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Archive for Help Save Animals – Page 3

Just say No to Kill Shelters, and Yes to Foster-Based Rescues or Sanctuaries

By Denise Boehler
Wednesday, June 24th, 2020

What we do to the animals, we do to ourselves. I don’t offer that up as some lofty ideal. I don’t share it from any perch of moral judgment.

I say it because I believe it needs to be said. I say it because my heart aches just a little bit more today, to hear of the death of yet another homeless animal in the Downey, California Shelter, a gentle pitty mix named Pirate. He could have gone, as foster advocates were crying on his behalf today, to one of them.

Instead, he was put to death by lethal injection at the hands of the shelter’s policies. A petition is circulating on his behalf, should you feel so moved to sign it; it’s available at the end of this essay.

Back to the subject at hand, as I am reluctant to drop down to a level of intellectual justification steeped in the quicksand of statistics – though we who love on and advocate for the lives of animals know where the numbers lie – we also know that the remedy to the long-term problem of homeless animals is spaying and neutering, education and outreach. (And if all you breeding animals could please stop to consider that for each life you bring to earth, you deliver a death sentence to a life already here, it would be appreciated on a whole ‘nother level.)

There is all that. And again, not as pressing as promoting the higher ideal of creating a more compassionate culture, because I believe that advocating for a change in ideology, philosophy, paradigm shift, consciousness or whatever term you prefer, is what is being called for in our present culture.

Isn’t your own heart feeling battered enough these days?

Let’s call for a more compassionate culture for shelter animals, who through no fault of their own, are put to death DAILY at the hands of man-made policies. (Yes, the number is 2,000.) The domestic short-hair three-year old cat, the wandering pit-terrier mutt, the Labrador mix, have an hourglass on their head from the moment they are dragged off the impound truck and brought through the shelter doors. Depending upon the shelter, it could be a matter of days – for others, months – before the pinprick of death is administered. (A good friend from NoKill Colorado once informed, a shelter animal has a 50/50 chance of making it out alive.)

Even more brutal (and still happening in certain states), are the practices where they are thrown like leftovers into a dark gas chamber to their unimaginable horror, struggling helplessly until they breathe their last breath. (Activists in Shawnee, OK successfully staged a sleep-in to end such practices for that city’s shelter in 2017.)

Whether one is a policymaker invested in the pragmatics of space and resources and economics, or a beleaguered shelter worker whose heart breaks just a little bit more each time they must hold a homeless dog or cat, look them in their pleading brown eyes and say,

Today’s your day to die,

we are reducing our humanity – and our culture at large – to a brutal, ego-centered, economically driven culture, indeed.

Anyone who’s been paying attention to what’s happening in our patriarchal, capitalistic-oriented society these days understands just how those of us on the lower rungs are being treated. It’s the same for the homeless animals – even worse, I would argue, if so inclined.

Think it has to be this way? Think again.

I’ve been looking for the alternatives to such outdated, inhumane practices for years now.

Miley, a Paws and Effect Rescue pup, available for foster

I have found – and keep finding – more foster-based rescues nationwide, than ever before. (See list below, for a few of my personal favorites.) It makes my heart feel light – and hopeful for our culture – for every foster-based rescue I learn about. There are scores of people in every state who feel the lives of dogs and cats are worth saving. Animals who get to share the homes of foster parents relax into their environment, are spared the stress of being caged up among dozens of other stressed animals, and their authentic dispositions are allowed to unfold. From there, a foster parent can communicate to potential adopters about the true nature of the fostered dog or cat before they are ushered further into their forever home. (It happens all the time!) Some become foster fails – and that’s okay, too – but it doesn’t have to be the rule. Sometimes, the dogs and cats just need a soft place to land for a while.

Don’t we all?

Our culture needs to see the foster-based rescues in existence, better support them in all ways essential – through our own fostering efforts, by donating or fulfilling a wish list – by sharing the photos and stories on our Instagram or other social media feeds – until they can find their furever homes.

When we support the efforts of others to care for the homeless lives already here, we support the higher ideal (if I now may say,) that these lives have value. They deserve the life given to them through some divine force; because, after all, what right, beyond relieving real physical suffering, does anyone have to intervene?

