Four months ago my cat Tiger died suddenly. He was a healthy cat and his death was unexpected but at 12 years old he had a full and happy life. He was 2 when I rescued him and my life will be forever changed because he was a part of it.
My husband and I didn't want to go too long without a cat because we didn't want the dogs to lose their "cat manners". A month after Tiger died we adopted two 1-1/2 year old tabby cats that came from the same litter. They had been living in a foster home for a year and prior to that were living wild in some farmer's barn. They were attached to each other so it was hard to place them since people were willing to take 2 cats and the SPCA didn't want to separate them.
Initially we kept the cats completely separate from the dogs with occasional views of each other through baby gates or leashed visits. Maybe we were too conservative initially because the dogs become extremely excited every time they see the cats and cannot be trusted to be left alone with them. The cats mark anywhere the dogs sleep when they are allowed in other portions of the house so we have to limit their access as well. One of the cats did get past the barriers while I was at work this week and when I came home one of my dogs had him cornered. No fur was up, I don't think there was any aggression from the dog but he was very excited and had scratched the cat while jumping on him. The cat had a small cut on his lip and was fine but the experience terrified me. What if I hadn't gotten home when I did? Would I have a dead cat on my hands?
Now it seems like we have set up the cats as some sort of forbidden prize for the dogs and they are obsessed with them. A month ago my uncle died, leaving behind a 10 year old tabby cat. In my blog from last month I talked about how sad I was that we couldn't find a place for Jones. Since we brought Jones home my stress level has increased dramatically because now my house is divided in three.
The young cats are still separate from the dogs. The dogs have had leashed time with Jones in the same room but their reaction is as volatile as it is with the young cats. Jones has been an only cat his whole life and isn't used to having any animals around. The young cats have been around other cats but they both have eye infections right now and I don't want them to get Jones sick since he is older and I want to keep his him healthy since he will need to have dental surgery this month to take care of his rotten teeth. So my husband and I live separate lives behind doggie cats and screens. The dogs are used to sleeping with us, Jones is used to sleeping with my uncle so we swap who sleeps with which pets each night. The young cats have each other and seem to be content with our visits during the day. But we are not making any progress towards getting our house, our sanity or our marriage back.
I worry that we were too conservative in the beginning and now we will need professional help to get them together, if we can ever get them together at all. Our pet sitter definitely thinks we should rip the band aid off but I have images of cats scratching dog's eyes out and dogs pouncing on cats. Next weekend we are going to a friends wedding and will need to stay out of town for one night. I am determined to at least get Jones with the dogs by then. I feel like either way I'm about to hire someone to help before things are irreversibly doomed.
Showing posts with label pet rescue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pet rescue. Show all posts
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Cat Sanctuaries and Other Myths
My uncle died from complications from diabetes last week. He was very sick for a long time so while his death was sad, it was expected. Whenever someone dies it is always emotional going through their personal belongings but it is also very healing. Unfortunately my families healing cannot begin because of all the stress involved in re-homing my uncle's cat Jones.
Jones is 8 years old. He has lived his entire life with my uncle. While he has made appearances over the years for other family members he was definitely a one-man cat. I have made calls to every rescue within an hour of my uncle's house and none of them will take the cat. I have been told that an older cat who has only had one owner may take a long time to warm up to new people and will be difficult to place. I knew this and that's why I called places that marketed themselves as sanctuaries and no-kill shelters. I figured they would give Jones the time that he needed to adjust could find him a nice home.
What bothers me the most is that the public is donating money to no kill shelters and sanctuaries on the allusion that they are the last stop for animals that no one else wants. That you should give them your money because they are taking care of those animals that would otherwise be euthanized. In some cases that is true. I know that there are true animal sanctuaries that take everyone and give them a happy life even if they never get adopted. But those places do not exist in this area.
