A VERY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

A few nights ago we were watching an episode of Criminal Minds and the end quote really got to me.

“To remain indifferent to the challenges we face is indefensible. If the goal is noble, whether or not it is realized within our lifetime is largely irrelevant. What we must do, therefore, is to strive, and persevere, and never give up - Dalai Lama, the 14th.”

This really hit home with me as I have always believed, and lived, under the impression and belief that while I cannot change the world totally, I can make small changes, one change at a time.

The Dalai Lama has put my life philosophy into words far better than I ever could.

I, far too often, hear the argument that the problem is too big for saving one animal to make difference. I cannot save all stray animals, but I can save one animal and make a difference to its life.

Just like no animal welfare organisation can sterilise all the dogs in an area, they can sterilise some of them, if one dog does not breed, there are 4-6 puppies less that grow up as feral, uncared and unloved dogs.

Of the four animals we currently have (two dogs and two cats), three were stray or unwanted when we got them. We have provided two dogs and one cat a loving, caring home instead of them being on the street, having to fend for themselves, possibly ending up in pounds where they would not have survived.

Did we do the right thing in “saving” them, or should we have left them to “natural selection”?

I very strongly believe that when we decided to adopt cats and dogs as pets, we interfered with the natural order of life and we cannot now abdicate that responsibility. We have to care for these animals that would otherwise have lived natural lives as either predators or prey. We played god, now we have to take on the role of god and care for our animals.

Would you like your god to turn around an say, “Tough, baby, your are on your own?”

I don’t think so, so how come it is all right to leave dogs and cats to now fend for themselves?

Take responsibility; One animal at a time – you can make a difference!

RESCUE ANGELS

Dog & Cat Pad’s recent trip to DARG again reminded me of what wonderful people staff animal rescue centres.

I suspect few visitors to rescue centres realise how many of the staff are volunteers and how little the few permanent staff is paid. No one gets rich from working at a rescue centre.

Why do they do it then? Purely for the love of the animals and to try and make a difference, one animal at a time.

What often gets forgotten, even by the staff themselves, is the emotional toll it takes. Far too often they only realise it themselves after they’re burnt out.

You know the anguish you and your family goes through every time you lose a beloved pet, now think about that happening on a daily basis to you. Don’t think you get immune to it, you never get immune to animals suffering and you are often the one that has to make that final decision.

Of course, it is worse when the animal has been there for a while, you grow attached to it, no matter how hard you try not to.

Every loss is taken personally and you are left wondering if there was one more thing you could’ve done.

Don’t even think about their family lives. Looking after a rescue centre is not a morning job, it is a 24/7 job with late night call outs to rescue some scared (sometimes vicious) animal or to take care of a medical emergency at the rescue centre. Very few, if any in South Africa, can afford a full time vet on staff. At best they have a network of kind vets that can take care of emergencies, but the animal has to get to the vet.

So, no family life, the divorce rate at rescue centres are extraordinarily high.

When the rescue centre has a vehicle, it is mostly an older model that was donated by a kind patron and the centre has to service it, and that costs. Staff use their own vehicles and mostly “forget” to claim for petrol and mileage, they do it and will keep on doing it because it is for the animals.

To sum up, no money, no family life, high vehicle costs, why do they keep on doing it day after day, year in, year out?

Simply, they are angels!

Next time you visit an animal rescue centre, spare a thought for the staff and volunteers and maybe, take them a cake. Best yet, adopt an animal, seeing a lonely unloved dog or cat get a new loving home is the best reward!

PETS AND HOLLYWOOD

We all love the movies and if there is a cuddly, loveable dog or cat featured, even better, isn’t it?

Not for me, I hate those movies, not only because despite the Humane Society of America stamp of approval at the end of the credits, I am never too sure about how the animals were treated off screen.

Nowadays, computer graphics have largely replaced live animals in the movies, but I still hate them.

Why? These movies cause endless problems for animal rescue centres worldwide.

Within six months of the release of movies like 101 Dalmatians, Jock of the Bushveld, Beethoven and so on, rescue centres were inundated with unwanted Dalmatians, Staffies and St. Bernards.

It has been many years since the Lassie movies (showing my age here) and the demand for Rough Collies have declined to the point where it is difficult to find one (they are, in case you haven’t paid attention to my previous blogs, my favourite dog breed). Still, they made a huge impact as I often tell people my dog is a Rough Collie and I get blank stares until I say it is a Lassie Dog!

Please, Hollywood, be kind to us and don’t even think of remaking Lassie! These gentle dogs will not do well in rescue centres.

Any movie featuring a dog or cat leads to an increase in demand for them as pets (Babe was no exception, who knew pigs could be cuddly pets?).

People get this romantic picture of their ideal pet and immediately want one!

Hello! Garfield is a cartoon cat and does not actually exist – I’ve never come across a cat that craves lasagne! I love the cartoon and would really like to have a cat like Garfield – not going to happen, it is fantasy! Trust me, I’ve had a ginger cat – so not like Garfield.

I know some of these movies are based on real stories, but it has had the Hollywood treatment and has been romanticised.

Please people, get the difference between fantasy and reality. It is only a movie and animals are not fashion items, to be discarded at the end of the season.

Never base the choice of a pet on a movie character, choose the animal that best suits you (or even better, you it).  Best of all, choose a senior cat or dog from your local rescue centre and give it a second chance!

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INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL PROBLEMS

Last week’s guest blog from Belgium reminded me that our desire to have pets are universal, but so are the problems.

In November 2003 I was fortunate enough to attend a conference on the Humane Management of Dogs and Cats presented by WSPA and FECAVA in Athens.

The one striking thing I learnt there is that animal rescue centres all have the same problems, whether they are in Europe, America or South Africa – we all have common problems: Never enough space, when to let them go, not enough money, huge vet bills, to name but a few.

After the conference I spent a few days in London and was introduced to Battersea Dogs Home (they later became Battersea Dogs and Cats Home) where I was received with open arms and shown round.

For those of you that don’t know Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, apart from Paul O’Grady’s TV program, they are the oldest animal rescue centre in the world having been established in 1860!

It was interesting that even with all those years’ experience, we still found common problems!

Then most difficult dogs to rehome for us in South Africa, was Staffordshire Terriers, guess what? Battersea had the same problem.

Staffies are notoriously difficult for a number of reasons: They tend not to like cats; They can be escape artists; When left alone they can be destructive; They easily suffer from kennel stress; They don’t always play nice with other dogs they did not grow up with. Exactly the same reasons Battersea found them difficult to rehome.

We even had the same problems with cats – adult and senior cats found it difficult to find new homes. Everyone wants a kitten.

Incidentally, I did notice that domestic cats in London were huge. When I pointed this out to the staff, they disagreed with me, saying that they were normal size. Yep, normal for lion cubs, not house cats! I returned a couple of months later with the chairman of the organisation I was involved with and the cattery staff told me that after my comments, they did a bit of investigation and found that indeed London house cats were up to one-third larger than the world-wide average. They thought that this was due to generations of cats growing up in flats or small spaces leading very sedentary lives.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home did find solutions for a lot of problems and were more than happy to share them with us and I am very grateful to all the staff there, but we still sit with the same big common problem when to comes to pets – Uneducated humans.

We still have a long way to go before people start treating their pets like sentient beings with feelings.

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DO PETS GET DEPRESSED?

This is a much debated subject, but it is looking like more and more experts are starting to agree – pets can suffer from depression.

The fact that not many people are aware of this leads to the condition seldom getting treatment and as with humans, this can have dire consequences.

Let me tell you two stories from personal experience and you can make up your own mind.

The first is about a parrot owned by a good friend. The parrot grew up with my friend, but after some years, my friend had to move away for work reasons and the parrot was left with his parents. The parrot bonded with my friend’s father. After about four years, my friend settled down in a place where he could again keep his beloved parrot and they were reunited.

Everything went well until the parrot started plucking out his tail feathers and eventually plucked more and more of his feathers. Diet supplements and numerous vet trips did not help. Eventually one forward thinking vet put the parrot on anti-depressants. Almost immediately the plucking stopped and started looking like a healthy parrot again.

Then my friend went on holiday and the parrot had to stay with his parents for two weeks. They were scarcely back home when the plucking started again. Out of desperation and for the parrot’s well being, he was returned to my friend’s parents and now, some years later, has not plucked a feather and is thriving.

Did he miss the father, or is this pure coincidence?

The second story is much closer to home and still somewhat raw.

We had an armed robbery in our house where my wife and I were split up, three of our dogs sat by her through the whole ordeal while the fourth dog, Tissi, sat outside the window of the room where I was trapped, shouting for help, but unable to do anything.

Tissi was never the same afterwards, it was as if she had lost some of her spirit and sadly passed away seven months later at the fairly young age of eleven.

We were so tied up in our own struggle to get past the harrowing experience that we did not recognise her symptoms then and will always wonder if we could have done anything to help her.

Over the years working with rescued animals we also often saw the typical symptoms of depression: Kennel stress, listlessness and constant licking, amongst others.

Yes, I do believe our animals can suffer from depression and, like with our human friends, we must be on the lookout for it and get them help as soon as possible.

Below is some further reading:

National Geographic

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121004-animals-depression-health-science/

WebMD

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/features/depression-in-dogs#1

BBC EARTH

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150909-many-animals-can-become-mentally-ill

Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/entry/do-dogs-get-depressed_n_5696199

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