Have you ever fed a stray animal, given food to a homeless person, or supported a program that does? I really hope you have, and I think it’s totally pawsome.

But the lieutenant governor of South Carolina, a human named Andre Bauer who is running for governor, sure doesn’t think so.

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals,” Bauer told a crowd last Friday. “You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”

Well, Mr. Bauer, I can’t speak on behalf of humans, but as a pooch I do know better. I can tell you and your granny that feeding a starving animal won’t encourage it to breed. No, along with maybe saving the poor animal’s life, it might just encourage him to respect and trust humans. Even humans like you.

Again, though I can’t speak on behalf of humans, as a pooch I’m smart enough to know that what makes animals reproduce isn’t pawsome food handouts but the sad fact that they aren’t spayed or neutered. If you’re a pet owner, Mr. Bauer, I sure hope you’ve taken care of this. That way you can feed your pooch or kitty and not have to ever worry about unwanted puppies or kittens. BOL!

Ooh, and speaking of unwanted kitties, get this! Here’s what Bauer told CNN Monday after kinda-sorta apologizing for what he said last week: “If you have a cat, if you take it in your house and feed it and love it, what happens when you go out of town?”

Well sir, I can’t speak on behalf of cats, but if you’re a responsible pet owner and had it spayed or neutered, you’re not gonna come home to a houseful of kittens. Anyways, if you’re a responsible owner, when you go out of town you hire a good pet sitter or leave your kitty at a kennel – never all alone in your house for days. GRRrrrr.

Bauer writes about how important Christian values are on his website. If there’s one thing I learned when I went to church, it’s that good humans – Christian or otherwise – should be kind to all living creatures. And even though I’m just a dog, I’m pretty darn sure that means feeding the hungry.

Are your hackles as high as mine over this? Tell Bauer how you feel by shooting him an email at andre@andrebauer.com.

PHOTOS: andrebauer.com