ADORED!!!

An Interview with Sweet Pea - A Former Foster Kitty 

"I guess being adopted is the best thing that can happen to a guy (or a girl for that matter)," remarks Sweet Pea as she sits in the corner of the couch, occasionally cleaning a white paw. "It's great having my own home although at first I missed my buddies on the street, especially, Radar. Another of my buds from the street got lucky too, and came to live with me and my new family so I got some company - not to mention the DOGS - they were here first so I'm real nice to them. Of course, I'm from the streets so I never let anything frighten me, not even when they tore down my old house with bull dozers or when my other family packed and drove off, leaving me behind." 

"My new family takes really good care of me. We have Tender Vitles parties as soon as 'Mommy' comes in the door from work-before even the DOGS get fed. I've got it pretty good these days and I don't have to worry about a lot of things. Take the weather-- rain, snow, hail-- you name it, I'm always warm and snug here. The food is good too-- plenty of it and I don't have to prowl the alley ways and dodge cars to get it. Of course I have toys, all kinds, scratching posts and a special place to sleep". Sweet Pea has just finished cleaning the other paw and is thinking about curling up in that favorite spot for a nap, so I can tell that the interview is almost finished. 

"Before I go, I just wanna say that I'm a lucky one -- got off the streets before it was too late, got put in foster care while I regained my trust in the two-legged folks, and now I've got a new leash on life with a new home, non-dysfunctional family (mostly), and new buds to hang with -- all because somebody cared enough to give me a second chance, through their money and time. There's plenty more where I came from who need your help. What difference could I possibly make you ask? Well let me tell you before I nod off to dream of chasing those DOGS; it made a difference to this one. Gotta go now -- cause I need my energy for the Tender Vittles party this evening."

Mira, the Christmas Miracle

It’s a story that is repeated all too often, especially in a town with a highly mobile population such as Lawton. In a nice suburban neighborhood on the east side of town, the family who had been renting the three bedroom house for some time, moved out. The house would now be occupied by a new owner and no longer rented. The real estate agent went inside to inspect the house for the new owner. Everything had been moved, but Mira and her sister, Ebony. They were in the garage without food or water, left behind like discarded trash. They were still alive but frightened, however, the realtor compounded the problem by opening the garage door and forcing them to leave the only security they knew, their home. The realtor called animal control and then drove off, leaving Mira and Ebony scratching at the door to get back inside. The neighbors said that Mira had never been out of the house before. By the time animal control arrived later in the day, the cats had given up and had run away to seek shelter. That night it rained.

Volunteers heard about the situation from the new owner who planned to move in about one month later. Ebony was found by a dedicated volunteer and taken to a foster home, but a frightened Mira could not be found. Humane traps were set and food scattered around the outside of the house for several days in hopes that Mira would return. The traps remained empty and after two weeks, volunteers stopped searching. Then on a cold, snowy night, the new owner thought he caught a glimpse of Calico fur dart through the fence as he surveyed the yard in preparation for moving in. Time was short as he would be moving in and bringing his dog into to the yard. We knew at that point, Mira would probably be lost forever. Traps were set, the temperature the week of Christmas had dropped into the single digits, and volunteers knew Mira chances of being rescued were dimming. Three days and nights the traps remained empty. Then the sweetest call I’ve heard came. It was the new owner saying a Calico cat was in the trap. The next day with his dog in tow he moved in and that night the temperature dipped to five degrees. Mira, however, was safe and warm. I will never forget those big, scared eyes looking up at me from within the trap as I picked her up. It was as if she somehow knew her month of terror had ended. Two days later, Ebony and Mira celebrated Christmas. It wasn’t posh, but they had a back bedroom in a foster home, food and a Christmas promise that they would never be abandoned again.

Today, Mira still shows some emotional scars from her ordeal, but they are healing with time and love. She and Ebony are have been adopted by a woman and they eagerly wait for her to come home each day. No longer assigned a back bedroom, they enjoy sleeping in the master bedroom. Their new owner loves them dearly. She said Mira and Ebony don’t show much interest in the outdoors other then looking our the window, but they especially enjoy curling up on the bed with her to watch television. As for the family that abandoned them, they were never prosecuted even though animal abandonment is against the law.

Most of the Mira’s and Ebony’s of this community never receive the miracle of a second chance. Let’s speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. Ask your city officials to get tough on perpetrators who leave their animals in homes, backyards, and on the streets to die. Former renters can be traced and prosecuted. As a community, we need to send a message that we will not tolerate animal cruelty. The best way to send that message is to make perpetrators accountable for their actions by prosecuting them.

ABUSED!!!

Animal Abuse -  An Even More Cruel Fate

THE TILLAMOOK STORY: THE LIVES OF 430 NEGLECTED ANIMALS IN OREGON by Sharon Methvin    

Volunteers cleaning rescued animals

     After three long months of investigation by several Oregon animal activists, the word came that the sheriff’s office and 75 volunteers would begin removing the animals that had been warehoused and neglected at a collector’s home.  According to one activists’ account from In Defense of Animals, “The scene was chaotic as rescuers tried to catch the frightened horses and get them into the horse trailers.  Many of the horses were trying to kick through the trailers once inside as they had not been horse trained and ended up with bloody leg…A bit later in the afternoon, a van was found hidden away in the woods and shut inside were eight cats, mostly Siamese. There were many trailers, vans and buses that were filled with trash and debris, some so full that we could not get back into them to look for feral cats.  In one trailer a decomposing cat was found next to a three week old kitten.” By the end of the first day, all the goats, bunnies, sheep, chickens, ducks, dogs, pigs, iguanas, burros, llamas and roosters were removed, leaving some horses, 125 feral and domesticated cats, birds fish and cattle left to be removed. Every local rescue group and local activists did what they could to help, including myself as the API, Northwest field rep. I agreed to foster four cats in her home and spent many hours delivering traps and cages, and picking up a mama and five kittens to foster.
     Around 7:00pm the next evening, a truck arrived at my home carrying six more of the 125 cats that were living in makeshift runs and cages on the property. These six joined the mama and her kittens in my garage that had been converted into what resembled a mash unit for kitties. Among the six that arrived that night was Tillamook, a brave and sweet, but very malnourished young gold cat with sweetest eyes you’ve ever seen. Tillamook didn’t squirm around like the others, hoping to get out of his cage or run to hide under the covers. He just purred and stayed curled up in the corner on his blanket. By the next day, I know he needed vet care but the perpetrator still had ownership of all the animals and would remain the legal owner until found guilty in the jury trial he had requested which was still many months away.
     Until Measure three passed in Oregon, the local animal welfare organizations could have gone before a judge and requested early forfeiture of animals in neglect or abuse cases prior to trial. Because animals are considered property, that and all confiscated property must now wait until a verdict is reached before ownership can be transferred. What this meant for Tillamook is that he could receive veterinary care if I or someone else paid for it but could not be, sterilized, euthanized, removed from foster care into a permanent home. I took him to the vet who found most of his teeth had rotted out and the lice and lung worms had invaded his body, leaving him severely anemic and weighing in at only 5.5lbs. I paid the $230 bill and brought him back to the makeshift Mash kitty unit armed with fluids, antibiotics and shampoo. He perked up, even venturing into the cat run, only to relapse two days later with congestion from the lung worms and lice that had invaded his body. Once back at the vet’s office, his was always purring and so loving but could not fight off the infection slowly taking over his body, in spite of medicine, love and hope by so many caring people. Foe most animals, the humane choice would have been euthanasia, but because of Measure three, he was still owned by an uncaring owner from whom the courts had removed Tillamook. 
     Before we could kindly end Tillamook’s suffering we had to wait until a judge reviewed his situation and made the determination that Tillamook’s suffering could end. The long agonizing hours dragged on as I held his head, watching him struggle for each bit of breath. Breathing was so difficult because of the congestion and worms that air was going under the skin instead of into his lungs, yet he continued to look at me with those sweet eyes and purr when I petted him. It was Friday afternoon and if the court order for euthanasia did not come soon, Tillamook would have to suffer until Monday when court was back in session. At four o’clock the approval arrived and Tillamook, now weighing less than five lbs. suffering could be relieved.
     Measure 3 has affected the other cats I am fostering as well with one being an un-neutered male and other little malnourished kitty having just gone into heat. Neither can be sterilized as I am only their foster care guardian until their owner is found guilty.  It is incumbent on us in Oregon to acknowledge our responsibility as animal guardians, especially of those animals that have been victims of neglect or intentional cruelty. The passage of measure three made that guardianship more difficult and created the potential that animals, such as Tillamook, already having suffered enormously might continue to languish alone in cages or endure unnecessary suffering. These are the very animals most in need and most deserving of the love and attention of new guardians.
     I am forever haunted by the look in Tillamook’s eyes and that experience could be repeated many times in Oregon if measure three is not amended. Two and one half months later, over 200 animals from Tillamook cannot be neutered, some ill cats that were already pregnant are still languishing in cages, not in the house in which they had been found, but now at the shelters in which they are fostered. Returning to a system that allow shelters to ask for full custody immediately of neglected animals will prevent a similar situations from occurring such as that which I witnessed while watching Tillamook suffer hours longer than he should have.
     These are the very animals most in need of attention from new loving homes. They deserve a second chance and we can ensure they receive that chance by amending measure three to exclude animals. For under Oregon law, they may still be property but our common sense and good judgment tells us they are living, breathing, feeling creatures not equatable to a computer, TV or other forms of property. I urge the Oregon members to write to their state representatives and the governor to amend measure three to exclude animals as items of property.

The Links Between Cruelty to Animals and Human Violence 

Violence cuts across many categories. Cruelty to animals is often a warning sign of violence against people-if not now-then in the future. Studies indicate that most criminals who commit violence toward people begin with animals.   

While abuse toward animals may indicate the potential for abuse toward humans, it might also be a sign of a family, especially a child, in trouble NOW. In 57 families being treated by a new Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, 88% had animals in the home that had also been abused - usually by a parent. 

What can we do to break the cycle of violence? First, do not ignore even minor acts of cruelty among children. Urge everyone to take these acts seriously. Any child who abuses animals should be recognized as being need of immediate help. 

Second, take any child's report of animal abuse in their home seriously. Notify authorities to investigate and intervene as necessary. Animal abuse in the home is one indicator that a child may by at risk of abuse or that abuse is already occurring. 

Three, be on the lookout for other indicators of child abuse and neglect. A chained dog in the back yard may not be where the problem ends. 

Pet Overpopulation 

What do teen pregnancy and pet overpopulation have in common? 

It occurred to me as I was thinking about the pet overpopulation problem that is has some parallels to the problem of teen pregnancy. Both involve apathy, convenience and have long term consequences. I shudder to think of how many times shelter managers here the phrase, "I was going to got her spayed but never got around to it," as a litter of kittens or puppies is dropped of to be destroyed. In my own research as a sociologist, teen mothers frequently tell me, "I planned to get on the pill, condoms, etc. but hadn't done so yet." In both situations, it's not that the pregnancy were wanted, but they were not unwanted sufficiently enough. 

Part of the problem is that people, both teens and pet owners, have to be motivated to take the necessary steps to avoid reproduction. For pet owners, it means making a trip to a vets' office and paying for the sterilization of the pet. It has been my experience that if I offer to take the animal in and also pay the cost of spaying, as you might suspect, no owner has turned me down. Perhaps the same approach could be taken with teens, that is, to take them to the doctor and pay for their birth control and teach them how to use it. But what about the issue of self responsibility? Educational outreaches by humane societies are one step in teaching about pet overpopulation and the responsibility to sterilize your pets. You can help too! If you see a neighbor allowing his/her pet to breed, explain the statistics that follow and offer them a ride to the vets, if necessary, so they have help handling their pet while driving. Let's do what ever it takes to reduce the number of lives that are tragically destroyed each day. Let's do it for the animals. It can be done; let's do it for them. San Francisco, for example, has reached zero pet population growth because of an aggressive spay/neuter campaign. Last year in Lawton  homes could not be found for over 4,500 animals. Purebreds, puppies and mamma cats; each was born with the potential of a long, beautiful life but instead spent its last days alone in a cage, because no home could be found. Forty percent of all animals taken to the Lawton shelter must be euthanized. And the fate for those simply dumped of the road or left abandoned in homes is worse. 

In six short years, one female dog and her offspring can be the source of 67,000 puppies, while, in seven years, a cat and her young can produce a staggering 420,000 cats! With such mind-boggling birth rates and too few loving homes, millions of animals face almost certain death in America's shelters each year. Please neuter or spay your pets!