HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

I have received angry letters in my inbox. I have seen angry postings on bulletin boards and ad sites across the internet where you can remain anonymous. The cry is that shelter workers are monsters for destroying beautiful dogs and cats and they should be ashamed of themselves.

- Did you know that in most county pounds, the people that clean up the dog poo, clean the cages, etc, are inmates? They are on a work program. If you go to the shelter, you will see them clearly marked in their usually striped clothing. They could wear normal clothing, but the county wants the public to know who they are to prevent any liability. They have no choice where they work.

- Did you know that in some cases, an inmate was led to the feelings of humility and respect of life from working at a dog shelter.

I remember a chow mix who was a timid fellow and in danger of being euthanized. I did not go to this shelter, but was trying to help email rescues about him. He had too strikes against him at the shelter. He had never been properly socialized by his proper owners. He was scared to death in the shelter. And he had a black/blue tongue and lots of people think they don’t want chows. In the dog’s time there, an inmate had taught the dog to walk on a leash and some basic commands. When the dog’s “time was up”, the inmate caught the attention of a rescue worker and with tears in his eyes pleaded for her to save “his” dog. The emails went out about the dog knowns as “Inmate’s Favorite.”

The dog did have a happy ending.

Not everything, of course, is the fodder for a children’s book. There are some inmates who don’t work out at the shelter and are reprimanded and given extended sentences and more because of their conduct around the animals.

The point is, not everyone is lining up and jumping for joy about working at a county pound that is essentially a sorting facility.

- Secondly, do you know that many people go to work or volunteer at the pound thinking they can “SAVE THEM ALL,” and after awhile, they just feel overwhelmed. They feel like they are pushing water up the hill with a fork. They may be subject to listening to others that were once gung ho and have gotten jaded too with every passing day. And it is hard to pick up the phone with someone on the other end cussing you out and calling you an animal killer. Some of these people are just collecting a paycheck, but some of these folks were there to change the world once but got burdened and lost in the day to day grind when nothing seemed to change. I am not saying that 100% of these individuals are commendable, but understand why your phone call ‘telling them to stop euthanizing dogs’ like they here every day doesn’t have the impact you think it does and doesn’t do anything to help.

So, what can we do to stop the death? It is not always as simple as getting rid of that “one big bad person” at animal control.
That big bad person is US. And that is who we have the most immediate control over.

• If citizens of an area spayed and neutered their dogs and cats, they wouldn’t be wandering away from home so much to be called in as a stray or nuisance.
• If citizens of an area spayed and neutered their dogs, the puppy they give away for free to a family that in turn got “too big” wouldn’t end up dumped at the shelter
• If citizens of an area spayed and neutered their dogs, a puppy wouldn’t take the spot in someone’s home away from an equally as sweet and even purebred (nothing wrong with mutts, but some folks are looking for a specific type) dog or pup sitting at the shelter in desperate need.
• If citizens of an area spayed and neutered their dogs and cats, they wouldn’t have bit the child for walking between them and a female in heat, even if the female was a football field away.
• If citizens of an area always kept a collar and an id on their dog, a neighbor or other Good Samaritan may have approached the dog and called the owners before the dog was taken to the pound
• If citizens of an area microchipped their dogs and cats, they would have a ticket home.
• If citizens of an area let their dogs live in the house with the family, they would be less likely to be bored and dig under the fence.
• If citizens in the area changed their mindset that their dog “would surely find a home because he’s a good dog” at the shelter, they may rethink their decision to dump their dog. They may make extra effort to check with other family and friends who adore the dog, or perhaps get a courtesy listing with a local rescue to find the dog a good home.

If we did this, animal control could do their job of quarantining dogs who bit someone and returning them to their families, or dealing with animals that are truly a public threat/rabid. They would still be picking up the few dogs or cats out there that are lost, but there would be far fewer, and there would be much more time to reunite them with their owners. They are not an “adoption center.” But if we did our job, then the rescues who want to save them would not be faced with not being able to save them all.

It is easy to talk about “that awful shelter in____ (insert name of state), where they don’t get it.” It is easy to say that it is our neighbors, but when it really is all of us.

What can you do?