We honor the being before us, be it a scruffy street terrier, an abused pit-bull, a mangy shepherd mix or an elderly family dog cast out onto the street for no other reason than failure to amuse a busy family. We also say no to an outdated shelter system that treats homeless dogs and cats as inventory aging on a shelf that must be rotated in order to make room for more.

The time has come for us to reconsider what a more compassionate culture can look like – and find, create or support alternatives. It will make all our animal loving, tender, aching hearts, ache just a little bit less today.

Pirate, an unfortunate victim of shelter circumstance at the Downey Care Shelter

In memory of Pirate, and all his friends in equal peril – JUST SAY NO TO KILL SHELTERS, AND YES, TO FOSTER-BASED RESCUES.

Namaste, and thank you for listening.

To sign the Downey, CA Petition:

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/182/644/876/demand/

Some of my personal favorite foster-based rescues:

https://pawsandeffectrescue.wordpress.com/, a foster-based canine rescue in the Denver metro area

https://farfels.com/, a foster-based Colorado rescue pulling dogs from high-kill shelters

https://dooverdogs.com/, a foster-based rescue pulling dogs from Colorado & Wyoming from high-kill shelters

http://www.sparpets.org/, a foster-based rescue in Shawnee, OK

https://www.pawsgivemepurpose.com/, a sanctuary for difficult to place dogs, in Southern New Jersey

https://therescueproject.net/, a Kansas City, MO foster-based rescue, providing education & resources to the community on the needs of spaying & neutering

https://bestfriends.org/, a Kanab, UT animal sanctuary dedicated to helping end the practices of killing in America’s animals shelters through building community programs & partnerships across the nation

Share:

on Twitter:

#FosterSavesLives

on Facebook

 

Categories : Help Save Animals, Of Dogs
Tags : Adopt, Adoption, dogs, Downey California, Downey Care Animal Shelter, foster, fostering, fostersaveslives, homelessdogs, rescue, rescuedogs, SpayNeuter

How Dog Lovers Can Help More Homeless Dogs

By Denise Boehler
Monday, June 22nd, 2020

Smudges, our 3-year old shepherd mix, rescued by Homecomings Dog Rescue, from Breckenridge, TX

I love my dog so much my heart aches. I’ll bet you feel the same way about yours, too. Ever since we took her into our home from the streets of Breckenridge, Texas as a rescued stray, our little shepherd mutt has bonded in all the ways every dog lover can hope for.

Charlie, our now 2-year old Lab mutt, rescued by SPAR in Shawnee, OK

The same can be said of her  brother, Charlie. An equally intelligent, loving and deserving Labrador mutt just one year into life, he was rescued from the streets of Shawnee, Oklahoma, by the good people at http://www.sparpets.org/adoptable-pets/.

But I can’t stop there, because there are so many more dogs not as fortunate as Smudges & Charlie still in need of furever homes. And I believe that it takes a tribe of dog-loving hearts connected together, to save these dogs from death by ignorance and abuse, euthanasia by shelter policy, or harm at the hands of the ill-informed, the overwhelmed and the apathetic.

We are still in need of more spay and neuter laws and having veterinarians willing to do so at low-cost (a Colorado favorite: Spay Today). We’ve made progress, and yet, we’re not quite there. Not when two thousand animals are put to death daily, according to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Adding to the homeless population in ever-increasing numbers, are breeders more concerned with the balance in their bank accounts than caring about the lives already here. They op

Buster is [at the Hempstead Shelter], an extremely handsome 6 year old boy who came to [them] as an owner surrender in April 2018. Buster has been waiting so long for his chance at a forever home...

erate on the principle that the health and beauty of a mixed-breed/mutt is inferior to the purebreds they are churning out into an overpopulated animal world.

I’m not against purebreds per se — there are plenty of rescues trying to re-home those that haven’t worked out — and that’s a different story. I am simply of the belief that until we have homes for all of the beautiful animals already here, we should not be adding any more to the population. Ordering up a purebred is akin to putting a needle to the paw of a rescue mutt, saying,

No room for you, I guess you have to die today.

On the rescue dog end of the spectrum, we advocates are fervently working to help as many as we can before shelters decide they are at capacity and put the needle to the paw of the next one in line.

Here in Colorado, we are indeed fortunate to have a plethora of foster-based rescues pulling death-row inmates from the high-kill shelters in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. And yet, there are far more in need. During these pandemic times, even more remain in shelters out east, where the overwhelm is focused on solving more urgent demands of humans in trouble due to Covid-19.

