THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609140121
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: RANDOM RAMBLES
SOURCE: TONY STEIN
LENGTH: 79 lines
A young woman called me the other day, upset and angry because she had found a dog lying in a ditch with newborn puppies. She took care of the dogs, but that didn't take care of her anger.
The woman called me because I am a member of the board of the Chesapeake Humane Society. My wife founded the society in 1972. She had rescued a kitten thrown from a car and made two unhappy discoveries. One, that Chesapeake had no animal welfare organization. Two, that the city's animal control bureau was a disaster area.
Twenty-four years later, the Chesapeake Humane Society is active and growing. It has worked with the city to help construct a modern shelter, pass strong animal welfare laws and develop a professional shelter staff.
What hasn't changed is a set of attitudes that too many people have. Here's a checklist:
It's OK to let dogs and cats run free.
Puppies and kittens are cute and you can always give them away.
Vet care is expensive so it's a last resort.
Dogs and cats are basically property, interchangeable and quickly replaceable.
No. Individually and collectively, no.
Even if there weren't laws against letting animals run free, the dog or cat roaming or just ``let out to use the bathroom'' faces a death sentence. Sooner or later, it's going to lose a one-on-one with a car. Not to mention the dirt and damage a roaming animal leaves in its wake.
Yes, puppies and kittens are cute. But there are too many of them born unwanted. They end up abandoned or in the hands of some poor animal control officer whose sad job it is to give them a merciful death. I wince when I see the roadside sprout signs saying ``Free to a good home.'' You don't much value something you get for nothing. Actually, the sign should read, ``Free to anyone who'll take these critters off our hands.''
The best weapon to fight the flood of unwanted animals is to spay and neuter them. Both of ours have been ``fixed'' with no ill effects whatever. What's more, a neutered male is likely to have much less inclination to wander and fight.
``Gee,'' you hear people say, ``I'd have it done, but it costs too much.'' There are a couple of comebacks to that. To begin with, there may be help available on the cost. If you adopt from the city shelter, the Humane Society pays part. The Animal Assistance League does the same for animals adopted from its shelter. Then there's an organization called Tidewater Humane, which helps with spay-neuter costs. Or watch for occasional clinics and vet specials.
Bottom line, spay-neuter is a primary step in managing a critical dog and cat over-population problem. And - this may sound cold, but it's realistic - if you can't afford the expenses that go with pet ownership, reconsider your decision to get one. A pet is a responsibility. It is a live creature that looks to you for its needs. The feeding you forgot, the empty water bowl, the short chain outside, the skin problem you ignore all have their effect on flesh and blood.
Flesh and blood and, almost always, a host of endearing traits bound together with a love for you. Yet any shelter staffer can tell you about the people who turn pets in ``because we're going on vacation.'' Or ``because it's too lively.'' Or ``because it was a nice pup, but now it's bigger than we thought.''
Look at the begging, pleading, hopeful eyes of so many animals in shelters, They are betrayed and bewildered, and they don't understand.
We have had dogs and cats at our home throughout almost all of the 44 years we've been married. Once we thought it was funny when our dog sired ungainly neighborhood pups. We know better now. Once we thought it was OK to open the door and let an animal run free. We know better now. The lessons are hard. They're in the form of animals who become casualties of the streets or die in shelters because there's no place for them.
Most of the time, it isn't meanness that makes people mistreat animals. It's ignorance. If there are hard lessons in animal ownership, there are easy ones, too. Lessons that pets must have attention, proper food, proper shelter and medical care. Basic stuff, but, somewhere along the way, people forget.
Think of it, if you must, as an investment. Your reward can be one of the few forms of unselfish love left in a cynical world. Did the boss give you a miserable day? Rover's wagging tail tells you you're his main man or woman. Did the auto shop sock you with a chilling bill? You wish your engine would purr like the cat in your lap as you stroke away your frown.
The hottest stock on Wall Street never paid off like that. by CNB