If you have looked at the list I presented above and you have already spayed all the cats, dogs, and rabbits in your car, your dog lives inside with the family, you have put id on your dog and possibly microchipped:

• When you see your neighbor’s dog without a collar, tell them that you care about your dog and would hate for them to get lost. Offer to buy an id tag for the dog.
• If a neighbor expresses belief in spay or neuter, and they say they just don’t have the time, offer to drive or pick up their dog from the spay/neuter appointment.
• If a person leaves their dog out in the yard all day long and expresses to you that they do so because they work long hours and don’t want accidents - depending on the circumstance, educate them about dogsitters, offer to let the dog out during the day yourself.

I know you may say “I have heard it all before,” and “it is so simple.” So simple that it is just not being done.
Online there are many ways to help:

Be an educated and kind voice to your online friends. Give your money and time to spaymobiles and low cost certificate programs so that those having the desire and not the resources to spay and neuter can. Also, if someone is writing to you telling you they are thinking about getting a pet, make sure they kindly know what kind of time commitment is involved and to carefully consider the individual dogs or cats so they make a good match the first time so they can commit to their dog or cat or rabbit forever.

Kitten season is almost here. When it hits, and the weeks following, shelters are overwhelmed with the numbers of litters of kittens and pregnant cats that end up at the pounds. Pregnant cats are surrendered because their owner cannot have more than one cat according to their lease, or cannot care for kittens. Or, sometimes its just that the neighborhood cat that wanders around happens to get pregnant. Someone in the neighborhood called her in because she was being a nuisance to the neighborhood while she was in heat. Kittens are surrendered at the pound because people just cannot handle them or they were found abandoned in a hiding place outside. Many people think “surely they will find a home.”

Not always true. Last season, many kittens were euthanized. Rescues did not have the capacity to take them all.

When does Kitten Season usually start? I asked volunteers of Winging Cat Rescue, and was told that it varies throughout the country, “A cat’s cycle has a lot to do with the amount of light they are exposed to, days are longer in the summer, so they go into heat more often.” This does NOT mean that a cat cannot get pregnant at other times of the year. It just means that more cats are in heat at the same time and things snowball. If there is an available male around much earlier than that, a cat can go into heat at any time. Kitten season in southern states starts in March. One volunteer reported that “Kitten season in Georgia runs about from mid April to the mid-end of October.” However, it seems to be starting earlier and earlier all the time.

Perhaps, this is due to people continuing to delay spaying a cat until they are 6-8 months old. Six to Eight month old cats have been known to get pregnant or give birth to a litter at their tender age. Also, people who have indoor cats or cats that “always come back home at night,” think that their cat cannot get pregnant or impregnate another cat. That is untrue also. Even if a cat lives as a single cat in a house, nature finds a way. When a female is in heat, or a male cat smells a female in the distance, they get an adrenaline rush. Its very easy for a normally sedentary cat to strategically slip out the door between your legs, or to scratch through a screen.

Last year, I remember vividly that shelter managers had a difficult time finding homes and rescues for their kittens. Since kittens are everywhere. People prefer the “free kittens” handed out because they are free. Little do they know that the free kitten will cost infinitely more to them in the long run, versus a cat they will have to pay a small fee for at the shelter, but the fee includes age appropriate vaccinations, and if the kitten is over a certain amount of weeks, spay surgery, to make them a healthier cat going into it. Many kittens were euthanized.

What can I do to help?

1) Spay or neuter the cats in your household that are over 12 weeks of age NOW. No excuses.

2) Think about the cat(s) that seem to make your yard your home. Trap and take them to be spayed or neutered also once you are sure they are not the neighbor’s cat.

3) Tell your neighbor.

4) If there is someone in your family or neighborhood that would like to spay but is not able to because of time commitments, offer to drop off or pick up their cat from the vets for them so they only have to drive one way.

5) Educate yourself on the lowcost or free spay/neuter programs in your area geared to individuals on a fixed income and have it readily available when someone raises the objection to spay because of their situation.

6) If you are sincerely thinking about adding a kitten to your family, check your local Animal Control first. If you don’t already own a cat, sometimes kittens do best when adopted in pairs.

Saving Shelter Pets - rescues dogs and cats from shelters, offers a spay and neuter certificate program to targetted areas in Georgia, sponsors a Southern Ohio Spay/Neuter clinic, fund Trap/Neuter/Release for ferals.

Alley Cat Allies - Resources on feral cats.