Old approaches don’t work, but old thinking continues to push them
By Gina Spadafori
June 4, 2009
Sometimes there are comments that are just too good to stay there. From regular JenniferJ, here’s one of them:
There are certain attitudes, biases, assumptions and cliches that just won’t shift, no matter what real world, documented evidence or reasoned argument is put before them.
—Pets are a luxury, if you ever can’t afford something for your pet, you’re bad and unworthy and don’t deserve a pet.
—S/N is the MOST important measure of pet owner responsibility. Whether you could not afford the procedure or have a health screened titled dog you’ve chosen not to alter, you are bad and irresponsible
—Being intact is cruel. Sorry, being intact, with normal healthy organs is cruel? Nope. But intact pets do need a bit different management and those organs are inconvienent for many owners and after a certain age, the pet will be fine without them. so long as the decision is between a vet and owner I sure as hell have no issue with spay/neuter. Most of my pets are or will be altered, but a male dog in possession of his testicles does not equal suffering
—If you breed a litter you have automatically killed the same number of pets in the shelter. Does not matter that there are more than enough homes and if shelter were able to gain just a small amount more market share, 5-10% depending on regional circumstances, we could get all placeable pets into homes.
—there is no such thing as a responsible breeder, they’re all the same
—All the opposition to MSN is from the wicked breeders
—Breeders ALL make a lot of money (HaH! Ha hahahha We could have bought another HOUSE on what has gone into the dogs over 20 years. I am NOT exaggerating )
—Feral cats are all the fault of bad owners, they are all only one generation out of homes and if we make the bad owners spay and neuter them then the feral problem will magically disappear. And if you click your heels together and wish really hard…
—Those kittens flooding the shelters every spring all come from bad owners cats, because feral cats don’t have kittens where you can find them and remember, the moms weren’t really feral.
—TNR does not work. And even if it works, it’s cruel because the cats would be better of dead than be at risk outdoors. And even if being outside is not cruel, they kill wildlife.
Side note here: Yes, they do kill wildlife. Not to the extent that they are blamed probably. Feral colonies do not belong near endangered species breeding grounds etc.. But in most urban and suburban settings the real killer is development. I’m rural and help manage a colony and because the wildlife has natural habitat, it is thriving in spite of the cats. plus as ferals age, they tend to eshew the birds for the kibble, word.
And even if cats are responsible for every crime they are accused of A century of catch and kill has utterly failed to eliminate ferals. TNR has documented success in reducing numbers and numbers of kittens. Go with what works folks!
—If you ever go into a shelter and see the animals there, you would never breed, oppose MSN blah blah… Sorry, I’ve been in a lot of shelters. Like MANY dedicated breeders I pull dogs from shelters and rescue other breeds and mixes and species when they cross my path.
—Pets are all interchangeble. If the person who wants a small lap dog can’t find one they will be happy to come adopt an 85 lb lag mix or a cat instead.
—People who buy a pet are evil or ignorant. people who adopt acquire automatic virtue. Does not matter what kind of home they actually are.
There are more but you get the idea. And it does not matter what arguments are brought forth or how much hard evidence you present.
Being that rock solid sure of a conviction must be nice for them, but it’s not constructive. We need real-world solutions and strategies that actually work. If something has failed for decades, it’s failed, time to move on and evolve.
Amen, Jen!
What’s astounding is that I can totally see some people holding these ridiculous convictions.
Especially the “pets are interchangeable” rule. So someone who wants a smaller dog would do as well with a strong dog like a pitbull or a st. bernard? and vice versa? As if!
Comment by Maher S. Hoque — June 4, 2009 @ 9:31 am
You made my morning Gina!
Glad you liked it!
Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 9:36 am
Our wish list for the future is to have the blog allow for diaries that people can recommend and push to the top. Frankly, there’s just too many good, smart folks out there who need a voice — but don’t have the time to write as often as I do.
I can think of several of the regular commenters who I hope will be regular writers when that comes to pass.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 4, 2009 @ 9:57 am
GREAT article, Gina!!!!
I am SO with you on all of this. (And so frustrated to work in an environment in which so many people are ignorant enough to buy many of these arguments.)
