The Paw Project documentary took well over a decade to make. There were many challenges and hurdles through this long journey. Not only did the Veterinary Associations spend millions fighting us but so did a few individuals. The main person fighting against us was Dave Weisman of the Dax Foundation. Dave Weisman also hired a lobbyist to fight us. That paid lobbyist was none other than Ed Boks, Edward Boks who was then recently fired as the General Manager of Los Angeles Animal Services.
What is even more irksome is that both of these men supported Dr Jennifer Conrad and The Paw Project before they turned against us. They were both absolutely and completely against declawing cats. They'd even both spoken publicly against declawing cats.
Why did these men turn on us? Plain and simple Dave Weisman did it out of spite. Ed Boks did it for the money. These two men and their lobbying are the reason why Malibu City Council did not vote to make declawing cats illegal. We were successful in every other city from Beverly Hills to Culver City to San Francisco.
Eventually Dave Weisman knew that he was losing. He finally gave up on his vicious personal war when he spoke at Beverly Hills City Council. Finally he stopped fighting us. Ed Boks on the other hand left his "anonymous" pro-declaw website advocatesforfacts.org ( http://web.archive.org/web/20110807041136/http://advocatesforfacts.org ) on the Internet until his domain expired. These are two truly heartless, vicious men who are most definitely not animal lovers.
Notice Ed Boks states "Advocates for Fact-based Policy Making (AFPS) is a group of animal advocates, scientists and other animal loving people interested in developing humane programs and laws based on facts and scientific data that can produce measurable results."
AFPS does not exist. It is only Ed Boks, Edward Boks. The address is a p.o. box. Ed Boks commits fraud. He previously committed forgery by forging an LA City press release.
The video below is Dave Weisman of the Dax Foundation speaking FOR declawing cats October 27, 2009. He thought he would just speak and leave. He did not know that the Council Members were prepared with research and questions. He is ultimately shown to be a fraud. For those that don't know, "Dax" is actually Dave Weisman.
I just found a copy of a press release Dave Weisman of the Dax Foundation sent out June 17, 2008 asking politicians to vote against a bill which would ban city bans. Below is the text.
">> Newsroom >> News Releases >> Dax Foundation Urges Lawmakers to Reject Bill
Dax Foundation Urges Lawmakers to Reject Bill
Dax Foundation urges lawmakers to reject bill that would eliminate all local and municipal regulation of medical, veterinary, and a wide array of other businesses and professionals & give control to the state.
Please note that most of the sources and data used to support the statements made herein related to the deleterious medical and behavioral effects of declawing have proven to be unreliable. The Dax Foundation is completing a thorough review of all available data and the status of declawing restrictions, if any around the world. Once the data has been compiled the program materials will be updated.
LOS ANGELES – June 17, 2008
Dear Foundation Supporters,
Every day I receive a handful of requests from really motivated, passionate individuals who seek the assistance of the Dax Foundation to help them advance their cause of making the world a better place for people and animals. We do our best to quickly analyze these proposals and get involved when we believe that the team has the ability to realize its vision and that their program will make a meaningful difference to many.
The Dax Foundation has no political agenda whatsoever. We do not endorse candidates nor do we take positions on either side of the fence…we simply believe in the power and the preciousness of the individual. A few days ago we were approached by a passionate woman who alerted us to a little bill that has been sailing through the California State Assembly and asked for our help. It is known as AB 2427.
The bill states the following:
The people of the State of California do enact as follows: Section 460 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
No city or county shall prohibit a person or group of persons, authorized by one of the agencies in the Department of Consumer Affairs by a license, certificate, or other such means to engage in a particular business, from engaging in that business, occupation, or profession or any portion thereof, or from engaging in any act or series of acts that fall within the statutory or regulatory definition of that business, occupation, or profession. Nothing in this section shall prohibit any city or county or city and county from levying a business license tax solely for revenue purposes nor any city or county from levying a license tax solely for the purpose of covering the cost of regulation.
Prima fasciae this seems like a reasonable rule…until one ponders its incredibly far-reaching and dangerous implications. AB 2427 will eliminate the ability for every single community in California to reflect and implement the will of their citizens in the form of local regulations, prohibitions, and ordinances. Today there are many thousands of such ordinances that enhance public safety, reduce pollution in sensitive areas, protect environmentally and ecologically challenged species, as well as limit leaf-blowing, construction hours of operation and practices, and restrict the location of certain businesses in areas that have been determined to be unsuitable by residents. The list goes on for days. This bill would invalidate thousands of these regulations that communities have implemented over the decades and centuries to reflect the values of its citizens. How can this be tolerated?
