Humane Society Priorities

As I've said a few times here, I'm as horrified by the firefighters letting the Tennessee house burn down as much as anyone. However, it's hard for me to really accept the Humane Society approach as very helpful:

The Humane Society of the United States is issuing the following statement in response to the heartbreaking news that four animals died in an Obion County, Tenn., fire because the homeowner didn’t pay a service fee, and firefighters were told they could not extinguish the blaze:

“It is inexcusable that three dogs and a cat would have to die in such a horrible way, with firefighters ordered to not intervene, because of an unpaid $75 service fee. Putting out fires is a matter of life and death for people and animals, and South Fulton city officials should quickly reconsider their emergency response policies before others are put at risk,” said Leighann McCollum, Tennessee state director for The HSUS.

OK--I don't disagree with any of this. But shouldn't we be focusing on the human effects? This seems minor, but it goes back to my strongly held belief that unless environmentalism becomes about people, it is doomed. If we save the house and the human possessions, we save the dogs and cats. I'm all for saving the dogs and cats.  But I'm even more determined to save human society from disintegration because if that goes, animal rights go with it.