I totally agree with the assessment of the idea that pets are interchangeable. I see what people want to adopt, and I see what we really have most of the time. We have a “wish list” a mile long of people who want small, cute, no bad habits, etc.
I know some people are just waiting for their one “just in case” dog to show up and are not seriously looking but I personally think it’s silly to keep people waiting for those imaginary shelter dogs to come along when they could be out finding the right dog elsewhere. Of course some people choose to be put on a list just because they hope to get a “cheap” purebred; we ought to be educating them rather than feeding their fantasies, imo.
The majority of shelter dogs are always going to be big, mixed-breed, and untrained — dogs for people who are either willing to spend the time to rehabilitate them, or at least willing to put up with imperfection. It’s highly unrealistic to claim that a shelter dog is going to fill the bill for all, or even most, potential pet owners, but that’s the way the game is played these days.
Comment by stellaluna — June 4, 2009 @ 10:21 am
I recently had a toy fox terrier returned to me. Medical disater on top of sudden unexpected death of spouse. Three years old, kind of fat, needed her teeth cleaned.
Did not want o go back to be part of a group. Princesses do not, ewww! share space with dogs that want to play and she had escaped this one-pig-ranch at 9 weeks for her career as center-of-the-universe. So getting her re-homed was a priority.
The economy sucks, there are lots of homeless pets. I put a 125.00 adopt fee on her to cover her vet make-over with every intention and expectation to lower it to get her into the best home and posted her in a few online adoption forums. Female, 8 pounds, housebroken.
OMG call after call after call, princess went home and apparently has established herself as queen of the universe from all accounts. I sent I don’t know how many disappointed folks to Petfinder to look at what TFT rescue has. Three months later I still am getting calls from people hoping she was returned again!
Learned something. there is a lot of demand for small and trained, even if the training is not perfect.
Petfinder is NOT well known outside of the animal world and those who watch daytime animal planet. all the over 40 something folks who called looking for a little pet were oblivious to it but grateful to find out. Even some radio ads and ads in the classifieds of papers would help tons.
There is a lot of lingering resentment, mistrust and dislike of shelters. When I suggested they check out local shelters, many said they had in the past but the dogs were never what they were told they were (12 pounds is actually 35 sort of thing) And especially the older, retirement age people and the people with young kids did not like the noisy chaotic shelters where they were sent in to browse.
Marketing, off-site adoptions, or direct from foster adoptions and honesty. We need them folks!
Did I mention marketing?
Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 10:50 am
Did I mention marketing?
Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 10:50 am
Heartily agree. Need Obama’s campaign workers.
Comment by NadineL — June 4, 2009 @ 11:00 am
Stellaluna- And your last paragraph is why I have no patience with the rescue and shelter POV that everyone MUST get a pet from either of them and that breeders of purebreds who can provide a dog of a predicable temperment and size are evil.
The first question I usually get at the shelter is “Are they housebroken?” Well, when there’s no doo doo in the kennel and they pee a river when they’re taken out, we figure that, yeah, they’re probably housebroken or close to it or would prefer to be. But the dog is in a stressful situation, so if they go in their kennel, who really knows what that means.
If it’s a puppy, the first question is “How big will they get?” We give our best guess, but we don’t really know because we never saw either parent in most cases.
And then we get the cat returned who missed the litter box ONCE within 24 hours of arriving in a strange new place. Oh boy, can’t have that.
Oh, and the puppy who was returned for, and I quote, “Digging, chewing and barking”. WTF?
I respect that rescues/shelters want to get animals into homes and save them, but they have to be smart and realistic about it or it can become a stressful revolving door for the animal and that’s not fair to anyone involved.
Sometimes a dog from a responsible breeder is the best choice and that’s OK.
——
Some of what Jennifer describes come close to being Urban Belief Tales, things that everybody “knows”.
Comment by Susan Fox — June 4, 2009 @ 11:02 am
It’s the Proverbial Them.
As in “They Said” and “You Know What They Say”
No. No I don’t.
References please!
When I have a rescue who is of questionable house skills, I am honest, and also lay it out.
“No he’s not perfect. Yet.
Dogs, especially adults house train pretty quick, but even if he was perfect here, he’ll be scared and confused initially in your home so treat him just like a puppy. The great thing is he’ll get it in a tenth of the time of a puppy. I’m only a phone call away if you need any suggestions. Here’s some great reference material.
