pet connection

Many times positive changes come out of the most trying of times. That is certainly true when it comes to animals in the post-Katrina era of disaster response. Authorities now know that helping people evacuate with their animals is a life-saver not only for animals but also for people. That’s because many people will not leave their animals behind.

More good-from-bad situations may be developing now, and again, animals and people will benefit in the long run.

The deepening economic turmoil has forced many from their homes for reasons as sad and varied as the loss of a job, the adjustment of the interest rate and payment on a mortgage or bankruptcy from a health crisis for the uninsured (by the way, the PBS series “Frontline” recently looked at five other developed nations and concluded that ours in the only one that piles economic disaster on top of a family’s health crisis. Watch the show here.)

When people must make abrupt  and tragic adjustments to their lives, animals often suffer in the aftermath.

Shelters are seeing drop-offs increase, but instead of acting like shelters — a place of last resort to care for those in need — the organizations and people running them are too often condemning the very people who cared enough to bring their pets in hopes of their animals being rehomed. (As opposed to leaving them in abandoned houses or simply turning them loose to fend for themselves.)

Christie wrote about the problem, in her SFGate.com column, “Your Whole Pet“:

[P]et owners who don’t want to abandon their pets to an uncertain fate seek help at their local shelter. But rather than being offered assistance, they sometimes are lectured about their “irresponsibility.” Some are simply told that their pets will be put down. This harsh scenario exposes a weakness in this country’s reigning animal-shelter philosophy, which may not be serving the unwitting animal victims of the foreclosure crisis well. [...] The sheltering philosophy that has dominated animal control policy in this country since at least the 1970s is one that lays the blame for every pet problem, including large numbers of animals being killed in shelters every day, squarely at the feet of irresponsible pet owners. [...] Proponents of this approach believe that high kill rates in shelters are simply their best attempt at cleaning up after an uncaring and careless public.

I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to people in rescue or sheltering talk about pet-lovers sobbing as they gave up their pets, only to have the folks who are supposed to be helping dismiss the pet-owner’s tears as being “just for show,” make a dramatic point of stressing how quickly the pet would be killed in the “shelter” and offer contemptuous diatribes on how “if they really cared, they’d …. ” [fill in the blank with some unrealistic solution].

But even as Katrina changed the way we think of animals as part of disaster relief, the economic meltdown may be forcing welcome change in the way we think of “sheltering” and “rescue.” The result may be a true no-kill nation in which animal-lovers and animal advocacy organizations work together to provide a real safety net and true compassion — not just death and lectures.

Maddie’s Fund and Nathan Winograd have been at the forefront of this movement, and now, the Humane Society of the United States seems to be shifting its massive resources into helping to hasten this change.

As Winograd wrote last week:

In announcing a partnership for a national advertising campaigning promoting adoptions being launched by Maddie’s Fund, HSUS, and the Ad Council, Wayne Pacelle stated:

“It will make a life-saving difference in securing loving homes for untold numbers of pets and get us closer to a no-kill nation.”

But, most importantly, HSUS states that the public does care and is not to blame for their killing, that killing animals in shelters is “needless,” that we can be a No Kill nation today, and that “pet overpopulation” is more myth than fact.

On his blog, Pacelle says:

If the humane movement had a signature issue, it would be the euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals in shelters. The numbers have been moving in our direction, with The HSUS and other animal protection groups spurring steady progress through legislation, education, and sterilization. Euthanasia is down from 15-20 million dogs and cats 30 years ago to about 4 million today—but this is a preventable tragedy and there’s still too much killing of our best friends. We can do better and we must do better.

[...]

Now, just 20 percent or so of dogs in homes come from shelters and rescue groups. If we raise this number to 35 percent, we would solve the bulk of the homeless dog problem.

Yes, and we can do it without the Pet Extinction Acts known as forced spay-neuter, without bans on the scary breed de jour and without demonizing people who are truly trying to do their best.

Things just seem to come in threes … disaster response, no-kill nation and, and, and … a growing demand for changes in the “closed book” system of dog-breeding that has done incredible damage to the health of many wonderful dogs.

Earlier this year, the BBC took a look at the problems of purebreds, and although we had our problems with the show, the basic premise was spot-on: Current breeding practices based on maintaining breed “purity” continue to produce dogs that are riddled with congenital defects. Opening breeding practices to more programs like the Dalmatian-Pointer outcross and demanding that no dog be given a “championship” without being able to demonstrate health, soundness and some degree of ability  — or even be able to breathe without sitting on an ice pack (like the pathetic Crufts Best In Show Peke above) — is the very minimum we can do for our dogs. We can protect and preserve our heritage breeds, but we need to make some changes in how we breed to do so.

Terrierman has been all over this like a, well, Jack Russell … here and here, as he reports on sponsors abandoning the Crufts dog show as quickly as they can. For major sponsor Pedigree, the pull-out represents a shift not only to get away from the mess of sick and deformed dogs but also an embrace of pet adoptions, seen last year in its ads for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, which it also sponsors.  Instead of touting the “show champions” that eat Pedigree dog food, the company pushed shelter adoptions.

Yes, change is in the air.

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Speaking of disasters …

So look at this. Where I was with McKenzie last weekend ? Facing a wall of fire this week.  That little green spot on the map just east of Highway 71 is where I was.

The only thing to find encouraging about this map are those horse icons — evacuation stations for people in the area who need a safe place to put their livestock. Yes, after Katrina, the situation regarding animals and disasters will never be the same, and than heavens for that.

Which reminds me to remind you: Are you ready to leave your home now? The most important item for evacuating household pets is a crate or carrier. You need to have one for every animal. It keeps them safe, makes them transportable and provides them with temporary housing where ever you are. And make sure you can get to those crates when you need them. You don’t want to be wondering where they are or fishing them out of the garage rafters when you need to evacuate.

We have a several archived articles on disaster preparation in our searchable library, online thanks to a grant from Pfizer Animal Health. Here’s the most recent, and here’s the page to search for more.