In the mayhem, I’ve learned of a few long-term residents in the shelter in the Town of Hempstead, New York that have been abandoned by their people, rejected or unclaimed by those they once loved and trusted. I share them because I hold their stories close in my dog-loving heart. I know that there are some good people out there willing to give them a second (okay, maybe third) chance. Should you know any such dog-loving spirits out east near Hempstead, NY, please consider sharing these stories:

Adopt LexiMama, who has been in and out of the shelter since 2014

 

Adopt Diego, who has been in the shelter since January of 2019

Adopt Juniper, who has been in and out of the shelter since 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

or,

 

 

Wherever you sit on the spectrum of rescuing and advocacy, if you could consider sharing stories on behalf of those still in need it will increase their public exposure and thus their chances for a loving, stable life outside the shelter. We’re lucky here in Colorado — but LexiMama, Juniper, Diego and several of their other friends are not so fortunate. They need help from us dog-lovers here, who can keep spreading the word.

Anyone who’s ever rescued any creature stray and homeless already knows the depth of a rescue dog’s gratitude, that the love they give is reflective of the depth of suffering and deprivation they’ve experienced. We also understand that rescue dogs in particular have an affinity and devotion to their people, because they’ve been at the bottom of life — sometimes in a shelter for years and counting. They know just how fragile life can be. They also know that when someone comes along with a gentle hand and reaches down to pull them out of the misery of an asphalt bed and perpetually rumbling empty stomach, they are forever bonded to and grateful for a second chance to enjoy a life outside those shelter walls.

For rescuers like us, nothing can feel more gratifying than being able to help alleviate the suffering of a vulnerable, beautiful, sentient being who has been overlooked, abused, neglected, or suffered the horrors of cruelty by society in the daily deluge of our chaotically transforming culture. In a world overwhelming any one soul in its speed, density and mass, it’s a small measure that takes on vast meaning for one individual.

If we dog lovers can better connect to help the hard luck stories live a little better life in a furever existence by sharing to increase their exposure, we can feel we’re doing our part, which is all any one of us can do.

Namaste, and thank you for listening…Please pass this on.

 

Categories : Help Save Animals, Of Dogs, Of Ecopsychology

When Will Legislators Learn BSL is Not The Answer?

By Denise Boehler
Monday, February 24th, 2020

By Lauren Lee

I am reading through numerous articles and clippings on Denver, Colorado’s lengthy and highly controversial pit bull ban in the midst of the mayor’s latest decision to veto the repeal on breed specific legislation.  Pictures from the The Rocky Mountain News in 2005 show dogs being rounded up, forced onto trucks, and taken to their deaths.  Other pictures show hundreds of dead dogs – likely many of the presumed 1,453 pit bulls Denver put to death in 2005 and 2006.

Clearly 1,453 pit bulls didn’t attack people in Denver in 2005 and 2006.  So again, we  have another example of humans attempting to wipe out an entire breed because of the actions of a few.  Who are the real killers here?

For those unfamiliar with Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), it is a generalized term for laws that regulate or ban certain dog breeds, ostensibly to decrease dog attacks on humans and other animals. Such legislation targets specific breeds of dogs that are wrongly thought to all be dangerous – most frequently “pit bull types.”  Those in favor of BSL say it is necessary to ensure the public’s safety, and argue that such legislation protects citizens from vicious and dangerous dogs.

BSL Does Nothing to Increase Safety

When it comes to protecting communities, people, and pets, legislation targeting specific breeds is ineffective.  However, it is an effective means of spreading prejudice, stereotypes, and hatred.  There are far too many problems with this type of legislation to have a safe outcome.

The name “breed-specific” legislation is incorrect.  It is not breed specific but rather appearance specific, making it more like racism couched as legislated public protection.  This is because BSL focuses on dogs with certain physical characteristics.  The most obvious of these are a solid, muscular, body type, a large blocky head, wide-set shoulders, a large chest, and a rectangular-shaped body.

Studies have shown that even professionals who are most familiar with dogs are not reliably able to determine a dog’s breed.  This is because the very physical traits that are used to define “dangerous and vicious” dogs are actually shared by many different breeds and mixed-breed dogs.  And while pit bulls are the dogs most often targeted by this type of discriminatory legislation, the term pit bull does not refer to a breed of dog, but rather to a whole group of dogs.

