Honesty (New York City)

I don't usually go over the cat euthanasia listings for our shelters each day. Because we are not able to rescue many cats these days, I find the exercise of looking at the lists too painful and depressing.

But, I did look over the kill list for today.

It contains 20 cats -- mostly sweet looking tabbies and a couple of handsome black and whites.

I would have liked to pull a dozen cats from the list, but with no open fosters and at capacity in my own home, it just isn't possible.

What is most distressing is noting the "reasons" most of the cats were dumped at the shelter by owners and why they are now on the list of doom.

One pretty tabby named, "Pinky" particularly stands out.

Pinky was surrendered by a family who claims the cat becomes upset when the "kids pull her tail."

One wonders why the parents couldn't teach the children NOT to pull the tail of the cat?

Pinky is described as loving and affectionate with people, but "should go into a home with older children."

Unfortunately, Pinky's not going into any home.

She's caught a URI infection (medical language for what basically is a cold) at the shelter and is now scheduled to die.

One wonders how many people, in lieu of teaching their children how to properly handle pets, instead dump those cats and dogs at the pound when the going gets tough?

What kind of "lesson" is that for the children?

"When you don't treat animals right, we dump the pets in the pound to die."

Of course that was the exact situation for the dog, Bello, we picked up from the shelter yesterday.

Bello was discarded because the "Teenage son isn't responsible for the dog." (Bello, by the way is doing wonderfully in his foster home. Yvonne called today to tell me how happy and thrilled her family is with Bello.)

One wonders about the children of such pets as Bello and Pinky?

Do they simply repeat the acquisition/dumping patterns with pets that their parents showed them when they were young?

If that be the case, then we can never expect that any city -- least of all, New York, will ever go "no kill" of companion pets.

Instead, what we see is a vicious circle of animal acquisition and abandonment that repeats itself from one generation to the next.

Other reasons cats are on the death list today? "Too many" (failure to neuter), "Moving" (I bet they are taking their furniture) and "can't afford" (but one bets they can afford a flat screen TV).

Ah, I am sounding very cynical, indeed.

Perhaps that is the real reason we don't rescue cats anymore.

Seeing cats end up on shelter kill lists each day in double or triple the numbers of dogs makes one think (rightly or wrongly) that the truly committed and loving homes for adult cats these days are few and far between.

And yet still the shelters proclaim in their Pollyannish ways that "Euthanasias are down and adoptions are up!"

But, if you are Pinky or Bello or the older, lost Collie named "Angel" who was killed earlier in the week, despite a heartbroken owner seeking her, such words ring very hollow.

That only the shelters would find ways to be more honest with the public it is supposed to be serving -- even is some of that (brutal) honesty isn't what we want to hear.

Its the only way real change can ever be expected to come. -- PCA

*******

(Not So) "Great Expectations!"

(Picture Left: "Bello" -- Loving and devoted young hound mix who found himself the victim of human unrealistic expectation.)

One of the things that has always irked me in animal adoptions are those people who call saying they want a cat or dog "to teach my son or daughter responsibility."

Now, I don't want to entirely dismiss the idea of children accepting some responsibility for caring for the family pet.

However, the reality is that children learn "responsibility" generally by observing it in their parents, as opposed to simply being given orders and directives.

The future for those pets whose "child owners" are expected to consistently clean litter boxes or rush home from after-school activities to "walk the dog" is usually grim.

When my daughter, Tara was a child and teenager, I was very grateful for any time she offered to help me with caring for our rescued animals. If I was really lucky and the weather was generally pleasant, sometimes Tara would even walk the family dogs in the park on weekends!

But, I can't recall my daughter ever cleaning a cat litter box when she was a kid -- or for that matter, when she was a teenager!

This is not to imply that Tara was in any way, "irresponsible." -- Not at all!

On the contrary, she was simply a very busy kid with many things on her plate. Primary among Tara's priorities was doing well in school.

