What About the Animals?

Times are tough. No doubt about it. As the financial crises deepens, everyone's looking to blame someone, and there's plenty of blame to go around -- the politicians, the bankers, the consumers who borrowed and bought beyond their means. But there's a very large and important part of our population that deserves no blame, yet will feel plenty of pain: the hundreds of thousands of pets who will be abandoned because people can't afford them; the millions of pets in shelters who won't be able to find loving homes.

Pets deserve every bit of love and attention and assistance we can give them. Because almost every pet returns that love unconditionally -- whether it's a dog happily licking your face when you return home from a grueling day, or a cat curling into your arms and purring reassuringly when you're feeling down, or a bird cheerfully chirping to drown out the gloom of the nightly news.

Pets are my passion. I was formerly CEO of the Meow Mix Company and am currently Top Cat at Zootoo.com, an online community of passionate pet lovers. Supporting animal shelters is my way of channeling my passion in a meaningful way to help the largest number of pets.

Do you know where your local animal shelter is? If so, you're in the minority. 70% of Americans have no idea because in many communities across the country, the shelter is on the wrong side of the tracks, out by the airport, next to the city dump. Out of sight, out of mind.

But not out of my mind. And hopefully, not out of yours. There are so many ways people can be helpful to shelters, ways that don't involve writing a check at a time when that can be a very painful exercise. For example, every community wants their schools to teach social responsibility and good citizenship. Shelters are desperate for volunteers to walk and play with the animals, to help clean and groom the pets. What better way for children to learn the values of charity and responsibility and kindness? Scouts, church groups, senior centers -- every community organization should be encouraged to pitch in.

Shelters are homes for animals, and they need many of the same things your home needs: food, cleaning and office supplies, paint and furniture, landscaping, and so on. If every local merchant or service provider were encouraged to donate even a little, it would quickly add up.

Every bit of community involvement helps. At Zootoo.com, we sponsor an annual Pet Shelter Makeover contest. Last year, over 1000 shelters participated, and just the increased visibility led to significant gains in volunteers, contributions, and most important, adoptions.

If you have ideas about how to help, I'd love to hear them. I promise to talk about the best ones in future blogs. Because we have to help the animals!

Comments

[Fetchcat]

Richard, Tail wags to you for all the good work you're doing. I sometimes worry more for the animals during these rough times than I do for people. Animals depend on us to defend them, not abandon them. One suggestion I have is for animal lovers to ask for a free table at a local craft fair or flea market and sell donated items to help support their local shelter. I volunteered at a county shelter in NJ and we instituted "Adoption Fairs" where people could shop for second hand goods at the shelter table and for new stuff at paying vendors' tables, and also visit with potential pets. We adopted out a lot more animals that way, since people came for the flea market and often left with a new best friend. And the volunteer org. made money to help with advertising. It was win-win.

Another idea is to ask senior residences or retirement homes if they'd like to adopt a resident cat or small docile dog. Pet therapy is a well-known stress reducer for lonely seniors. You could also encourage shop owners and small businesses to adopt an office cat. Many stores in my area have shop cats who live there quite happily.

[cdyuask]

I worked at one of the two local animal shelters when I was finishing my undergrad studies. Now I work in a very large animal hospital that handles all sorts of cases from the shelters and local animal control departments. There is one thing that the first animal control officer I ever met told me that has stuck with me and that I think people should pass on. Stu never liked the term 'unconditional love' applied to pets, or any animals really. It infers that we, i.e. humans, can do WHATEVER we want - kick, hit, burn, torture, maim, etc (you get the idea) - and expect these animals to kiss our faces and greet us at the door anyway. They will, though, and that is the problem. People continue to do whatever they want and their pets still love them. People need to explain to the youngest generation that we are lucky to receive such love from another species, and should show them the respect they deserve. Most people will not love another person unconditionally the way that a pet does.

[djm8]

Thank you for this post. I would add that shelters can always use donations of towels and blankets for the animals' cages.

[UNCLEJOE]

I am very familiar with the inhumane treatment of our farm animals in the tortuous environment that the are raised and the even cruel and sadistic methods used to terminate their lives before sending their bodies to the super market for your nurishment.
Whatever we can do to eliminate these unnecessary cruel farm methods employed by sadistic dairy farmers to save a penny per egg or a dime on a pound of steak is a moral duty for all civilized individuals.

A YES VOTE on PROPSITION # 2 is the first step.
If you can match my $50 that is deducted from my monthly pension check of $910.00, for last minute TV ads, all the better, but at least spread the word;

www.YESonProp2.com.

[cucumber]

Of course I agree with you. But I think the biggest problem in terms of animal suffering in the US - at least in terms of numbers - is not with dogs and cats - it's with the 10 BILLION factory farmed land animals that people in the US condemn to miserable lives and deaths every year. And it's with the 100 million lab animals (including dogs, cats, and monkeys) spending their lives in cages, only to be let out for more torture.

Go vegan. Tell everyone you know why it's important. Inform people that vivisection is not only unbearably cruel, it's inaccurate. Pass mandatory spay/neuter legislation.

http://www.whyvegan.com
http://www.meetyourmeat.com
http://www.factoryfarming.com

[maryhaze]

i agree with manditory spay/neuter laws. i'd like to see them subsidized. we grown our own veggies with no pesticides but i'''m not now & never gonna be a vegan. my medical history prevents that as does all the drug interactions. it's just not gonna happen.. i do make all our own soap, shampoo & like from natural ingrediants.i thinik we all do what we can & don't force on those that can't & we'll be fine,

[hypnotoad72]

So when the flying pests come to devour said "veggies", will you be out there acting as a scarecrow to save the vegetables from all those evil flies and moths?