I asked a friend of mine in the City Government of Beverly Hills to share the city’s municipal ordinances with my staff. Upon cursory examination we uncovered dozens of local ordinances, regulations, and prohibitions that would be instantly invalidated once AB 2427 took effect. In 2006, the city of Los Angeles implemented a sweeping local ordinance mandating dogs be spayed and neutered in the name of public safety. This ordinance absolutely has the effect of restricting a Veterinarian’s options, and as such could be overturned by AB 2427. In 2003 the City of West Hollywood, with overwhelming support from the community enacted a Declaw ban for cats. They spent the next five years fighting the California Veterinary Medical Association (the sponsor of AB 2427) who sought to overturn the ban as an infringement against the right of their Veterinarian members to freely practice their trade. The City prevailed in court and under appeal, even to the California Supreme Court. This caught my interest and prompted me to take a closer look.
It seems as though the CVMA has a cozy relationship with the bill’s sponsor and apparently donated a large sum of money to Assemblyman Mike Eng’s political fund just a few weeks prior to the bills introduction. The CVMA lost fair and square in court, but decided they would continue their fight to have the ban overturned by sponsoring a nutty bill through the back door. If AB 2427 is passed it not only has the potential to subvert the will of the people of West Hollywood, it can in an instant invalidate hundreds of years of local community initiatives that truly reflect the will of millions of people.
I urge you to take a moment out of your day and learn more about this quickly moving train wreck that has the ability to wreak havoc across our state. The real impact of this misguided legislation will be chaos as local communities will be forced to eliminate ANY local regulations, prohibitions, or ordinances regulating ANY OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES of Accountants, Architects, Auto repairpersons, Cemetery operators, Contractors, Dentists, Doctors, Electrical/Appliance repairpersons, Optometrists, Pharmacists, Psychologists, Security personnel, and Veterinarians. That’s scary!
Dave Weisman
Executive Director
About The Dax Foundation
The Dax Foundation is a private, California-based non-profit, philanthropic organization that implements and supports innovative programs that help people around the world identify, pursue, and realize their dreams. The Foundation provides resources, support, and raises awareness for those individuals and groups whose vision includes making the world a better place for all people and animals. Sample projects currently supported by the Foundation include the Mayfair Foundation, a recreation and educational facility for severely disabled children, Over A Barrel, a rescue and treatment facility for abused and neglected animals, Organs R' Us, a program dedicated to raising awareness about the critical need for life-saving organ donation, Maui Cat, a humane program to reduce the pain and suffering of rampant feral cat populations, and other deserving programs around the world. For more information on the Dax Foundation, please visit www.daxfoundation.org. (new people own the site and run a different non-profit there)
Please note that most of the sources and data used to support the statements made herein related to the deleterious medical and behavioral effects of declawing have proven to be unreliable. The Dax Foundation is completing a thorough review of all available data and the status of declawing restrictions, if any around the world. Once the data has been compiled the program materials will be updated."
Below is Ed Boks, Edward Boks, Edward Albert Boks speaking at the same meeting. He also gets grilled by the Councilmembers. Ed Boks states he left LA Animal Services after "fulfilling his duties." He was actually fired.
I found documents which show Ed Boks completely contradicts himself on declaw.
I've saved some of Boks' old posts as pdf files and uploaded to my site as he is deleting them. Just last month he said declawing is inhumane.
September 25, 2009
Boks posts on facebook that it's time to stop declawing.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/Ed_Boks_anti-declaw-1.pdf
He posts the same to his blog same day. He deleted both of these posts but I saved copies knowing he'd delete them
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/boksnodeclaw1.pdf
He basically states the position of the Paw Project. Declaw is inhumane, causes behavioral problems which cause cats to be dumped at shelters.
August 13, 2009
Boks posts Dr. Jenny Conrad's no declaw billboard on his blog. Funny it's the photo I edited on my facebook page.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/boksdeclawban3.pdf
July 11, 2008
Boks blogs as the GM that AB2427 is bad and declaw is inhumane. Blog is still up there, for now.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/edboksdeclaw4.pdf
"AB 2427 (Eng), a bill sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical
Association (CVMA), will prevent local communities from deciding what
veterinary procedures they will allow in their communities. This could
affect future restrictions on declawing, tail docking, ear cropping and
similar inhumane procedures on animals."