After spending days on the phone I have discovered the following:
1. Many no-kill shelters only take animals that are highly adoptable and, therefore; would not be there for very long. If you market yourself as no kill but just don't take in the animals that another shelter would euthanize you are still sentencing that animal to death, just shifting the responsibility to someone else to do it.
2. A lot of animal sanctuaries focus their attention on shelters with a high kill rate so they can rescue animals that still have a lot of life to live. Because of this, those sanctuaries do not take any animals from the public. You can take your animal to one of the high kill shelters with the hope that a sanctuary volunteer or worker will notice him and rescue him before time runs out but that is an awful risk to take. The reality is that these places have limited space just like shelters and stop taking in animals after a certain point as well.
I have volunteered with animal rescue for 14 years and adopted four dogs and three cats from rescue organizations during that time. I do not want to give the impression that all rescues and sanctuaries are bad. This is just about my personal frustrations with rescues in Maryland where my uncle lived and my shock at discovering that things were more depressing in the animal rescue world than I could have ever imagined.
I think of the stories on the news that I hear about people dying and leaving behind dozens of neglected animals. There are always the news reports that show police and volunteers going into the hoarder's house and rescuing the animals. They show these animals going to local rescue groups and give updates over the next several months as the animals are adopted. But what about when it's just one cat. Those stories don't make the news. Those animals are often sentenced to death when their owner's die or go to jail but we don't hear about that. If the authorities euthanized 20 cats that had no major medical problems the public outcry would be immense. But if they euthanize these cats one at a time from 20 different homes the impact is the same.
I will likely take the cat the 6 hours back to where I live in New York and take it to a true no-kill shelter in my area. A place that takes healthy (and sometimes not so healthy) pets and gives them the time and love that they need to have a chance at life. I will continue to donate my time and money to these organizations and try not to let the experiences of the past week jade me too much. I will not accept that my uncle's best friend's life ends just because his did.
Jones is 8 years old. He has lived his entire life with my uncle. While he has made appearances over the years for other family members he was definitely a one-man cat. I have made calls to every rescue within an hour of my uncle's house and none of them will take the cat. I have been told that an older cat who has only had one owner may take a long time to warm up to new people and will be difficult to place. I knew this and that's why I called places that marketed themselves as sanctuaries and no-kill shelters. I figured they would give Jones the time that he needed to adjust could find him a nice home.
What bothers me the most is that the public is donating money to no kill shelters and sanctuaries on the allusion that they are the last stop for animals that no one else wants. That you should give them your money because they are taking care of those animals that would otherwise be euthanized. In some cases that is true. I know that there are true animal sanctuaries that take everyone and give them a happy life even if they never get adopted. But those places do not exist in this area.
After spending days on the phone I have discovered the following:
1. Many no-kill shelters only take animals that are highly adoptable and, therefore; would not be there for very long. If you market yourself as no kill but just don't take in the animals that another shelter would euthanize you are still sentencing that animal to death, just shifting the responsibility to someone else to do it.
2. A lot of animal sanctuaries focus their attention on shelters with a high kill rate so they can rescue animals that still have a lot of life to live. Because of this, those sanctuaries do not take any animals from the public. You can take your animal to one of the high kill shelters with the hope that a sanctuary volunteer or worker will notice him and rescue him before time runs out but that is an awful risk to take. The reality is that these places have limited space just like shelters and stop taking in animals after a certain point as well.
I have volunteered with animal rescue for 14 years and adopted four dogs and three cats from rescue organizations during that time. I do not want to give the impression that all rescues and sanctuaries are bad. This is just about my personal frustrations with rescues in Maryland where my uncle lived and my shock at discovering that things were more depressing in the animal rescue world than I could have ever imagined.
I think of the stories on the news that I hear about people dying and leaving behind dozens of neglected animals. There are always the news reports that show police and volunteers going into the hoarder's house and rescuing the animals. They show these animals going to local rescue groups and give updates over the next several months as the animals are adopted. But what about when it's just one cat. Those stories don't make the news. Those animals are often sentenced to death when their owner's die or go to jail but we don't hear about that. If the authorities euthanized 20 cats that had no major medical problems the public outcry would be immense. But if they euthanize these cats one at a time from 20 different homes the impact is the same.
