Someone in Florida asked me something the other day along
the lines of ‘Is the situation with animals in your part of Georgia really as
bad as it seems from your facebook posts?’ Sadly, yes. Yes, it is. In fact,
it’s probably worse. Animal Control services in this area are limited or
non-existent (depending on the county), shelters and rescues are overwhelmed,
and one has to drive an hour or more to access low-cost spay/neuter clinics. But
the real problem, in my opinion, is the culture. My mom was speaking to some
sheriff’s deputies the other day about this and they said ‘We’ve got a real dog
problem around here.’ Her response was ‘No. We’ve got a people problem around
here.’ And it’s true.
In early December my mom emailed me about a disabled dog
that had appeared in her yard (its back legs were paralyzed, although it could
drag itself about with its front legs). She called local Animal Control and was
told that they had already been called out because of this dog and had spoken
to its owner. They said they would come out later that day and talk to the
owner again. They told my mom where the dog lived and she took it home. The ‘owner’ told my mom that the dog had been
abandoned with her by someone who was now refusing to take responsibility for
it. The dog appeared in my mom’s yard the following week and she again returned
it to its ‘owner.’ On December 19th, I found the dog sitting in the
middle of the road about half a block from where I knew it lived, and I carried
it back to its ‘home.’ The poor thing was sweet as can be, but had absolutely
no use of its hind legs, and had raw spots on the back legs from where they
dragged the ground.
I went back with my camera… the ‘owner’ came out shouting at
me about how I needed to get the hell off her property right then because I was
trespassing (I was outside her fence on the public right-of-way). My response
was that she needed to do something about the dog because keeping it like that
was inhumane. She told me the same story she had told my mom about the dog
being abandoned with her, and said that she had no money for vet care, or a
wheelchair for the dog, or even to have it euthanized. I offered to take it and
have it euthanized, saying that I would pay for it. She hemmed and hawed and
said she didn’t want to do that because it was such a sweet dog. I offered to
share its picture on facebook with my animal rescue connections, and she
agreed.
I shared the dog’s pictures on facebook with the following
caption: This dog was abandoned at the home of one of my mom's
neighbors, and her owner refuses to take responsibility for it. My mom's
neighbor is broke and unemployed and while she is feeding this dog, she can't
afford any vet care. The dog is elderly (in her teens) and has lost all use of
her back legs and has no muscles in her back end, so it is atrophied as a
result. She drags herself around, and has rubbed her back feet raw doing so.
Mom's neighbor does not want her euthanized (I offered to pay if she did).
Local Animal Control is aware of this and have been out several times. Mom's
neighbor doesn't want it to be taken by local animal control because she knows
it will be euthanized. This dog is incredibly sweet, and really needs a loving
home where she can live out her final days with quality care. Unfortunately,
neither my mom nor I are able to take her. CAN SOMEONE HELP???? At the very
least, please share this album. Thank you.
Notice how I didn’t mention anything about how the dog was
always out in the street or in neighbors’ yards, or about the woman’s
confrontational attitude. I didn’t even mention her name. Well, this being a
small town, one of my friends is one of her facebook friends, so she saw the
post. And totally flipped her lid. Here I was trying to help her, and her
response was to post on my friend’s thread about what a liar I was and how I
had never offered to help her and how she did really want to have the dog
euthanized, but didn’t have the money. (In my opinion, if you have the money to
chain smoke your way through a 30 minute conversation, you have the money to
pay for euthanasia.) She then sent me two incredibly nasty facebook messages
calling me a liar and a bitch, accusing me of slander, and threatening to have
me arrested if I trespassed on her property (*cough* public right-of-way *cough*) again, and sent an equally nasty
facebook message to my mom. The messages did, however, say that she would have
the dog euthanized the next day.
We saw it on December 26th, nearly a full week later,
sitting in a different neighbor’s yard.
It’s not an animal
problem; it’s a people problem.
On December 23rd, as I was driving from my house to my
mom’s, I saw a sad, skinny puppy sitting in the middle of the road in the rain.
I pulled up next to it, and got out. It shrank away from me in terror. I coaxed
him over to me and picked him up, and he clung to me. I went to three houses in
the neighborhood. One house said they thought the puppy lived at a place down
the road. I went to said house to be told no, it wasn’t theirs, but they’d seen
it around the past couple of days. I went to the place across from them; no, it
wasn’t theirs. They’d called Animal Control, but no one had come out. I took
him home.
Loki at his first trip to the vet.
Loki in my room
I took him to the vet, got him his shots, had him de-wormed,
got him some antibiotics for the infected cut on his rump, and posted pictures of
him on facebook. Through the modern miracle of social networking, I was able to
arrange for him to be adopted by my uncle’s ex-wife, a woman I had not had any
contact with since I was an infant. Sometimes
people can be the solution, if only they are willing to try.
Christmas morning as my mom and I were driving back from
feeding the horses (meaning that we were out in the country), I spotted a
Budwiser box on its side, with puppies huddled in a pile in the weeds in front
of it. We stopped and went back. Yep, they’d been dumped. Five skinny little
puppies, about six weeks old, dumped on the side of the road in a Budwiswer box
on Christmas morning. This isn’t a dog
problem; this is a people problem.