Some organizations only recognize the American Pit Bull Terrier as the one true pit bull.  However, they share similar features to other breeds, such as the American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Boston Terrier, several other terrier breeds, and some Bulldog breeds.

An article in Today.com notes, that “the term pit bull also has come to refer to dogs who simply look like they belong to one of those breeds even if they share no genetic connection.”

This is stereotyping regardless of what BSL supporters want to call it.

It Is Impossible To Identify A Dog’s Breed By Sight

The ASPCA has said that it is not possible to definitively identify a pit bull by sight.  In any community that institutes BSL, and uses sight as a means of breed identification, members need to ask themselves the following: are you comfortable euthanizing dogs with no history of aggression simply because of the way they look? 

To illustrate this, four Florida shelters took part in a 2012 study conducted by Maddie’s Fund.  In this study, four staff members at each shelter identified the breed of 30 dogs in each shelter by sight.  Of the total 120 dogs, shelter staff identified 55 as pit bulls by sight. The DNA analysis revealed that only 25 of the dogs were pit bulls. Twenty percent of the dogs who the DNA analysis revealed were pit bulls were not identified as pit bulls by the shelter staff.  Only 8% of the true “pit bulls” were identified as such by all participating shelter staff members.

This particular study’s authors concluded the following:

  • Observer identification of breed was so inconsistent that visual identification of breed is unreliable.
  • The safety of a dog is best evaluated by looking at the individual dog’s attributes, including personality, behavior, and history, not breed.

Another problem with BSL is that it tends to discriminate against responsible dog owners while failing to address the issue of irresponsible dog owners.  The truth is a dog of any breed is more likely to display aggressive behavior if it is not supervised, not properly cared for, and has not received appropriate training and socialization.

The American Veterinary Medical Association describes socialization as the process of preparing a dog to enjoy interactions and be comfortable with other animals, people, places and activities.

Negative Consequences of BSL

Rather than promoting safer communities, breed specific legislation ends up resulting in several unintended negative consequences to the health and safety of people and pets.

  • Dogs may suffer while their owners attempt to prevent them from being detected by authorities. Rather than give up their beloved pets, even the most well-intended dog owners of targeted breeds may resort to restricting their dog’s outdoor activity, minimizing visits to the vet’s office, and doing without necessary shots, microchips, and spay and neuter procedures.  The result is the dog receives less socialization, and consequently, the pet’s physical and mental well-being suffers.
  • Irresponsible dog owners, on the other hand, who are likely to use dogs for purposes of fighting, attacking, and backyard breeding will move on to whatever breeds they can. Any dog can be trained to attack and fight if mistreated, starved, beaten, chained up, abused, and forced to fight for its life.
  • Animal shelters and rescues are forced to kill larger numbers of healthy, adoptable dogs in cities and states where breed-specific laws make adopting and owning certain dogs virtually impossible.
  • According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 4.7 million people in the United States are bitten by dogs each year, and more than 800,000 receive medical attention for dog bites. But what proponents of Breed-ban Legislation leave out of this equation is the fact that any dog can bite, regardless of the dog’s size, breed, or genetic mix of breeds.

Rather than spend money and resources targeting breeds with specific appearances, cities and towns would be better advised to put funds and energy toward educational  initiatives, subsidized puppy training classes, enforcing leash laws, low cost spay/neuter programs, and regulation targeting irresponsible dog owners (irrespective of breed), dog breeders, and animal abusers.

The answer is not and never should be stigmatizing an entire group because of incidents involving a small number who happen to share the same physical characteristics.Sources:

https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/dogfighting/what-breed-specific-legislation

https://www.avma.org/public/Pages/Why-Breed-Specific-Legislation-is-not-the-Answer.aspx

https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/171115a.aspx

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/breed-specific-legislation

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/AnimalWelfare/Pages/Socialization.aspx

https://www.maddiesfund.org/incorrect-breed-identification.htm

https://www.today.com/pets/what-pit-bull-it-s-not-actually-dog-breed-t118066

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/LiteratureReviews/Pages/The-Role-of-Breed-in-Dog-Bite-Risk-and-Prevention.aspx

https://petradioshow.com/breed-specific-legislation-reasonable-public-policy-or-just-b-s/

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