Remember there’s a little work at the beginning but dogs pay you back with 1000% interest the time you put in.”
This approach seems to both prepare and reassure people. The fact that they can call me anytime seems to really take a lot of the stress out of it, even if they never need to.
If they get frustrated, I help them and when they calm down, I remind them that we are adult homo sapiens and we can figure out a solution to whatever the dog throws at us.
But I never tell people that the dog is fully anything! Besides, it seems as if it is couched right, they will feel as though they truly had a part in the dogs rehab and bragging rights about putting finishing touches in place.
As for the people who are clueless on normal animal behavior, refuse to learn or listen and can’t cope with an accident or two, I just usually pray they never reproduce.
My mild mannered, calm, tolerant husband once told a couple who returned a rescue dog with the most ridiculous list of complaints imaginable (dog was thrilled to see us and ran to our car, not normal in most bulldog rescues who get placed, they have no loyalty) that they should never have kids unless they got a better sense of humor and fixed their perception of what the universe owed them. The girl looked right at him and said “I’m pregnant”. She expected an apology. Hubby just grinned like a maniac, said congratulations and we left. Hope they were able to cope better with the “kinks” a child adds to life!
Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 11:24 am
“There is a lot of lingering resentment, mistrust and dislike of shelters. When I suggested they check out local shelters, many said they had in the past but the dogs were never what they were told they were (12 pounds is actually 35 sort of thing) And especially the older, retirement age people and the people with young kids did not like the noisy chaotic shelters where they were sent in to browse.
“Marketing, off-site adoptions, or direct from foster adoptions and honesty. We need them folks!
“Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 10:50 am “
JenniferJ, I do agree about the need for honesty above all in the shelter world. I think shelter staff have gotten so desperate to get animals out of there, they are willing to stretch the truth (i.e., the 12 lbs. being 35) if they think it’s going to get someone in to take a look at an animal. They tend to hope that even if that particular animal ends up being rejected, just getting the live bodies in here to look at the others might result in an adoption (hence my constant argument that a little old lady who comes in here looking for a toy poodle is not about to change her mind and take home a 75 lb. Chow-Lab-Pit mix just because it’s here).
I don’t belive it’s just the shelters who are at fault, though — just look at most of the TV or print ads by pet food companies and the like promoting shelter adoptions. Do they show the big, goofy, Chow-Lab-Pit mixes? Oh no, they always show sad-eyed purebreds and adorable puppies and small dogs behind bars. Why? Because that’s what the public WANTS.
Even shelter appeals for donations (the ones that don’t show cruelty-case animals) often use well-groomed purebreds and adorable animals that are not typical of the shelter population — they know that’s what people want, what will bring them in. I argue that point constantly where I work, that I don’t like to use purebreds in the mailings or other materials because they are not a fair representation of our shelter’s population.
To be fair, I do understand that, just like everybody else these days, shelters are in need of money and they all do what they feel is going to work to bring that money in. (That there IS basic marketing.) But if we are going to get real about getting more animals adopted, we need to start getting real about the animals we have, and how they end up here in the first place.
And no, I am not going to go with “overpopulation,” but I am going to go with owner apathy or ignorance. We really need to put more effort into developing better pet retention programs for the animals in our communities if we want owners to become responsible in the first place — and assessing monetary penalties is hardly the way to go about that.
(Sorry I missed that the original article was your doing, it’s fabulous! Thanks for some great observations.)
Comment by stellaluna — June 4, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
“The first question I usually get at the shelter is “Are they housebroken?” Well, when there’s no doo doo in the kennel and they pee a river when they’re taken out, we figure that, yeah, they’re probably housebroken or close to it or would prefer to be. But the dog is in a stressful situation, so if they go in their kennel, who really knows what that means.”
“Comment by Susan Fox — June 4, 2009 @ 11:02 am”
People who come to shelters tend to have unrealistic expectations about what they are getting, and shelters are often entirely too optimistic about what they have.
Add that to the fact that people who are getting rid of their pets are not always honest about the animals’ personality and training, because they’re hoping to give it a better chance at being adopted. They tend to overlook the minuses and exaggerate the pluses.