Today, my daughter is happily married and is an extremely loving and responsible caregiver to the couple's Mastiff dog and 13-year-old cat.

I bring all this up, because last night I went to the shelter to pick up a young, very loving, hound-mix type dog who was on yesterday's Euthanasia List (the dog developed Kennel Cough while in the shelter.)

"Bello" was dropped off at the pound about a week ago by a Father who claimed, "Teenage son is not being responsible for the dog."

Well, dahh!! Teenagers are NOT responsible for family pets! The PARENTS are!

Bello is a very affectionate, responsive 2-year-old dog, who, while understanding some basic commands like "sit" seems not to have had much leash training.

Bello pulls strongly on the lead, but nevertheless, is a very endearing animal -- eager to please and offers his paw for "handshakes."

Well, can we realistically expect teenagers to know how to properly train dogs to walk calmly on the leash? Are children expected to be born, "Cesar Millans?"

The reason I decided to "pull" Bello from the Euth list was because he was one of those rare dogs to actually have a "profile" (i.e. history information) from the past owner.

Bello's profile was extremely encouraging, including information that he is "good with cats."

While it is always good to learn a dog has lived with and is "good with kids" and "other dogs," the "good with cats" is like gold!.

It seems that at least 50% or higher of the people who call us to adopt dogs have at least one cat in the home.

Generally, I am very reluctant to place dogs into homes with cats (unless the dog is very small) if I don't have information on how the dog might behave around cats. Sadly, some dogs (including those friendly with humans and other dogs) can be very aggressive around and potentially kill a cat.

If we know a dog is good with cats, s/he is a dog we can almost always place reasonably quickly (assuming the dog doesn't have other major issues).

I was very fortunate, in Bello's case, to have a foster home lined up for him.

"Yvonne" is a young woman living at home with her family (two older brothers and Father) who called seeking to save a loving, family dog.

Yvonne was very flexible in her "requirements," the only one being that the dog could not be a Pitbull because of building restrictions on the breed.

Although Bello appears to have some "Pit" in him, his body and ears are more like those of a hound.

I am hopeful that the family won't run into problems with Bello due to the little Pitbull he may have in him.

Yvonne and one of her brothers met me at the shelter last evening to see Bello and very fortunately for both me and the dog, they liked him -- as the "Heinz 57" mutt responded very well to them.

After providing the couple with a good harness and leash for Bello, they took him home in their SUV.

It is so far, a good outcome for a dog who arrived at the pound as still one more victim of many people's unrealistic and (not so) great expectations and demands put on their children.

If you want your kids to be "responsible" then you SHOW them, you don't order and tell! -- PCA

*********

"Please Don't Let Him Die!" (Keeping a Promise)

(Picture Left: "Leon" -- a(nother) dog whose "behavior" in the shelter did not reflect actual temperament and wrongly landed him on Euth list.)

On Sunday, I wrote about how we are starting to see the human side of the economic recession all around us.

Last night, I witnessed it again.

While walking one of our boarded dogs, I saw a man with a black, Shepherd mix dog, scrounging through the dumpster outside of "The Vinegar Factory" (an upscale gourmet store on Manhattan's Upper East Side) looking for tossed out rolls and bread.

Repeated scenes like these make one think depression, more than "recession."

But, if we think it only affects people, we need to think again.

Last week, we rescued a dog who wound up in the pound after his former owner was forced to move to "no pets" housing.

It was actually not my plan to rescue "Leon" as we already had too many dogs in boarding and the little pieces of information the shelter provided on Leon were not exactly "selling points."

According to the shelter vets who did the initial exam on Leon, the hefty, 98 lb Chow/Shepherd mix "attempted to bite" and was "difficult to handle."

I was called more than once from the shelter about Leon and requested to rescue him.

"Can you take Leon? He's on the Euth list for tomorrow!" came the desperate plea.

But, I told the New Hope person that unless Leon's past owner could be contacted and provide more helpful information, we could not take the dog.

To make a long story short, I was finally given the number of Leon's former owner by a staffer of the shelter who shall remain nameless here for obvious reasons.

I called the former owner myself.

Well, the picture "Ronnie" provided of her former dog was far different than what was showing up in Leon's description on the shelter Euthanasia list.

According to both the grown daughter of the owner and the woman herself, (I was on a 3-way call with both), Leon was a "wonderful, gentle dog....loving with young children, people, and even cats!" Ronnie went on to tell me that she had been forced some months back to move into a smaller, "no pets" apartment. But, rather than give up her beloved dog, she attempted to "hide" Leon. She never took Leon out since moving into the new place (for fear of being seen by the landlord) and since the dog was quiet, she was seemingly able to get away with keeping Leon for many months.

But, eventually the landlord discovered the hidden dog and threatened Ronnie with eviction.

Then, desperate, Ronnie and her daughter tried to find a home for Leon themselves, rather than see the dog wind up in the pound. They even offered money for someone to take the dog.

But, adoptions are more complicated than simply trying to palm an animal off on someone. "Desperate adoptions" are usually failed adoptions -- as this one turned out to be.

The man Ronnie gave her treasured dog to, apparently couldn't take care of Leon or perhaps just didn't really want a dog. He dumped Leon in the pound anyway.

Repeatedly during the conversation, Ronnie and her daughter pleaded with me, "Please don't let Leon die! -- He is a wonderful dog and would be a loving companion to any family who can give him time to know them!"

Ronnie's daughter even told me her Mother "was on the verge of a nervous breakdown" over the loss of her dog.

The whole story reminded me a little of those good people who attempted to "hide" Jews from Nazi's during WW2. -- I had to fight back tears.

Some of course will resent me for saying that as animals aren't people and landlords aren't Nazis.

But, the callousness with which many Landlords these days are forcing people to "get rid of" perfectly loving and well behaved pets and the intense suffering and guilt many people experience, especially when seeing their beloved cats or dogs go to the pound (where they face likely death) are, in some ways similar.

I promised Ronnie and her daughter that I would rescue Leon from the pound and do my best to see to it that he would only go to loving adopters. He would not die in the shelter.

Of course, following the phone conversation, I was still in the same mess in terms of what to do with a 90+ pound dog. Very large dogs can be extremely hard to place regardless of how "loving and gentle" they may be.

I remembered a young woman had called a couple of days before offering foster for a dog who got along well with other dogs. ("Nicole" and her husband already have two dogs in their home in New Jersey.)

I didn't know whether Nicole would be willing to foster 98 lb Leon, but I had nothing to lose by calling and asking.

Much to my surprise and relief, Nicole was willing to meet me at the shelter the following day in order to see Leon and possibly take him home!

There were still a number of things that could go wrong (person changes their mind, some emergency comes up or the people simply don't like the dog) and so I made possible back up arrangements for Leon to go to boarding in such negative or unforeseen event (something I was greatly hoping to avoid).

That evening I called the New Hope number to pull Leon from the next day's death list.

The following day (Friday) I met Nicole at the shelter and together we went to see Leon.

Though not at all "aggressive" Leon was very anxious to get out of his cage and the second I opened it, he sprung out before I could get the slip leash over him.

Leon bounded into the shelter hall way, heading straight for the door. This was one dog who wanted "out" of the shelter and back to his beloved owners and former home.

Unfortunately, "former" is the key word in that sentence.

There was no going back for Leon.

One of the animal handlers helped to corral Leon and I was able to get the leash on him.

Nicole and I then walked the grossly obese (from not having been walked over the course of many months) Chow/Shepherd mix in the yard in back of the shelter. Although extremely overweight, Leon nevertheless had a beautiful, silky coat and it appeared that he received very good care in his former home.

Leon (much like his former owners said) seemed very sweet and gentle, but distracted.

Fortunately, for both him and myself, Nicole was very understanding of the dog's stress and mood state and agreed to take Leon home to foster.