I will likely take the cat the 6 hours back to where I live in New York and take it to a true no-kill shelter in my area. A place that takes healthy (and sometimes not so healthy) pets and gives them the time and love that they need to have a chance at life. I will continue to donate my time and money to these organizations and try not to let the experiences of the past week jade me too much. I will not accept that my uncle's best friend's life ends just because his did.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Rescue Dog Dilema
My mother recently lost her 15 year old Akita mix. She is looking for a new dog to be a companion to her 6 year old Maltese, Belle. She makes $45,000 a year but a big chunk of that goes towards her long commute to work. Another chunk goes to her dog walker. Every day that my mom works she has someone come to her house to feed, play with and walk her dogs. The dogs aren't left in the house alone for more than 6-8 hours at a time. She is not perfect, but she is definitely an above average pet owner.
She found a very sweet 4 year old dog available from a local pet rescue group. She filled out an application, provided vet and personal references and started to get excited about getting a new dog to keep Belle company. Her application was approved in less than a week but she was surprised that the adoption fee for this sweet little mixed breed was $350.
I understand that rescue groups need donations and adoption fees from the public to operate but pricing the dogs out of the price range of most of the people in your community doesn't seem like a good idea. By comparison, the Humane Society in my mom's semi-rural, lower middle class town charges $40 for a neutered dog. They adopt dogs out very quickly and have the space to take in new animals weekly. They only euthanize dogs if they have behavioral or medical problems which are beyond treatment. Even the heartworm positive dogs are treated and re-homed.
Most of the jobs in my mom's town pay $7-$10 an hour. That's why many people commute 2 or more hours to better jobs in other states. If I made $10 an hour, spending what probably amounts to a rent payment on a dog would be unthinkable. I think annual vet check ups, vaccinations, Heartguard and flea and tick preventative only costs a little more than that for an entire year for a healthy dog.
Many of the dogs from these rescue groups do seem to be in foster homes so they are living "normal" lives while waiting for their forever homes. But if the rescue group isn't spending money to house these dogs in a kennel, then why are they charging so much? What are those fees covering? I know the foster parents don't get paid. I understand that there are vet bills but usually they have a vet that provides these services at a discount or for free. It seems like a lower adoption fee would lead to more homes for dogs in a shorter period of time.
I did pay a total of $400 for my two rescue dogs. One came from a breed specific rescue and was living in a shelter before we brought her home. The other was transported from a high kill shelter down south and then lived in a foster home. The purebred cost less than 1/4 of a what she would have cost from a breeder and I can't imagine any circumstances where I would purchase a dog from a breeder. The time and love that the chain of people who caravaned our boy from Louisiana to New York to save his life are worth the fee that we paid. I can't imagine the fee covered their gas for this trip.
I get that you can't make dogs free because then completely unqualified people might take dogs home. But the dogs should be reasonably priced for the community that you serve. If you find that you are keeping dogs for 4-6 months before you find them a home and other groups are placing their dogs in weeks then maybe you need to make a change. Because there are obviously plenty of people in the community that want to adopt dogs. For the meantime, my mom has found another animal rescue a couple towns over that charges $100 a dog. She has an application in place and Belle should have a new friend soon.
She found a very sweet 4 year old dog available from a local pet rescue group. She filled out an application, provided vet and personal references and started to get excited about getting a new dog to keep Belle company. Her application was approved in less than a week but she was surprised that the adoption fee for this sweet little mixed breed was $350.