January 2006
Boks gave me his GM position statements to post on the Dept website. See "cosmetic surgery."
"LAAS is against any unnecessary surgical procedure on animals when such a procedure is
performed solely for the convenience or pleasure of the animals owner. This includes
declawing cats, cropping ears, and docking tails."
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/bokspositionstatement.pdf
I worked for Boks from January 2006 to December 2006 (July officially). With absolute certainty I can tell you he was ALWAYS against declaw. He said it was unnecessary and inhumane. He was against declaw until less than three weeks ago when he met Dave Weisman of the DAX Foundation. All of a sudden Boks does a 180 on the issue and now feels declawing is "humane and necessary." He states the alternative to declaw is death which is not true. The alternatives to declaw are nail caps, nail trims, cat training, human training and more. I believe Boks is lobbying against the declaw ban for compensation or promise of compensation of some sort. Nothing else would explain the quick 180 on the issue.
And FTR Boks has been in animal control since 1998 minus three years. He's been in animal control maybe ten years, not 30 as he states as of the date I uploaded the video).
About Dave Allen Weisman: Born October 11, 1962 in Los Angeles County, California, (taken from another source)
"Mr. Weisman brings more than 20 years of senior level management experience. Weisman most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Eagle Broadband. Before serving in that position, he was Vice President, Sales & Marketing at the security software firm, IP Dynamics. Prior to his work at IP Dynamics, Mr. Weisman co-founded and was Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Canyon Networks. He was also Vice President, Marketing and Customer Service for ACT Networks. Mr. Weisman also co-founded and served as Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Thomson Enterprise Networks in 1999. Prior to his work at Thomson, he held senior marketing positions at Adaptive Corporation (acquired in 1994) where he developed and launched the industry's first ATM network switch and networking company Retix (which had an initial public offering in 1992). Mr. Weisman also founded and was CEO of a consumer products distribution company, which he grew to $12 million in sales and subsequently sold in 1987. Mr. Weisman also served as a pilot with the United States Air Force Reserve and saw active combat duty in Central America and Operation Desert Storm. He holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from U.C.L.A."
Dave Weisman stated an anonymous person started the Dax Foundation and funded it with $75M. The organization was never formed or funded. The mysterious Mr Dax was actually Dave Weisman. He formed this fake wealthy organization to get women and get invited to events. He was reported to the IRS and Attorney General and shut down. Here is his old website. Notice Mr Dax looks exactly like him.
http://web.archive.org/web/20120311030535/http://daxfoundation.org/ His website even has a press release which states he was AGAINST declawing.
Dave Weisman has a criminal history.
About Edward Albert Boks: Born August 15, 1951 in Wayne, Michigan. Edward Boks dropped out of college. He was a pastor at Grace Chapel in Phoenix, Arizona. He later became an ACO at Maricopa Animal Control. He eventually became the General Manager of the shelter. He was eventually fired after an audit revealed problems. He then became General Manager of New York Animal Control. He was eventually fired after an audit revealed problems. He then became the General Manager of Los Angeles Animal Services. He was eventually fired after being sued for racial discrimination and sexual harassment. He then became the General Manager of Yavapai Humane Society in Prescott, Arizona where he is today.
This is written by Mary Cummins, not The Paw Project.
Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.
- Mary Cummins LinkedIn
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- Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates
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- Mary Cummins on YouTube.com videos
- Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates on Classmates
- Mary Cummins on VK
- Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates on Google+
Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.
- Mary Cummins LinkedIn
- Mary Cummins Meet up
- Animal Advocates custom Facebook name
- Mary Cummins Real Estate blog
- Animal Advocates on Google maps
- Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates
- Mary Cummins biography resume short
- Mary Cummins Real Estate Services
- Animal Advocates fan page at Facebook.com
- Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Squirrel Rescue
- Mary Cummins Animal Advocates on Flickr photos
- Mary Cummins Animal Advocates on Twitter.com
- Mary Cummins on Picasa web photo albums
- Mary Cummins on MySpace.com
- Mary Cummins on Google Blogger Blogspot
- Mary Cummins on YouTube.com videos
- Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates on Classmates
- Mary Cummins on VK
- Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates on Google+
