The (Real) Truth About Cats and Dogs
by Marla RoseReproduced with permission from Conscious Choice magazine
Here's a little story about my dog, Lenny. He was found running down Irving Park Road, skinny and dirty, wearing a Hartz flea collar but no tags. My friend had tried to catch him for weeks without success because he was too resourceful and too scared. Like a lot of strays, he opted to dodge traffic and eat garbage rather than trust another person. One morning in September, though, my friend gave me a call. Lenny had finally reached the point where his fatigue and hunger were greater than his distrust of her, and, using canned food as bait, she was able to lure him close enough to throw a leash around his head. She wanted to know if I could keep him for a few weeks, until she could find a permanent home for him. Lenny has lived with me and my husband for over four years now. He's a beagle/basset hound/cattle dog mix from what I can surmise, and is probably the result of some backyard accident. He's the best dog I've ever known.
Then there's Buster. He's the basset hound we adopted from a shelter, given up by his family at six months of age because he wasn't completely housebroken. Two years later and he's still not, but he has learned how to walk up the stairs without tripping over his ears. Buster is the Casanova, a shameless, drooling flirt; Lenny prefers a more restrained but unswervingly loyal affection.
These dogs I've described, who are so unique and interesting to me, whom I cannot imagine or remember my life without, are really not extraordinary in any way. They've never rescued anyone from a burning building, foiled an assailant, or performed any other astonishing acts of heroism. They do what dogs do: they play tug-of-war with my socks and pee on our landlord's garden, despite my admonishments. They're normal dogs, flawed but wonderful.
So why are Lenny and Buster alive when so many dogs and cats are killed each year? The Humane Society estimates that anywhere from 8 - 12 million dogs and cats are euthanized annually in the United States alone (this figure doesn't include the countless others who are killed on the streets as strays, of course). Many of the dogs and cats awaiting death, whether it arrives in the form of a syringe, a gas chamber, a truck or a bullet, have stories that are far more riveting and compelling than my dogs'. Could the matted, fetid dog who just received a fatal injection have lived by his wits on the streets for years? Maybe he was once a perfectly maintained Airedale, who was the victim of a series of unfortunate events. Could the cat who just met his fate under the wheel of a car have once been an elderly woman's only source of comfort and security? It would be arrogant, unkind, and, ultimately, untrue to think that my two dogs deserve to live more than those who die unnecesssarily every year. I realize that it is nothing more than chance that Lenny and Buster are alive while the others are not.
Nearly all of my friends share their homes with at least one companion animal whom they talk to, worry about, play with and plan their lives around. My friends and I are not alone. Still the inherent contradiction exists - how can the knowledge that there are millions of people who consider their animals to be nothing less than members of the family be reconciled with the staggeringly high euthanasia rate? People concerned about the environment talk of the "disposable society" that we live in, referring to consumers who buy and discard unwanted items without addressing their negative impact on the planet. The most heartbreaking aspects of our culture's general lack of responsibility can be witnessed at the local shelter or pound. Unfortunately, the unwanted "items" found there are sentient and fully capable of feeling a bond with a person and feeling pain when that person walks away forever. And, because of the obvious communication barriers, many animals die never knowing why they were abandoned. Maybe it's better that way.
If you visit virtually any shelter you'll see people lugging in cardboard boxes stuffed with newborn kittens, (too young to go up for adoption, obviously; not old enough to survive without their mother), 10 year-old dogs bucking on the leash, (lived in the yard his whole life, not housebroken, completely unsocialized) and 3 year-old cats (a possible candidate for adoption, but people are going to go for the younger ones first). Because of the sheer volume of companion animals being born every day, 70,000 dogs and cats to 10,000 humans, they are literally in fierce competition with each other for a select number of available homes.
It's a strange and sad paradox when someone who loves animals also dreads the sight of them, and this is the internal tumult shelter workers experience every day. They cannot be blissfully unaware of the outcome of overpopulation; they realize all too well that there is no mythical farm where the surplus animals can live out their days in sunshine and good health. Every time another litter of puppies or kittens is born, whether by accident or intention, more are going to be sentenced to death. Many people don't realize that even if worthy families can be found for all the offspring, that just means that the precious supply of good homes available to abandoned animals has been further depleted.
A lot of people get very angry about the millions euthanised in shelters each year, and rightfully so. But the brunt of public blame usually falls on the ones who least deserve it, the shelter workers. Those who are faced with the grueling task of killing the unwanted are merely the messengers and are unfairly castigated for society's irresponsibility. Even though the woman who abandons her 6-year old dog at the shelter doesn't actually shoot the overdose of barbiturate into his vein, he's already dead the minute she decides he isn't worth keeping. She is completely accountable, though she doesn't respect life enough to accept the grim reality of death. Instead, she, like millions of people every year, hands that burden to someone else.
How can those concerned about animals stop this vicious cycle? Unlike a lot of problems we face, the answer is relatively simple: don't breed your animal(s) and don't support people who contribute to the over-population. It is unconscionable to allow a dog or cat to reproduce at a time when his birth will inevitably doom either himself or another animal. For those who believe their animals are so perfect that it would be a crime against nature and society not to breed them, I ask you first to visit a shelter. Walk through the adoption rooms, and, if allowed, the stray ward. Look into a few cages and ask yourself if these animals deserve to die to make room for new ones. This is what it has come down to, whether it is seen directly or not.
We'll start to help domestic animals when we stop feeding the industries that exploit them. One of the biggest enemies that the companion animal population faces is pet stores. Pet stores receive their animals from disreputable sources, most often from puppy mills and catteries, which are huge, grossly unsanitary and horribly inhumane breeding farms. However, there are pet stores like the one on Chicago's north side that boast that the puppies and kittens they sell are exclusively "home-raised". This is an obvious attempt to distance themselves from a possible puppy mill connection. Whatever the origin of their "merchandise", (in this particluar pet store's case, "backyard" or conspicuously bad breeders) they are still adding puppies and kittens, aggressively, to a world that cannot possibly sustain them. And that is only one aspect of what is wrong with pet stores. The rest has to do with the fact that they have no criteria that the people they sell the animals to are required to meet, because an animal's welfare is not a priority or even a consideration. If it were they wouldn’t be fueling the overpopulation. Any "unnecessary" attention to an animal's well-being would cut into the pet store's profit margin and therefore run contrary to their purpose. Profit and an animal's livelihood do not mix well.
To make the biggest difference for animals, we have to take responsibility for ourselves, our choices and decisions. By spaying or neutering our dogs and cats, we are not only showing our compassion for animals everywhere, but we are also greatly improving the likelihood that the individual animals will live longer and healthier lives. Dogs and cats who have been altered are much less likely of contracting reproductive cancers, escaping the home because of an overwhelming urge to mate, or being given up because it's marking territory in the home. If money is a concern, call your local shelter to find facilities that offer low-cost spay/neuter surgeries. You can't afford not to have this surgery done.
Finally, please consider adopting from a shelter. There are millions of beautiful, friendly and wonderful animals that just need a second chance. Don't deny yourself a great companion like Lenny or Buster. And don't deny an animal the chance to trust humankind again. The power to make amends is entirely ours.
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