I understand that rescue groups need donations and adoption fees from the public to operate but pricing the dogs out of the price range of most of the people in your community doesn't seem like a good idea. By comparison, the Humane Society in my mom's semi-rural, lower middle class town charges $40 for a neutered dog. They adopt dogs out very quickly and have the space to take in new animals weekly. They only euthanize dogs if they have behavioral or medical problems which are beyond treatment. Even the heartworm positive dogs are treated and re-homed.
Most of the jobs in my mom's town pay $7-$10 an hour. That's why many people commute 2 or more hours to better jobs in other states. If I made $10 an hour, spending what probably amounts to a rent payment on a dog would be unthinkable. I think annual vet check ups, vaccinations, Heartguard and flea and tick preventative only costs a little more than that for an entire year for a healthy dog.
Many of the dogs from these rescue groups do seem to be in foster homes so they are living "normal" lives while waiting for their forever homes. But if the rescue group isn't spending money to house these dogs in a kennel, then why are they charging so much? What are those fees covering? I know the foster parents don't get paid. I understand that there are vet bills but usually they have a vet that provides these services at a discount or for free. It seems like a lower adoption fee would lead to more homes for dogs in a shorter period of time.
I did pay a total of $400 for my two rescue dogs. One came from a breed specific rescue and was living in a shelter before we brought her home. The other was transported from a high kill shelter down south and then lived in a foster home. The purebred cost less than 1/4 of a what she would have cost from a breeder and I can't imagine any circumstances where I would purchase a dog from a breeder. The time and love that the chain of people who caravaned our boy from Louisiana to New York to save his life are worth the fee that we paid. I can't imagine the fee covered their gas for this trip.
I get that you can't make dogs free because then completely unqualified people might take dogs home. But the dogs should be reasonably priced for the community that you serve. If you find that you are keeping dogs for 4-6 months before you find them a home and other groups are placing their dogs in weeks then maybe you need to make a change. Because there are obviously plenty of people in the community that want to adopt dogs. For the meantime, my mom has found another animal rescue a couple towns over that charges $100 a dog. She has an application in place and Belle should have a new friend soon.
Friday, May 21, 2010
The New Dog Blog
So Ollana didn't work out for us. She has lived in a kennel for too long and just won't adapt to a home life with another needy dog and a cat. Hopefully someone else will come along for her. But, on the bright side, she is very attached to all the great staff at the kennel where she is housed and gets lot of walks, playtime and kisses. She has never known anything other than the kennel life and doesn't seem to think she's missing out on anything.
We did end up adopting Georgia. She is three years old and very hyper. Similar background to Ollana- most of her life in a cage because of a crappy owner but she did have exposure to other dogs and cats. Her play date with Chale when great so we brought her home on Monday.
The amount of work for two dogs vs. one is definitely an adjustment but its worth it. Things have already improved dramatically since the first day and we're only on day 4! I hope to look back on this week 3 months from now and smile at how normal and easy everything seems comparatively.
One of the neighbors complimented our dogs yesterday when we were walking them. These are the moments that I cherish because people assume that two well behaved, purebred dogs must have come from a pet store or a breeder. I take pride in telling them that they are both rescues who spent 3-4 months at a rescue before I adopted them.
That the only difference between my dogs and some puppy mill dog is that I know whats wrong with them when I get them. So I can have a plan in place and work to fix or accommodate those problems from day one. You are playing a game of roulette and have no idea what physical, medical or behavioral problem will pop up but I guarantee you one will, because they always do. Dogs are the ultimate money pit but they are oh so worth it!
We did end up adopting Georgia. She is three years old and very hyper. Similar background to Ollana- most of her life in a cage because of a crappy owner but she did have exposure to other dogs and cats. Her play date with Chale when great so we brought her home on Monday.
The amount of work for two dogs vs. one is definitely an adjustment but its worth it. Things have already improved dramatically since the first day and we're only on day 4! I hope to look back on this week 3 months from now and smile at how normal and easy everything seems comparatively.