We had to request the help from one of the shelter animal handlers to lift Leon into Nicole's high SUV. Though able to walk swiftly and without any problems, Leon was simply too fat to jump into the back of the SUV without aid.

Yesterday I called Nicole to see how things were going with Leon.

Again, to my surprise, matters have been going extremely well with the chunky Chow mix, the only "problem" being that Leon had a poor appetite the first couple of days.

But, Nicole reported that Leon's appetite seemed normal now and he was getting along well with the couple's other two dogs and behaving very affectionately with Nicole and her husband.

To my amazement, (considering his past circumstances) Leon was even totally housebroken!

Nicole and her husband are presently taking Leon for long walks, 3 or 4 times a day. He loves the walks and hopefully, the consistent exercise will help him to shed some excess weight.

We have already had one potential good adoption call on Leon, but for now to simply be grateful that he is out of the pound and in an excellent foster home.

Even in these very troubled times, there are those small miracles and glimmers of hope to offset the otherwise tragedy of human and animal losses.

Its not an easy road ahead, but thanks to some good and sacrificing people (like Nicole and her husband) there are those rays of sunshine.

One of them shown on Leon -- and me this past week.

I was able to keep an important promise. -- PCA

******

Young Woman with a Dog

The signs of the flailing economy are arriving ever closer to our doorsteps.

One cannot leave one's comfortable NYC apartment these days without seeing desperate people digging through garbage bags seeking cans, bottles or other potentially "valuable" items.

Yesterday, while walking down East 86th Street on Manhattan's fashionable Upper East Side, I noted a young woman sitting near the curb with a hand-printed sign in front of her. I didn't read all of the sign, but simply caught the word, "broke."

The young and plain looking, but attractive woman buried her head in a book, while thousands of busy Manhattanites passed her by.

If she was "begging" the young woman with brown hair and pale skin apparently didn't want to acknowledge that even to herself.

I normally don't walk up to street beggars, perhaps because I don't want to be drawn into their personal stories of despair.

But, I did walk up to the young woman.

The grungy looking, but happy and well fed whitish Shepherd mix sitting beside her gave me good excuse.

"That's a nice looking dog," I said to her, while petting the friendly mutt. "Where did you get him?"

"Someone gave him to me," the 20-something woman answered somewhat sheepishly. Pale green eyes briefly caught mine and then quickly looked away.

She seemed shy or embarrassed about her situation and so I did not press her into conversation. Instead, I offered her a few single dollars, smiled and simply said, "Well, he's a real nice dog. Take good care of him."

The woman took the money and in a voice that was barely audible, said, "Thank you, I will."

I walked away thinking to myself that I could have been a little warmer or more engaging of the woman into conversation.

But, I wasn't sure of how to do that. I didn't want to be too prying or personal. I didn't want to be dragged into something that might be over my head in terms of knowing how to properly deal with.

I just wanted to be a friendly face.

Less than an hour later I walked up the block again.

The woman was still there with her loyal dog by her side as thousands of people continued to pass her by.

But, either not noticing NYC's seeming indifference to pain or pretending not to care, the woman remained with her face buried in a book.

I did not stop this time, but continued on.

I still can't answer what is the best thing to do in situations like these.

I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of them. -- PCA

******

Silent Prayers (you don't even know you're saying!)

(Picture Left: "Sporty"-- on his way to his new home!)

The only thing predictable about animal rescue and placement is that it is totally unpredictable.

There are those days you get 20 calls and not one turn into a placement for a cat or dog.

Then there are those days you get only one call -- but it translates into a placement for an animal!

That is what occurred yesterday.

I had just about given up that I was going to find someone for Sporty before it was time to pick the black Lab/Chow mix up from my vet and send him to a boarding kennel.

I hated particularly the idea of having to send a dog who was a victim of cruelty and neglect (imbedded collar) to a situation of possible long-term boarding.

Such animals have already gone through so much crap. Why should we have to subject them to even more stress and isolation?

