Sadie at home?the home I promised to provide for her.
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Almost 10 years ago I promised to take care of a little puppy. How I would do that, I had no idea, but something inside of me told me I needed her and since she was willing to give me a chance, we went home together. Shortly after she moved in with me while our union was still tenuous at best, the shelter she came from called and said she needed to be checked for Parvo because her litter mates had all died from it.
It was at that moment, I realized I loved her and the rest is history. She did not have Parvo although her exposure to it might be the cause of another medical condition she did develop. None the less, I had promised to take care of her and whatever that entailed ?.I would do it.
We have a? sad lack of responsibility in our country today and when it comes to pets, its not only sad, its reprehensible. As the current winner of the American Kennel Club Responsible Pet Citizenship Award, I write about being a good pet parent.? As a pet?parent I?ve found that a great majority of people have no idea how to be responsible for and provide a good life for the dogs and other animals they have.
Many people worked very hard to get the Anti-tethering legislation passed both in the City of Charleston and for Kanawha County. VERY LITTLE HAS CHANGED FROM THAT LEGISLATION. There is a?critical lack of Animal Control Officers in?Kanawha County and?a call to? police about an animal is always a low priority.
Without funding and a major shift in the thinking of the general population, nothing will change, but that doesn?t mean it can?t change anyway. Pet Parents need to start REPORTING animal abuse, animal neglect, and violation of city and county ordinances regulating the care of animals.
Now there is a mass and speedy adoption of animals from the Kanawha Animal Shelter. Sure, the situation??right now at the shelter is desperate and saving the lives of these dogs is paramount, but what kind of life are they going to? Are the Pit Bulls eventually going to an owner who will use them for fighting? Will the small purebred dogs get locked into a heartless puppy mill? How many of these dogs will live out their days tied to a tree with inadequate shelter enduring all kinds of extreme weather?
I was at the shelter recently before this crisis and observed the adoption of a Pit Bull by a person I am almost positive got the dog for fighting. Call it a gut feeling, call it anything?if it was apparrent to me a non-trained adoption screener, why didn?t the staff see this? There had been no home visit?no waiting period..he pulled out a large wad of cash (again dog fighters do not use checks of credit cards) took the dog and left. I questioned him in the parking lot and his evasive answers only made my opinion stronger. I?ve thought about that dog endlessly since that day.
Responsibility is key in animal population management. Too many animals are killed every year simply because they exist. This is unacceptable. West Virginia Legislators need to take some serious consideration and pass legislation that could help the pet over population in our state starting with a mandatory/spay neuter law. One un-spayed female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 more puppies in six years.? One Cat and and offspring can produce 37o,000 cats in the same amount of time. (PETA Statistics) Too many dogs and cats are being born only to have a life of suffering, neglect, trying to fend for themselves on the streets, and end up in a shelter where they are killed. They did nothing wrong.
Even in venues where the toughest Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws are enforced, there are acceptable exceptions. In Los Angeles, all cats and dogs must be spayed neutered by four months old. Some of the exceptions are for those that possess a breeder permit which restricts the number of litters. There are exceptions for guide dogs, dogs used in law enforcement and others. A letter from the vet must be filed with the city when apply for an animal license.
West Virginia is on the list of the 28 states that require spay/neuter for all animals adopted from the shelter?.which is a good start.? West Virginia does not require inspections of puppy mills let alone a law prohibiting them. Puppy mills are cruel forced breeding prisions where a dog spends its entire life in a? care with a wire floor compelled to produce litter after litter of puppies.
If you see an ad in the newspaper that offers MULITPLE breeds of dogs, they are most likely a puppy mill. If you call and ask to see the parents on premises and the kennel where the puppies reside with their mother you will be denied. And when these mother dogs are no longer useful to the greedy breeder they kill them or dump them in the shelter. These dogs have never gotten to play?never had a toy?never been loved.
West Virginia needs stricter regulation of the puppy mill backyard industry and a good first step at getting rid of these IRRESPONSIBLE PROFIT DRIVEN CRUEL INDIVIDUALS is to BAN the sale of puppies at flea markets, investigate and question multi breed ads?especially toy breed and designer dog ads in newspapers, require breeding licenses and regular inspection.
The shelter story is sad. I hope the rushed adoption of dogs doesn?t bring even sadder lives to them. Home inspections need to be done?background checks on the individual?have they ever been charged with animal abuse or domestic violence? The goal of the shelter cannot be to get dogs out at any cost. The majority of dogs that arrive at the shelter have had a hellish life so far?it shouldn?t become worse.
Volunteer groups come and go in animal rescue circles. Many of these people have good intentions, but without proper organization, adequate funding, and effective communication they fall short, It was through a dog in foster care the distemper was discovered. I don?t know about anyone else, but protecting my own dog is permier and when asking people to foster a dog they should not be putting their own dog at risk.
The first response from the KCA Shelter Officials was ?lets kill all the dogs.? A most unacceptable solution?draconian and easy. Distemper is a very controllable disease. Someone needs to find out why this happened, and take responsibility for it. A dog is a lifetime commitment?I challenge all animal advocates and lovers to expect nothing less that this from pet owners.
Source: http://blogs.dailymail.com/petcity/2012/12/21/responsible-pet-ownership/
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