One of the neighbors complimented our dogs yesterday when we were walking them. These are the moments that I cherish because people assume that two well behaved, purebred dogs must have come from a pet store or a breeder. I take pride in telling them that they are both rescues who spent 3-4 months at a rescue before I adopted them.
That the only difference between my dogs and some puppy mill dog is that I know whats wrong with them when I get them. So I can have a plan in place and work to fix or accommodate those problems from day one. You are playing a game of roulette and have no idea what physical, medical or behavioral problem will pop up but I guarantee you one will, because they always do. Dogs are the ultimate money pit but they are oh so worth it!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Too Busy to Be A Good Dog Owner
I love people who were mediocre dog owners before they had kids who then become horrible dog owners after they have kids. "We can't walk Riley because we have to watch little Max" or some other lame excuse gets thrown around and accepted way too much. Unless you're Octomom that just doesn't make any sense. So you don't watch TV, you don't go out, you don't do anything except watch your children 24 hours a day seen days a week? I seriously doubt that.
I have a co-worker who has two overweight black labs. They are very high energy dogs but very sweet. She keeps them locked in the basement all day long and then lets them out in the backyard when she gets home. She says she doesn't walk the dogs because they don't walk well on the leash but they get so little attention I'm surprised they are even house trained. She goes to happy hour at least twice a week after work. She has two children but they are both in school all day. She is always at the water cooler discussing the latest episodes of Dancing with the Stars, the Biggest Loser, etc. Sounds like someone with a lot of free time to me. Not surprisingly her kids are very bad. Just like the dogs, they receive no discipline or structure and run wild. I find myself playing with her dogs and disciplining her children every time I go to her house.
To her credit, her husband does travel a lot and she is left with managing many of the household duties herself. But he earns well over $100,000 a year and she makes a good salary as well. They lead a pretty lavish lifestyle with frequent vacations, a big house, luxury cars, daily meals out and lots of toys for the kids and themselves. They definitely have the financial means to hire a dog sitter, take their dogs to a doggie day care or invest in some quality dog training.
She gained 60 lbs with her second child but managed to find time to walk on the treadmill for an hour every day while watching TV to take the weight off. It's too bad she doesn't care as much about her poor dogs as she does about the size of her ass. The problem is she had the dogs well before she had the kids and she claimed to never have time to train or exercise the dogs when it was just her and her husband. I think people get dogs because they think they are cute but they don't realize that having a dog is like having a child. It is a big responsibility and it takes a lot of time, money and patience on your part to do it right.
I have volunteered at no kill rescue organizations that were very strict with their adoption requirements. Dogs were not adopted out unless the perfect home was found for each dog. We did home visits, interviewed references and made sure that person's lifestyle matched up to what we felt the dog needed to be happy. Unfortunately this can't be applied to the Humane Society, ASPCA and other public rescue organizations that have limited funding and space. Is it better for two dogs to go to a home where they'll get minimal exercise and attention than for those dogs to be put down? Of course it is.
The rescue groups are not being frequented by this type of bad dog owner. My co-worker and many other people like her get their dogs from pet stores and breeders on a whim. They don't want damaged rescue dogs. They haven't sat down with their family to determine if they have the emotional and financial means to properly care for a dog or what type of dog suits their lifestyle. Many of these dogs end up in shelters once the owners realize that being a dog owner is a lot of work. These are the dogs that I adopt. The dogs that have been abandoned or abused by the only family they have ever known, or worse yet, the dogs that have never known a family.
While I think private rescue organizations are great, those dogs are generally not at risk for being euthanized to make space for additional dogs. There is never a shortage of pure bred dogs at the shelters. Even if you have your heart set on a specific breed you should always check with your local rescue groups to see what dogs they have. Unfortunately my favorite breed of dog, the German Shepherd, is always well represented at shelters and I don't anticipate ever having a problem finding one at my local ASPCA. But if there were no German Shepherd dogs or mixes available within a couple hours of my house I would adopt another breed of dog. I cannot imagine any situation where I would turn to a breeder or pet store to get my dogs.