There's a lot you're saying I do agree with, including "don't force on those that can't" - and many cannot grow their own food because of space, time, or other related concerns. Realism supplants idealism 6 days per week. Only pompous narcissists with deity complexes sing about doing anything 8 days a week...

[Seaglass]

Mandatory Spay/Neuter (like Prohibition) does not work:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/02/petscol.DTL

[gifu]

Cucumber,

We hear you in regards to factory farming, research animals etc. Your plight and beliefs do not trump the issue being presented by this blogger, though. Idealism can be a form of vanity.......

[UNCLEJOE]

cucumber, ging vegan is not only healthier but more humane.

[hypnotoad72]

Vegan - Only eating something that isn't an animal, isn't a byproduct of an animal, or has nothing to do with an animal.

Newsflash: Most vegetables, nuts, mushrooms, etc, are grown with fertilizer. Think dung. Sheep dung. Cow dung. Animal byproducts, the sort nobody wants to think about.

Of course, try eating nothing and see what happens.

Oh, some scientists claim plants can feel emotion too. Why not stop eating them too?

Also, if you were taken and spayed (or neutered) without your permission, wouldn't you say that's a tad cruel too?

Sorry to be smarmy. But humans can be cruel to each other too - there are a lot of liberals out there who proclaim peace and niceness and this and that and, in reality, are the most selfish and stupid vermin wandering around on this planet. Compassion is one thing and some ARE true to their words. but it's the loudest ones I've noted as being the most fraudulent in reality. Not unlike the loudest homophobes actually being the most closeted homosexuals, didn't you know.

[peacekitten]

and thank you for writing this article.

[peacekitten]

cats are looked at as even more of a "throw-away" than dogs. people shove them out the door thinking, "they'll fend for themselves."

for years, i rescued cats, and found homes for a great number of them. i now have a dozen of my own, all hard luck cases nobody wanted, and now, when people meet them, all exclaim, gosh, i wish they were my cats.

all they ever needed was love and a second chance.

animals truly are the ones who are forgotten and left behind when things get tough for humans. they are the most innocent souls on this earth, and the most loving. we have much to learn from them on that score.

you may be preaching to the choir, but it should serve to remind us to go out and remind those who are not members of the choir, that if they have pets, they have taken responsibility for a life. just because that life comes wrapped in fur and walking on four paws makes it no less precious a life than any other, and pets' lives need to be protected and provided for as for every other member of the family.

if you wouldn't leave your children behind at an orphanage, then don't leave your pets behind at a shelter because it's the easy or more convenient thing to do.

[maryhaze]

yeah, cats are looked at as more disposible. like any one bitchyass kid is more disposable than the next, i've got 7 cats in their own apartments with their toys & swings & carpetting. they so spoiled. the cats are way less work than 16 yr old boys who actually want time, attention & homework help. but cats are not disposible because once they are in your heart, they never leave, they'll be with you ever, no matter who else is ever around,

[Dystopic]

yeah, people do to cats what they would never do to a dog.

people do not understand cats, they want animals they can easily control.

I live in SW missouri (branson area) and this is not a great place for cats in the best of times. I have trapped quite a few feral cats, took them to the vet for tests and shots, and neutering/spaying, I let them recover, then release them back where I found them. Better a life free than a life snuffed out by a shelter. If they are former pets, I try to find them homes, and have been relatively successful. Over the last 5 years the # of feral cats has declined alot.

I regularly drop off huge bags of cat food, a local feed store helps out with a discounted price.

I wish there was some way to chemically sterilize the feral animals to end the suffering of future generations of animals.

I have one rescue cat who is a memeber of the family, I rescued her when she was only 7 weeks old, I bottle fed her and kept her on a heatingpad. She is now 12 years old and possible the happiest cat I know. When I decide to add another, I will goto the pound and rescue another or two.

What really pisses me off is when people declaw their cat, and then let them out or abandon them... that is cruelty at a whole other level.

[maryhaze]

you are sadly preaching to the choir. anyone that reads this already knows about shelters & the ones that don't read it, don't care. i run a dog rescue, mostly german shepherds who have bitten. our applications are way down & calls for people wanting to place dogs are way up. i'm at capacity, so the dogs i can't take will be put down, because to the best of my knowledge, i'm the ONLY one that will take in a dog with a bite history. by the way, i've got all these "vishious dogs" & neither my kids or i have ever been bitten.

[dannyS]

The problem is that people look at dogs as an accessory.
And when they decide to acquire a dog they ask themselves "What brand do I want?" just as they would with a car or shoes.
There is too much emphasis on the "brand" (breed) of dog based on how they look.
Educate people that the best dog is not one that looks a certain way, but one whose personality matches your needs.
Rescue groups can match people with the perfect dog because rescued dogs have been living in a foster home and have exhibited their personalities.
You know exactly what you are getting when you adopt a dog that was rescued.
When you buy a dog from a breeder or a pet store, you will most likely get a headache.
There aren't a lot of opportunities in life where you can immediately make a positive impact on the world just by making the right choice. Adopting a dog saves a life, helps the rescue groups that are fighting an uphill battle, and gives you a great pet. It is WIN-WIN-WIN.

[BobSacomano]

I couldn't agree more, keep up the good work! I'll do my part as well.