And you’re right, it’s just about impossible to tell what an animal is really like when you’re seeing it in the kennel. Another good reason for reality checks for potential adopters — they really need to know before they get there that they shouldn’t expect perfection. Some people will be pleasantly surprised by what they end up with — we do get some nice dogs with perfectly adequate house manners — but for the most part, they need to think of a shelter as somewhere they will be able to save a life and give an animal a chance it might not have otherwise, not as a pet store or a kennel.
Granted, there are shelters with more resources than others that are able to put necessary basic training and grooming and socialization into their animals to help them be more adoptable, but it’s just not that way everywhere. Sometimes they just have to go with what they have and do the best they can.
Comment by stellaluna — June 4, 2009 @ 12:24 pm
The Shelter Pet Project, the Ad Council’s HUGE 3-year campaign to promote shelter adoptions, will run off the Petfinder database. I think it is going to do a great job of reaching those people “outside” the animal world with the shelter and rescue message!
Disclaimer: I’m helping Maddie’s Fund, one of the sponsors of the SPP, with this project. But I’m there because I’m a true believer, not the other way around. :)
Comment by Christie Keith — June 4, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
That’s awesome that you are involved in the SPP, Christie! I’m looking forward to seeing that up and running. (Now if we can just get the Petfinder database to something resembling consistency….)
Comment by stellaluna — June 4, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
You certainly have encompassed the tone and attitudes being projected as facts on news reports (or some comments on the Daily Koz to Christie’s entry) after the passage of SB250 in the CA Senate.
So where will Florez (who’s padding his way to the Lt. Gov.ship) and Judie Mancuso be when those poor folks’ animals are confiscated in the scenario you describe above and the true huge costs of this bill come into play. Same place they are when L.A.s MSN s**t hits the fan, on to their next legislative attack on pet ownership.
Comment by ChrisRL — June 4, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
thumbs up Jenn J (and Gina for promoting).. absolutely NAILS it.
This one is my pet peeve: “—S/N is the MOST important measure of pet owner responsibility. Whether you could not afford the procedure or have a health screened titled dog you’ve chosen not to alter, you are bad and irresponsible”.
You could totally see that in the DKos comments on Christie’s diary. It didn’t even OCCUR to anyone there that a person might want to own an intact animal and do so without the dogs creating unwanted litters.
Comment by EmilyS — June 4, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
Oh crap. MSN passed?! (I’ve been a tad busy) When does it go into effect? Do I have to neuter Yankee before I move there?!
Comment by straybaby — June 4, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
No, Yankee can uncross his legs. :)
It passed the Senate due to severe arm twisting by the leadership, we get to keep grinding away on it in the Assembly now.
Has anyone else noted that SCiL and Florez and everyone else has stopped denying this is MSN? At least that fact has been made clear.
Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 6:26 pm
I think that getting dogs and cats out to foster care helps to access some of the “won’t go to a shelter” people who are good homes.
I have a friend who fosters for Anderson Valley Rescue and he basically markets the cats, if someone decides to adopt the fill out and send AVR a n application but the cats go from his home to the new owner.
He takes on the cats who would never show well at a shelter or even an offsite event or who were developing related issues.
I have been thinking that maybe a 4H shelter pet project might be a win win. Dogs or cats could be fostered with qualified 4H families. Kids in that chapter project could work on manners, training etc and part of the project could be the marketing and placement of the dog or cat. Kids could take classes through the local shelter and I am sure local animal related businesses could be persuaded to pitch in with food or supplies and services.
As this is 2009 I am sure there would be all sorts of liability issues.
OK, so now if SB250 and it’s ilk would just go die I might even have time to research what these kind of programs would involve!
Comment by JenniferJ — June 4, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
The local high school has a Panther Pals club. The members volunteer at the county shelter. Some are under 18, which would normally exclude them, but the county was willing to provide liability coverage. It’s worked out quite well. The kids are very motivated and do good things, petting and playing with the cats and walking the dogs.
FWIW
Comment by Susan Fox — June 4, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
Thanks Jennifer! Doesn’t CA have more pressing issues than whether my Yankee has furry balls or not?
Comment by straybaby — June 5, 2009 @ 8:19 am