The thought was gnawing on me for days.

But, on Thursday I received the call from my vet's office that Sporty was healthy and "ready to go" and that I should pick him up on Friday.

I tried to delay picking up Sporty and sending him to boarding as long as possible.

But, as the hours ticked on with no phone calls coming in, it seemed I was simply putting off the inevitable.

Then, around 3PM, a pleasant woman called inquiring about Dutch for adoption.

Dutch is a very young Dutch Shepherd mix who I have had in boarding (and training) for a couple of months. Dutch is a very good, but somewhat nervous dog. He needs a very dog experienced adopter.

When the woman named, Dominique told me she had a family that consisted of two young boys (13 and 11-years-old) I told her that I didn't think Dutch, (due to his nervousness and fear issues) would be appropriate for a family with kids. I then recommended Sporty to her.

To my surprise, Dominique was interested in Sporty and was very sympathetic to his story.

A couple of hours later, Dominique arrived with her family in an SUV and we all went to meet Sporty at my vet's office.

The dog immediately took to the family and they to him. It was like one of those "success stories" one sees on the Animal Cops shows on Animal Planet.

I didn't have to pressure or beg or explain. Sporty "sold himself" so to speak. He licked the kids and the Mother. He was great with other people and dogs on the street. He walked nicely on the leash. He jumped into the car and settled down on the lap of one of the young boys.

It was like one of those matches made in heaven.

Dominique (who is separated from her husband) has initially taken Sporty as a foster.

But, I would be very surprised if this foster doesn't in fact, turn into an adoption.

As they drove away with the happy dog, I had a very good feeling about the placement.

I could be wrong of course. But, on actual placements, I am rarely surprised.

The problem is finding them.

The only thing predictable about animal rescues and placements is their unpredictability.

I never would have "predicted" yesterday that instead of going to a boarding kennel, Sporty would be on his way to a new home.

It seemed the farthest of possibilities, but at the last moment, occurred.

Never say "never" if you are in animal rescue and placement.

Sometimes it seems those silent prayers you don't even know you are saying, get answered. -- PCA

******

Restaurants and Harlequin Novels

(Picture Left: "Sport" -- Rescued early last week after arriving at the shelter with an imbedded collar in his neck. The collar was less than an inch from cutting into Sport's juggler vein. Sport is a loving and forgiving puppy -- happy to get attention. But, despite being advertised on numerous adoption sites, the loving, youthful Lab mix is still sitting in a cage at our vet. The collar has since been removed, but no home seemingly awaits......)

I am telling myself that the seeming death of adoption inquiries over the past week or two is due to the Passover and Easter holidays occurring this week.

But, of course I don't know that.

People generally don't travel during these times.

Yesterday, I spoke with a vet tech who does some cat rescues on her own and then tries to find homes for the animals.

She told me she hasn't had a cat adoption inquiry in months.

I am reading every day about animal shelters closing and other shelters and rescues that are in trouble.

Our animal control shelters in New York City seem to be experiencing a huge increase in animals coming in due to evictions of owners or claims from people that they can no longer afford the costs of pet food and veterinary care for their cats or dogs.

Matters are appearing very grim right now.

We have done a number of new dog rescues over the past few weeks. I was lucky to find adopters for two of the dogs and a foster for one.

But, we presently have 8 dogs in boarding, most of whom have been boarding for a while.

That is scary.

Sometimes the thought occurs to me, "What if these animals never get adopted?"

A rescue group or shelter can easily go bankrupt if unable to successfully move animals in their care. At the very least, (if "no kill") they cannot take new animals in.

Sooner or later the money runs out to pay boarding or sheltering expenses.

Then, what?

I don't like to think (or write) about these things too much. --- One reason why I haven't been writing too much lately in this journal.

I am worried and nervous about everything going on around me. But, dwelling on matters one doesn't have a whole lot control over is probably not productive.

Lately, I've been thinking about painting my apartment and other kinds of trivial matters.