The puppy my dad is adopting
People can be the solution. My mom and I could’ve just
driven past those puppies. Between the worms, the lack of food, and the cold,
wet weather, and their proximity to the road, they would probably be dead by now. But we didn’t drive by. Instead,
they’re healthy, cared for, and on their way to having loving, permanent homes.
People can be the
solution, but right now those of us who are part of the solution are
hopelessly outnumbered. Just take a look at some of the animals found by local
area rescues in the same time period during which I was dealing with six
puppies and a paralyzed dog:
This one was abandoned at a loca apartment complex. Apparently its jaw had broken and had never been set, so it ‘healed’ like this. (From here.)
This is one of three Great Danes surrendered by a backyard breeder who decided she didn’t want them anymore. They had apparently never been to a vet before. (From here.)
This one was rescued from a local Animal Control facility. (From here.)
Another starving stray found on the side of the road. (From here.)
This poor injured cat had been dumped in this condition in a convenience store parking lot. It had to be euthanized, but at least it is no longer suffering. (From here.)
And that’s just a sample of what went on down here in just ONE WEEK.
There are some wonderful people (such as the ones working
with the animals posted above) who are working their tails off trying to help
as many animals down here as they can… but they can only do so much against the
tide of indifference and cruelty that animals down here face. If you are not part of the solution, you
are part of the problem. If you drive past the starving or injured animal
you see on the side of the road and do nothing, you are part of the problem. If
you do not get your animal spayed or neutered (for ANY reason), you are part of
the problem. If you abandon an animal (for ANY reason), you are a part of the
problem. If you have an injured animal and refuse to pay for vet care while
spending money on cigarettes, you are part of the problem.
How can you become
part of the solution?
Don’t just drive by
abandoned/injured animals. If you can take them in – even temporarily – do
so. With modern social networking technologies, you may very well be able to
find homes for them among friends, family, and acquaintances, or you may find
an animal rescue willing to take them. Another option is to set up an
appointment to bring them to a local animal control facility. If the animal is
severely injured, $35 will end its suffering. That’s how much it costs to
euthanize an animal at my vet. I hate to see an animal die, but it’s even worse
leaving it to die a slow and painful death on its own. If you cannot pick up
the animal (and I do understand that it is not always possible, although keep
in mind there is a difference between ‘impossible’ and ‘inconvenient’), call
local animal control. (Keep in mind that in many areas – such as southeast GA –
animal control facilities, shelters, and rescues are limited in size and
funding and tend to be overloaded. Rely on them as a last resort.) If there is
no animal control in your area (or even if there is), use your phone, take
a picture of the animal, and share its information on facebook. Provide local and
nationwide rescue organizations with the animal’s location and picture; spread
the word amongst your family and friends that there's an animal in need of help.
Support local animal
shelters, rescues, and humane societies. A while back I wrote a really long
post about how to donate and support local shelters wisely, click here to read it. (Don’t just give money blindly; do your research and make sure you’re
supporting an organization that will make good use of your money. You can also
support local shelters, rescues, and humane societies by volunteering your
time, either at their facilities, as a foster, as a fund-raiser, as a
webmaster, as a photographer, and so on.) Do
not donate to the Humane Society of the United States; donate locally to
ensure that your money goes to the animals that need it.
SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR
PETS. I cannot stress this enough. If you can’t afford the surgery at your
local vet clinic, do a google search for low cost spay/neuter services in your
area. Even if the closest service is an hour or so away (as it is here), it is
much cheaper to make the drive than to deal with the expense of puppies or
kittens later on. In some areas there may also be local services that provide
transport for the animals to low/cost clinics for those folks who can’t take
the day off work to make the drive. Even if you’re keeping your animal inside
at all times and it is not around animals of the opposite sex, you should still
get it fixed. I love cats and dogs…. but cats in heat are loud, obnoxious, and
pee on everything. Dogs in heat bleed. Intact male dogs and cats spray
EVERYTHING. Get your pet fixed, and you won’t have to deal with these problems!
Not to mention that if something happens and your ‘indoor only’ pet gets out… Well, you can figure out what happens! I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Well, he can’t get pregnant, so I’m not going
to waste the money.’ True, he can’t get pregnant, but how do you think all the
female cats and dogs get knocked up? If you’re not getting your male dog or cat fixed
because he can’t get pregnant, you’re part of the problem.
A spay/neuter message for Game of Thrones fans :-)
And for the love of god,
do not abandon your animals.
If you are in Southeast Georgia, I highly recommend the Brantley Animal Rescue Coalition (BARC)
as a wonderful organization to support, whether via donation or through
fostering or other services. If you need to get a pet spayed or neutered, The Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, GA and No More Homeless Pets in Jacksonville, FL offer low-cost spay/neuter/vaccine services, and the River City Animal Hospital of Jacksonville, FL provides a
mobile spay/neuter/vaccine clinic which serves northeast Florida and southeast
Georgia. If you are in or near Waycross, this lovely lady can help to arrange transport for your animals to the nearest low-cost spay/neuter
clinics.
And to leave this post on a high note, here’s an absolutely
hilarious picture of Mochi playing with the puppy that will soon be living in
Clearwater, FL with my uncle’s ex-wife: