37 thoughts on “Open Thread”

  3. Here’s a story sent to me by a reader. It includes input from PETA and makes this claim:

    The exact number of feral dogs and cats is unknown, but there are certainly well over 100 million at this point.

    Gee, 100 million seems like a lot.

    Reply

    1. 100 million in the US or in the whole world? It may be somewhat believable if they mean the whole world:

      Some groups claim that there are at least 50,000 stray dogs (don’t know how many cats) in the city of Detroit alone. The city is 143 square miles. 50,000 dogs in such an area amounts to about 349 dogs per square mile. That number seems a little hard to believe, maybe more believable if they count the entire Detroit metropolitan area and not just the city.

      So, assuming PETA is talking about the continental US, that’s about 160,820 miles (per wikipedia). 100,000,000 feral dogs and cats over that area would be about 621 per mile, or many, many more than (possible) stray dogs in Detroit, a city that has a particularly bad stray dog problem. Not very believeable even when you consider it’s dogs AND cats.

      If it’s the world, let’s say 52,208,738 miles (that doesn’t include Antarctica). So 100,000,000 feral dogs across that area would be about 1.9 per mile, which is slightly believable considering that many would be concentrated in some rural areas, gigantic dumps, slums etc. and not in wealthier and urban areas. And if general “strays” are counted in their “feral” category, even though most stray are actually not feral.

      Reply

      1. US – not the whole world. So per your math, 621 feral pets per square mile or roughly 1 feral pet per acre. I have no idea how anyone could come up with this figure since there is no feral pet census.

    2. Let’s think about this for one minute. This info is from PETA. PETA who kills more than 95% of all cats & dogs that they offer to place in new homes. PETA who fills out their stats and is clearly shows that they do this, yet their supporters don’t believe it (and will fight tooth & nail to insist that PETA is “for” the animals and would *never* kill them unless they were medically hopeless). Of course PETA would try to inflate numbers so they can continue to insist that we have a companion animal overpopulation and their twist is that since we have such an overabundance of these animals that they kill them to PREVENT them from possibly having to suffer at the hands of a person – possible abuse, starvation, etc. So for them to say we have such a HIGH number of ferals it would help them continue to go about their killing without their supporters getting their panties all in a bunch. I don’t believe ANYTHING that comes from PETA. (Although, on a side note I see that they are supporting horse slaughter…but that’s another story for another day.)

      Reply

  6. I can think of nothing better for dogs/cats than the entire U.S. being a No Kill country. But I have to ask this: As I see every post on Facebook with dogs/cats needing rescued from certain death; every rescue group full, every shelter filled to capacity; every person I communicate with has more than one dog & cat; cat colonys being more prevelent & more free-range dogs running loose… How can more homes be found for the multitudes of dogs/cats as I see every home, business & empty lot full?

    I’ve read about Reno, NV’s shelter with dogs/cats living throughout their lives in cages & foster homes keeping their animals for life. Are there really enough homes to go around? I certainly hope so, but more homes today have pets than ever before in history. Do YOU know of anyone who will give a dog/cat a home? Where will these homes come from?

    I need answers to these questions. I don’t want to think the No Kill Equasion is not working.

    Reply

    2. At the risk of jumping into the quicksand, the homes in my community will come from those people outside of rescue who haven’t a clue what happens at the local disposal faciltiy and who think it’s a warm fuzzy place where everyone gets a second change. Those people who buy from breeders or the paper, not knowing that a purebred is out there and they can do the right thing by saving a life and having a tax deduction in the process. Those people who, when asked, really care less about a Pink Slip and more about companionship. The rescuers I deal with most are forever crossposting about the same animals and many unknowingly enable the very shelter system which creates the crisis mode in which they live. They mean well. But they are so close to X dog and Y cat they seldom see the bigger picture in the form of the No Kill Bus which could really take them places if they would only get on board. Reno is not a fluke. Ask Peter Masloch and Dayna Kennedy about No Kill and then you’ll be able to answer your own questions, I do believe.

      Reply

      1. A lot of them do work toward the no-kill equation besides trying to save the lives of those who will be PTS. A lot of them recently attended the conference in NYC for no-kill. They do double duty and triple duty. As far as the people who think shelters are warm ,fuzzy places for a second chance maybe it’s time for them to see reality and get active themselves in the no-kill equation . Not all crossposters are close to the animals it is more of the right thing to do to help those who can’t speak for themselves. It is a moral obligation to help those animals. They are people who have a moral center.

    3. Personally I’d like, no LOVE, to see these shelters & rescues put LESS restrictions on potential homes. I’d like to see them use education in situations where they deem a home as unworthy of adopting an animal from them. Perfectly good homes sometimes have two adults that work outside of the home, or have kids under 12, or don’t have a fenced in backyard, or plan on declawing a cat…..instead of denying them a pet I’d like to see shelters and rescues use that opportunity to teach potential new owners about what is the best thing to do for the animals. If everyone would get on board with that I’m willing to bet you’d see more adoptions. Well that, and shelters & rescues doing more adoption events (that are publicized) and have better hours…be open more days….you know – actually DO the parts of the education that makes up the No Kill Movement! Because them NOT doing it is the problem – not the number of homes vs animals!

