Seems as if there are basically 3 schools of thought (at least in this country and many other Western cultures, don't even get me started on the Eastern attitudes towards our furry friends or we'll be here all night) when it comes to animals who we have as pets.
School #1: They're property, not real life that matters in any significant way and as disposable as inanimate objects. These are also the scumbags who think nothing of abusing animals whether it's beating them or neglecting to give them proper food, water, shelter, and veterinary care. Their animals (I can't bring myself to call theirs pets) are always infested and crawling with fleas, ticks, and other parasites. These are also the ones who never spay and neuter and who let their dogs and cats run loose through the neighborhoods, breeeding at will and adding to the pet overpopulation problem that we all have to deal with in one way or another at times. If the dog is kept on property at all, many times it's chained or roped to an object in the yard like a tree or post. These are the poor creatures that we all see flattened on the roads all the time. If the animal requires vet care, they put it down, many times after it's already suffered with the wound or illness for quite some time. These people make me seethe with disgust. I loathe them and always wonder how they'd like to live a life like the one they inflict on their animals. Why they even get a dog or cat is beyond normal comprehension. If I don't like lima beans, I don't buy them but try getting that concept across to some moron who thinks he/she is "entitled" to own an animal so that they can then proceed to make it miserable. This is why you always see a section of any adoption form whether it be the local pound, ASPCA, Humane Society, or rescue organization that asks if the new potential owner realizes the average lifespan of a dog or cat and what the level of committment is to provide for (not just merely acquire and own but provide for) the animal during its lifetime. Just a note of interest. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 3 years. The average lifetime of an indoor cat is 14. I rest my case.
School #2: These are what I term the average decent owners. They would never hurt an animal, have true affection for their pet, and always provide the basic needs of food and water as well as shelter but in some cases that shelter may not be inside. If they're dogs, it can be a doghouse or if it's cats, they may be allowed to roam freely outside at some or all times. If the animal starts to require any sort of vet care beyond spay/neuter and vaccines, they may put the animal down. This can be due either to actual budget constraints or just lack of priorities if money is not a consideration.
School #3: These are the people that animals really like to belong to. They truly love their animals and provide not just the basic needs but actually make the dog or cat a treasured member of the family. They may even spoil their fur babies with the best of pet food as well as special treats, toys, and other things. If the dog or cat requires vet care, they will go to any financial responsibility lengths that they can legitimately afford to get the animal what it needs to continue to live a quality life. Euthanasia is always a last choice and usually made only if the animal is truly suffering. Some people make fun of people who are huge animal lovers but I think that is wrong. We all have a choice when it comes to where we spend our time, money, and energy and if some of us want to spend some of it on our pets, it's no one else's business. Certainly it can be better and many times more fulfilling to spend it there than on many other things people squander their resources on nowadays.
So, no, Pat, you most certainly have not "gone off the deep end with your passion for animal welfare." You just belong to that final school of thought which I will always believe is the best school of thought. Don't ever change! <Wink> Take care and keep on doing and being exactly the way you are!
Leanne "Barbie Brat" :-) ;-) "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
----- Original Message ----- From: "pat brown" nqsqurtz@mail.staffnet.com To: candichat@dolls.de Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 6:38 PM Subject: Re: A story related to the demise of a cat
Mickey's story, I'm sorry to say, is far too controversial to write about because many, many people in my area still believe animals are huntable
and
disposable and simply property. It's a feature of an area that is still somewhat rural in spite of the creeping Northern influence. Mostly, those moving into our area are interested in cheap housing prices because
there's
nothing left in Norther Virginia. And the other reason this area is
booming
is because of the schools--children's welfare is a big deal here: I am certain animals do not and will not fair so well.
The one lady who does trap and release and all animal rescues without question, said that there were times a few years ago that her humane association would set up a table in front of our Wal-mart informing the public of spaying and neutering and taking donations. The volunteers were often insulted and jeered at by Wal-mart customers because of the message
of
animal welfare instead children's welfare and saving babies rather than whales. You know the bumper sticker...The Rappahannock Humane Society basically stopped public functions because the hostility was more than
they
bargained for so they now do their work silently. Probably that's why I wouldn't've heard about them from the SPCA because they wouldn't know the group of volunteers was still around.
I don't know what makes some of us more acutely aware of animals and the care to which they are entitled. I would submit that if, as a youngster
you
have had an attachment to an animal and it is taken from you--for whatever reason--the sorrow of such a loss never leaves. As a youngster, my mother was not an animal lover and once got me a kitten which, by week's end, decided to get rid of it because she was not satisfied with my 9-year-old responsiveness to cleaning out the litter box. I woke up Saturday morning and went looking for my kitten to find out that my mom claimed she had
given
it away. I'll never know because I did not see the people pick the cat up as I was asleep. I went into a rage and have never forgotten my anger for what she did to me. Watching my 16-year-old friend get through her loss
is
like reliving my own. So, yeah, maybe now I've gone off the deep end with my passion for animal welfare. And maybe I'm watching my friend develop
her
own passion out of a tragedy and wanting to never have an animal suffer as her cat did.
I think I can write a much more uplifting story about Bob's survival than
I
can a story that will make people rethink their values about companion animals. Regards, Pat Brown
----- Original Message ----- From: "sisu" sisupygmies@yahoo.com To: candichat@dolls.de Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 8:02 PM Subject: Re: A story related to the demise of a cat
Did anyone get to the end of this story? I'm testing out drafts because I'm interested in writing a story about Bob's surgery to submit to the local paper. TTYL, Pat Brown
I got to the end of the story! I am so very sorry for Mickey, may he find peace at The Bridge. I just hope that some good can come from this awful situation and the end of Mickey's too short life. Perhaps your young neighbor will spend a lifetime advancing the betterment of all 4leggeds. I am sure your example will stay with her a lifetime. She's is a very caring young lady.
Will you also include Mickey's story to the paper? Quite a contrast to Bob's life.
I've volunteered at 2 animal shelters and do rescue work, if those ladies doing rescue are "nuts", I'm proud to be in their asylum.
sisu and 7 indoor cats, 4 pygmy goats and 4 dogs one dog who was diagnosed with bone cancer this fall, had his front leg amputated and has undergone months of chemotherapy
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