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Open Thread
Posted by YesBiscuit on December 6, 2014
https://yesbiscuit.com/2014/12/06/open-thread-138/
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Randi, age 11
The views expressed in this blog are the opinion of the author.
YesBiscuit
Clarice
/ December 6, 2014The world’s oldest Janus cat — a feline with two faces — has died at age 15.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20141204/NEWS/312049633/1116
Eucritta
/ December 6, 2014I’ve been so amazed by Frankenlouie’s survival and health over the long term – not only a testament to their inherent resilience (with a hefty dose of good luck), but also to Ms Steven’s care. So … on the one hand I was sad to see they’d died … on the other, wow. Fifteen years. Most janus kitty babies don’t make a night.
Just amazing.
Davyd
/ December 6, 2014Arguably, the Humane Society of Fremont County was the worst animal shelter in Colorado up until 2 months ago (and for at least over a decade). It may have become the best overnight. See why a change in leadership means all the difference in the world. https://www.facebook.com/HumaneSocietyFremontCounty/photos/a.200172453330434.60607.197394033608276/967667716580900/
woundedantelope
/ December 11, 2014I’m so glad you posted this. I started following them right away and am currently applying for a job there that will hopefully help me continue to gain the skills to be a “Doug Rae” of my own one day!
Karen F
/ December 7, 2014Deeply charming account of “What the Rabbits Taught Us” in today’s New York Times.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/what-the-rabbits-taught-us/?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
Karen F
/ December 7, 2014The comments are wonderful, too.
Alice
/ December 7, 2014This case is causing major debate on FB at the moment:
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/video/10580136-owner-rescue-group-in-doggie-adoption-dilemma/#.VBa3giAmCOg.facebook
http://www.examiner.com/article/rescue-refuses-to-return-elderly-dog-to-owner
Karen F
/ December 7, 2014Reminiscent of what Karma Rescue did to a dog’s owner (and, equally important, the owner’s heartbroken son) in California earlier this year.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0304-banks-lost-dog-20140304-column.html
Alice
/ December 8, 2014I remember that case. There is another one in Ohio, COSR is the “rescue”. That one is in court now.
In Soda’s case, AC is admitting they screwed up and requesting the rescue return her (I don’t think that was in either of the articles). But they are claiming since they adopted her out to one of their fosters within 24 hours it’s a done deal. The AWA would majorly disagree with that idea.
And on that note, why are so many ACs and rescues getting away with ignoring the new AWA regs? Federal trumps state the last time I checked.
Eucritta
/ December 8, 2014In this case, it seems to me there’s a simple if painful fix: that the foster family who adopted Soda step forward and give her back to her family.
Alice
/ December 8, 2014This happened back in September, that doesn’t seem to be happening. But then, at that point the story was isolated. Now it has exploded. All it took was the Examiner writer to share it. Also, for anyone intersteted in the “other side”, look at DFW Shelter Reform FB and go back to the September 19th posting. There are screenshots of everything the rescue said about the situation. The posts themselves are long gone from their page.
Eucritta
/ December 8, 2014I agree. But it’s the ethical thing to do.
Here’s a link to what I assume is the post you mention:
… the information you appear to be referring to is in the comments, not the post.
BTW, for future reference, if you’re having difficulty linking to a specific post on FB, try hitting the date link under the header. And note – in future, I’m not going to do this. It took me far too long to find this post.
Here’s what I’ve got to say: even if everyone involved acted in good faith, the rescue and adoptive family are ethically obligated to return Soda home.
Cases like this, it seems to me, may have something in common with what was found in a recent study, ‘Solution Aversion: On the Relation Between Ideology and Motivated Disbelief,’ here’s a link to the PR release from Duke:
http://today.duke.edu/2014/11/solutionaversion
What I’m thinking is, when situations like this occur, we’re seeing solution aversion in action: the pets aren’t being returned to their families because the rescues and adopters don’t want to do it, and as it now stands, they can usually get away with it.
Eucritta
/ December 8, 2014Okay, I don’t know why the link isn’t showing up, I’ll try and format it to avoid issues:
https:// http://www.facebook.com/ CitizensForDfwShelterReform/ posts/ 702209256520085
spaces added to allow display … assuming this works.
Alice
/ December 8, 2014I’m stuck on the mobile version for the foreseeable future, and for the life of me I couldn’t get it to link last night. Thank you for finding it.
There is also a legal obligation to return the dog. The AWA mandates animals are to be held five days before being released. This has been true since 1990
https://www.animallaw.info/statute/us-awa-animal-welfare-act#2158
So why 24 years later are we dealing with situations like Piper and Soda?
YesBiscuit
/ December 11, 2014Cat Fancy and Dog Fancy magazines killed by the cat fancy and the dog fancy:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/who-killed-cat-fancy.html
Eucritta
/ December 11, 2014Ack. The characterization of the old Cat Fancy in this article has me banging my head.
Yes, it used to primarily focus on purebred cats, shows, etc., along with articles on cat health and care and product reviews. But, early on, it also published fiction, poetry and cartoons, and it always had bits now and then on celebrities, cats, and celebrity cats.
The main problem with Cat Fancy – and I suspect it will continue to be a problem with whatever it’s replaced with – is that it got to where it was always absolutely safe. Controversies might arise within the fancy, but not in Cat Fancy. Anything important, if it was covered at all, tended to be reduced to bromides and triviata.
Still. I loved it as a kid, learned a lot from it back when, and I’m sad to see it go.