Posts from the ‘Animal Specific’ Category
The Word ‘Pit Bull’
This week I was in the beauty salon and upon hearing that I work with wayward dogs, one lady was quick to say, “You just won’t believe what happened in my neighborhood!” She then proceeded to tell me with quite a bit of outrage how a ‘pit bull’ attacked a small dog in the neighborhood.
“Was the dog on a leash?” I asked.
“No!” the woman said with disdain.
I shook my head. “That’s one of my pet peeves,” I said. “People need to learn to keep their dogs on a leash.”
And the woman caught herself mid-breath. I could tell the wheels in her brain couldn’t process why I wasn’t reacting to the word ‘pit bull’. I went on to explain that a pit bull is a terrier and terriers were bred to hunt vermin. Chances are the pit (if it even was a pit bull) thought the small dog was more like a rat than a dog (and I know a lot of people who look at small dogs in the exact same way). Then instinct likely took over. It certainly didn’t mean the dog was vicious. It probably just accidentally did something it was bred to do.
The woman was shocked and her indignation flickered out like a flame extinguished, but it got me to thinking. When I think of the word ‘pit bull’, a certain image pops into my head that isn’t necessarily accurate. Tough, vicious, mean, will fight you to the death. Those are just a few of the words I think some people who don’t have first-hand knowledge of the breed might use.
A few months ago, I heard a rumor of an image campaign funded by Petsmart Charities to rebrand the pit bull into what it really is: a big, lovable lap dog. And rumor has it that it worked! The bad news is that I surfed the web and I couldn’t find any information to support that rumor. I don’t where it was done or if it was even done at all. But the one thing I know for sure is that words really are powerful. Upon occasion, I’ve been known to refer to myself as a little ‘pit bull’. I’ve now come to realize even well-meaning words like that can put the breed in a negative light. So I’m changing my ways. And I’m encouraging you to do the same. More people need to understand that this breed is no better or no worse than any other breed. I believe it’s up to the lovers of this breed to change the way it is perceived and make the difference.
Because who needs a big fancy marketing campaign? The way to get people to change their view on the pit bull is to change it one person at a time.
And think you know the American Pit Bull Terrier? If you haven’t already, go to http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html and take their quiz. I’m betting you can’t pick the pit bull out on your first try.
That’s a Lot of Cats!
I’m a dog lover to my core. That’s just a fact. So it feels strange to write about cats. But someone has to say something because the madness has to end!
For the past several weeks, I have been noticing the ‘Come and Adopt a Cat or Kitten’ plea from shelters all over Phoenix. There have been price reduction specials and donations drives. Basically, everyone is trying to come up with creative ways to siphon the kitties out of the shelters. And they might work for a day or for a weekend, but it’s only putting a small dent into the overwhelming problem. There are just too many cats!
For the record, there are also too many dogs but the dogs don’t come into the shelters in droves like the cats do in the summertime. Let me give you an example of how bad this problem is: over the past six weeks, the Arizona Humane Society (that’s just the Humane Society and not including Maricopa County Animal Care & Control or any other rescue organization in the Maricopa County area) has taken in over 4800 cats and kittens. That’s a little over one hundred cats and kittens every day for the past six weeks.
So what happens to those kitties? There isn’t enough space in the shelter to accommodate them. Some of them are sent out to foster homes. Some of them will end up on the adoption floor. And the rest…? Well that’s the reality no one wants to talk about.
So what’s the alternative? Leaving them on the streets? Because on the streets is where the problem is happening. Maricopa County doesn’t have leash laws for cats like they do dogs and many owners allow their cats to roam freely outside during the day making it impossible to tell which cat is owned and which cat is a stray. Additionally, many of these cats are not spayed or neutered which is just causing the problem to multiply. At one time, The Humane Society of the United States estimated if you took two cats, one unsprayed and one unneutered, and left them together for seven years without altering any of their offspring then the maximum number of cats you could potentially expect would be 420,000. Many have argued that this number is skewed. It predicts maximum number of kittens in a litter and doesn’t take into account health considerations or a number of other factors. The number is meant to shock you and awash you in the realization that an unaltered cat is a problem.
And it is a problem. Right now, there are both domesticated and feral cats that are breeding like crazy. Shelters struggle with charging fees for cats and kittens (to offset the cost of vaccinations, spay and neutering, medical treatments and general maintenance of the animals), when many people acquire their cats as they wander up into that person’s backyard looking for food.
So what can we do to end this problem? First we need to get a handle on the cats that are literally breeding in our streets. There is a program called Trap, Neuter, Release (or TNR) that will come into your neighborhood, trap the cats, and take them to a location where they will be spayed or neutered. After that, they are then released back into the neighborhood from where they came. The reason they are returned is because there is clearly a food source available to the cats otherwise they wouldn’t exist in that location. The colony of usually feral cats is then allowed to die out naturally. There are opponents to the TNR program who have the mindset that it is better to humanely euthanize the animals rather than to subject them to a life on the streets that will inevitably shorten their lifespan. However, if you are inclined to investigate the TNR program, a quick Google search pulled up two places in Phoenix who offer such services. They are Altered Tails and the Animal Defense League of Arizona.
The other thing we can do is spay and neuter our own cats. Fortunately, Phoenix has a wealth of low cost spay and neutering services. Maricopa County Animal Care & Control, The Arizona Humane Society, HALO and the Arizona Animal Welfare League are just a few who offer low-cost spay and neutering services and they are happy to help anyone needing assistance. All four of these organizations are on the front lines battling against the cat crisis. They see and have to deal with the problem first hand.
Sadly, if volunteering in the Arizona Humane Society’s public clinic is any indication of what goes on throughout the city, then there are at least twenty-five dogs that are altered to every cat. That’s just outrageous! The kitties need our help. They need us, as pet owners, to be more responsible. Of course, it is wonderful if you can adopt or take in a homeless cat or kitten because one life lost is still too many but please spay and neuter your cats. I think often both the shelters and the media are too politically correct in their language when dealing with this problem. They don’t want to scare anyone or chase them away. But do not be mistaken, this is a catastrophe of enormous proportions and one that we, as the public, could easily control if we set our minds to it.
