved, it’s unbelievable the things they can do and get away with, but if there are people who don’t like them, then any misstep will bring them down.”

From an ethical perspective, what Ms. Braunstein does in her private life shouldn’t matter, he said.

“Should the director of an adoption agency not have biological children? Should an indie filmmaker not go to Hollywood movies? It’s absurd to hold people up to such a rigid standard of behavior.”

But for some observers in the field of animal rescue, Ms. Braunstein’s advocacy position means that even her private actions send a message."