      Reply

  8. So, I held my “No Soup For You!” meeting/luncheon on Monday. I fed them pizza, pitched to No Kill Equation and did my best to bring local rescuers and advocates into the fold. The hope is to have a second meeting in about 3 weeks. Where will we go? I have no idea. We have conflict within the group between those who pull from kill shelters and those who say those shelters are being enabled. The goal is to get a core group of folks who will agree that the NKE is at best a cure and at least a treatment. If we can all agree that the 11 point equation is the only methodology shown to work and our best bet for reform, perhaps the personal agendas can take a back seat for the greater good. I hope. I hope. I hope.

    I’ve done my army of one thing for years now and it’s time to become one of many instead. I’ve been dismissed as a zealot. If I can get others to speak with me and along side of me, perhaps we can get some place. Gang mentality for good.

    Wish us luck. We’re gonna need it. It can’t make matters worse to try, at least from my perspective.

    Reply

    3. Best of luck! Keep us posted…I have a meeting next Tuesday with the director of Animal Control. I’m going to pitch her on the idea of using the *Just One Day* promotion to help our whole community come together in support of the eleven points of the NKE. (So far we do okay, they give their euthanasia rate as 12 – 20%—but if you add in the *medical*—that’s a sneezing cat—the *behavior observed* and *behavior history* —they killed seven guinea pigs for observed behavior in October of 2011…hmmmm. And eight turtles for medical reasons in December. Anyway, the numbers are probably closer to 30 – 50%.)
      Nobody (on staff) cares about the foster program. There are many of us who are technically approved as fosters, but nobody ever calls us, and the petfinder listings have foster dogs that have been listed, unchanged, for YEARS!
      I’m hoping to involve a key group of caring folk and then coordinate with all the local rescues and hopefully vet clinics, pet stores, etc. so that the ENTIRE community is involved.

      Reply

  9. oooh, breaking news from my neck of the woods: http://www.wral.com/news/local/wral_investigates/story/10644723/

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The director at the Wake County Animal Center, which came under fire in November after WRAL’s “Pet of the Day” was euthanized within hours of appearing on the newscast, has resigned, Deputy County Manager Joe Durham said Wednesday.

    So now we have two local animal control agencies without directors (The Durham County AC director, Cindy Bailey, quit last month after coming under repeated criticism for not enforcing the county’s anti-chaining ordinance).

    Reply

    1. I saw the WRAL article this morning and wondered if local advocates are applying pressure to hire someone who will do things differently or if they are waiting on the sidelines to see what horrors the future holds. I hope, the former.

      Reply

      2. I’ll see how I can stir that pot–I’m not a Wake Co. resident, so I’m not sure if I can apply direct pressure, but I can try to fan some flames.

  10. OWNER DYING! NEED HOMES FOR THESE 3 DOGS OR THEY GO BACK TO MAS!!

    Yesterday, when I picked up Missy, the Golden, there was an extra dog that I did not take a photo of the day before. Boy, who is a Lab mix, looks similar to Cue, so I guess I thought they were the same dog. Anyway, here is a recap of the original 7 dogs and the remaining ones:

    On Tuesday, 2 Terriers placed in a foster home

    On Wednesday, Missy picked up, and she is now with MAGRR

    Today, I am picking up Sue, the Lab/Corgi?Bassett? mix and she is going to rescue.

    That leaves 3 dogs:

    Little Girl- 10 yr old spayed Chow mix very small appx 18 lbs. walks with limp (arthritis?)
    Cue- 11-12 yr old male Lab Mix? neutered
    Boy- 2-3 yr old Lab mix, not neutered

    The dogs are not current on shots, not on HW preventative. The older ones just need a home where they can live out their lives. They do not deserve to go to the shelter. These dogs do not have a mean bone in their bodies! I am attaching photos of Boy, Little Girl, and Zoe. (Boy is in pic#1, and Little Girl and Cue are in pic#2)

    Please cross post. URGENT

    Thank you,

    Beverly
    MEMPHIS, TN CONTACT BEVERLY KING AT bevanddogs@yahoo.com 3 DOGS REMAINING THAT NEED LOVING HOME-OWNER DYING!! GOING BACK TOMORROW TO MAS IF HOME IS NOT FOUND!! PLEASE HELP!
    By: Brenda Horn

    Reply

    1. To me this is incredibly cool. A family member had a total knee replacement several years ago. It was truly miraculous and could prove equally so for cats and dogs. In humans, just as in the plan for Cyrano, some of the bone above and below the joint is replaced along with the joint itself. Zillions of knee replacements have been done on humans, for decades, and the procedure is understood really well. Hopefully the equivalent surgery will be done more and more often on cats and dogs, not just to bring the cost down, but to make surgeons more proficient — surgical outcomes are closely tied to how many times the surgeon has done the same surgery. Best wishes for Cyrano!

      Reply

  12. A Shelter Friend, the rescue that helps spring animals from the Bladen County, NC, pound (poor, rural, high kill) has had a bunch of rescue commitments fall through AFTER they pulled the dogs. They are now stuck paying $100 a day to board all the dogs at a vet because there are not enough foster homes for them. If you or someone you know is looking for a dog, please look through this album and see how awesome they are. Or if you know of a rescue that has space, please pass these dogs along. Thanks!
    On Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151104879320294.788899.343515945293&type=3

    Not Facebook: http://ashelterfriend.org/adoptablepets.aspx

    Reply

Leave a Reply to ClariceCancel reply