I read today that many people are still going to restaurants and Harlequin romance novels are outselling all other books in stores.

It seems some businesses flourish during hard economic times.

That's because many people (including myself, I think) seek some form of "escapism" during otherwise despairing times.

I guess that helps explain why musicals were so popular in the movie world during the Great Depression.

But, one thing that doesn't seem to flourish during these times is people running out to adopt animals and take on new responsibilities.

For all the new animals losing their homes due to some hardships to their owners, that is not good news.

And for rescue groups and shelters who find they cannot place the animals they have taken responsibility for, it's downright scary.

I might just start reading Harlequin romance novels. -- PCA

Understanding (Reply)

(Picture Left: "Chance" -- my "little puppy boy" now, but one very angry and miserable dog when arriving at the shelter last summer.)

In a message dated 3/31/2009 11:00:28 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, Amby111 writes:
What a wonderful story. Those dogs are lucky you took a chance in saving them.I also believe that animals condemned to die as "mysteries" in shelters due mostly to inaccurate behavior assessment (shy cats and scared dogs)-- even in so called "no kill" shelters-- is a form of cruelty and should not be tolerated. It is very sad to think of the number of animals "euthanized" because they don't perform well in a traumatic situation.

Reply: The luck was all on my side as I never imagined in a million years that I could find placement for one of the dogs, let alone both -- particularly in the same home. It's very rare to be able to place two dogs together in the same home, especially under the circumstances described.

I totally agree with your second statement.

The way animals "behave" in a stressful shelter situation and the way they are in a home often are entirely different as Fluffy's and Wendy's story so well illustrates.

That's why highest priority must be allotted to trying to get as much information on animals during Intake as possible.

Putting aside variables such as how an animal was raised or the situation s/he came from, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior -- not how the animal is reacting to a particular stress and trauma.

Imagine were humans to be judged solely as to how well or how poorly we reacted to loss, death of a loved one or rejection?

Obviously, some people handle stress and trauma better than others. But, it doesn't necessarily relate to normal behavior or character.

One of the interesting experiences that emanated out of the events with Fluffy and Wendy, was the first day we had the dogs in yard and were speaking with the animal handler who brought Fluffy and Wendy to us.

"It's interesting," Louie said, "but the dogs and cats who are surrendered from good homes where they were pampered and spoiled generally do much more poorly here than the animals that come in as strays. The strays are happy to get a warm place and a little attention. But, the animals from happy homes? They're miserable."

What Louie said was so true.

Certainly in cats the owner surrendered purebreds and declaws are the most likely to "shut down" and become very ill in the shelters. In some cases they die as they just can't seem to get past the pain of loss and rejection. But, the non-feral "strays?" They're tougher, heartier and having already been through so much crap in life, they are only too happy and appreciative if fortunate enough to find a loving home.

Fluffy and Wendy were pampered and perhaps even spoiled dogs. (They both like to sleep in the bed!) The "trauma" of arriving at a city pound where they were no longer special and adored, but rather just two of the many, was apparently horrifying to them. For Wendy particularly, who saw herself as the "protector" to Fluffy, the separation of the two dogs was not only painful, but downright frustrating and infuriating!

Obviously too, both dogs wanted to return to former owners.

But, the real tragedy in animal shelters is that in the majority of cases, "returning to their former homes and owners" is not an option.

The animals have to learn to trust and love again.

And for many, that is not so easy -- especially if given only a few days.

Imagine were humans allotted only a few days to "get over" whatever grief, rejection, loss or abandonment that occurs in our lives?

Imagine were the punishment and price for not "moving on" quickly enough death?

Its a strange world we live in.

Most humans will claim to "love animals" but we don't seem to understand even the most basic things about cats and dogs. (i.e. Their needs for security, stability, routine, order, affection and the familiar.) -- Things that are taken away when they are either dumped at an animal shelter or arrive through other means.

Things that would be easy to understand were we even better to understand ourselves. -- PCA