Where PETA went wrong: It opened its mouth

In an alternate universe, PETA is a great idea. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? Sounds great to me. If you're a person and you're not for the ethical treatment of animals, you're not a person after all. You're subhuman. You're vermin.

Reasonable or unreasonable, PETA's calling for Gabriel Saez's suspension falls on deaf ears. (Getty Images)

But in this universe, PETA isn't a great idea. PETA is an insult to rational animal lovers, me included, because PETA makes us look bad. PETA is to animal lovers what polygamist Warren Jeffs is to religion or what narcissist Al Sharpton is to civil rights -- a distortion of reality, a divisive and polarizing land mine planted under one of society's most vulnerable sidewalks.

On Saturday, a horse died after running the Kentucky Derby. Shortly after finishing second, Eight Belles suffered two broken ankles. It was a catastrophic breakdown, an immediate death sentence, and she was killed right there on the track.

It was awful, a reason to list horse racing as one of those divisive land mines I mentioned in the second paragraph. Just to be clear where I stand on the death of a racehorse, here you go. I stand mortified. I stand appalled.

But I don't stand with PETA. And if you're PETA, this should make you question your organization -- because in an alternate universe, I'm perfect PETA material. I have two dogs and two cats, and I carry on conversations with all of them. Each has its own voice, played by me. It's endearing or embarrassing, and I don't care which adjective you prefer. They're part of my family, so dammit I'm going to talk to them. Even if I have to talk for them. Hell, on long drives I'll carry on entire conversations with my dogs ... when they're not even in the car. Am I crazy? Sure. For animals.

But PETA makes me sick.

Its latest affront to rationality came Sunday, one day after the demise of Eight Belles, when PETA issued a press release seeking the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey, Gabriel Saez. Why? Because Eight Belles was "doubtlessly injured before the finish."

This is so PETA. People matter less than the animal. Gabriel Saez? He just got thrown under the PETA bus. There are people out there -- 1.8 million PETA members worldwide, plus lots of lemmings -- who want to blame someone for Eight Belles' death. They'll follow PETA's lead and blame the jockey.

Here's all you need to know about that jockey. When it was over, when Eight Belles had stumbled to the ground and been diagnosed with two broken ankles and been put to sleep in a whirlwind of horror, Gabriel Saez was psychologically demolished. It happened so quickly that Eight Belles' trainer, Larry Jones, didn't know his filly was dead until he saw Saez riding another horse to the stables.

Here's what the shattered Saez said to his trainer:

"Mr. Larry, they had to put us down."

Us.

That's the jockey, the person, PETA wants you to vilify.