I don't have time to read or write as much as I'd like. Sometimes I make excuses for not working out or pick up dinner because I don't have time to prepare a meal. I don't have the time or the patience to have children or to keep in touch with all my friends and relatives regularly. But I always make time for my pets. Like brushing my teeth, going to the bathroom and eating, they are just part of my regular routine. I chose to adopt pets. After that I am obligated to everything related to their care.
I have a co-worker who has two overweight black labs. They are very high energy dogs but very sweet. She keeps them locked in the basement all day long and then lets them out in the backyard when she gets home. She says she doesn't walk the dogs because they don't walk well on the leash but they get so little attention I'm surprised they are even house trained. She goes to happy hour at least twice a week after work. She has two children but they are both in school all day. She is always at the water cooler discussing the latest episodes of Dancing with the Stars, the Biggest Loser, etc. Sounds like someone with a lot of free time to me. Not surprisingly her kids are very bad. Just like the dogs, they receive no discipline or structure and run wild. I find myself playing with her dogs and disciplining her children every time I go to her house.
To her credit, her husband does travel a lot and she is left with managing many of the household duties herself. But he earns well over $100,000 a year and she makes a good salary as well. They lead a pretty lavish lifestyle with frequent vacations, a big house, luxury cars, daily meals out and lots of toys for the kids and themselves. They definitely have the financial means to hire a dog sitter, take their dogs to a doggie day care or invest in some quality dog training.
She gained 60 lbs with her second child but managed to find time to walk on the treadmill for an hour every day while watching TV to take the weight off. It's too bad she doesn't care as much about her poor dogs as she does about the size of her ass. The problem is she had the dogs well before she had the kids and she claimed to never have time to train or exercise the dogs when it was just her and her husband. I think people get dogs because they think they are cute but they don't realize that having a dog is like having a child. It is a big responsibility and it takes a lot of time, money and patience on your part to do it right.
I have volunteered at no kill rescue organizations that were very strict with their adoption requirements. Dogs were not adopted out unless the perfect home was found for each dog. We did home visits, interviewed references and made sure that person's lifestyle matched up to what we felt the dog needed to be happy. Unfortunately this can't be applied to the Humane Society, ASPCA and other public rescue organizations that have limited funding and space. Is it better for two dogs to go to a home where they'll get minimal exercise and attention than for those dogs to be put down? Of course it is.
The rescue groups are not being frequented by this type of bad dog owner. My co-worker and many other people like her get their dogs from pet stores and breeders on a whim. They don't want damaged rescue dogs. They haven't sat down with their family to determine if they have the emotional and financial means to properly care for a dog or what type of dog suits their lifestyle. Many of these dogs end up in shelters once the owners realize that being a dog owner is a lot of work. These are the dogs that I adopt. The dogs that have been abandoned or abused by the only family they have ever known, or worse yet, the dogs that have never known a family.
While I think private rescue organizations are great, those dogs are generally not at risk for being euthanized to make space for additional dogs. There is never a shortage of pure bred dogs at the shelters. Even if you have your heart set on a specific breed you should always check with your local rescue groups to see what dogs they have. Unfortunately my favorite breed of dog, the German Shepherd, is always well represented at shelters and I don't anticipate ever having a problem finding one at my local ASPCA. But if there were no German Shepherd dogs or mixes available within a couple hours of my house I would adopt another breed of dog. I cannot imagine any situation where I would turn to a breeder or pet store to get my dogs.
I don't have time to read or write as much as I'd like. Sometimes I make excuses for not working out or pick up dinner because I don't have time to prepare a meal. I don't have the time or the patience to have children or to keep in touch with all my friends and relatives regularly. But I always make time for my pets. Like brushing my teeth, going to the bathroom and eating, they are just part of my regular routine. I chose to adopt pets. After that I am obligated to everything related to their care.
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