I'm sure that anyone reading this blog can appreciate how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of a new cause. Something hits the media, or is shared by a Facebook friends, or you hear mention of it, and you begin to read, to research, to form an opinion. It can become almost an addiction as you follow along with the case, the trials and tribulations of the involved parties. This is something that can make it very hard to form an unbiased opinion, and something that can cause a person who doesn't deserve support to amass a huge following of people.
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People don't admit to not knowing things, and it's become a problem. Animals are being sold as the wrong breed, incorrect information is being given because people can't be bothered to say they don't know, and it's not only irritating for those who do know, but it's also dangerous for the animals involved.
In my last post, I complained about online classifieds, and people who post misleading information(kind of, I got a bit off track, but if you're a regular reader, you know that's a common occurrence). This post, I'd like to talk to you about misinformation shared by rescues/shelters, and how much worse that is.
Is there really a pet population problem? Could it be fixed by sterilization? Or is it all just a myth created by the RARA's to increase donations and encourage people to boycott responsible breeders?
As animal owners, breeders or rescuers, it is our duty as the dominant species to ensure that our animals are well provided for - with a life of quality over quantity. We must respect our animals and ensure they receive the proper care during life, and a timely release from pain when it is their time. I don't agree that every animal needs saving. I don't agree that one should tax themselves both financially and emotionally to try and extend the life of an animal. I just don't think it is a proper allocation of funds.
Does that make me a bad person, or a realist? There are many times when, in my daily computing, I come across a story about the poor abused animal in desperate need of a 10,000 dollar operation to save its life, and won't you please donate so that life can be saved, extended, whatever? These posts turn my stomach, and inspire a great deal of anger in me. How many healthy animals could be housed, fed, fixed, vetted for that 10,000 you're spending on one unhealthy animal? How can you justify that type of expense on one cat, or one dog, when the claims are that so many other animals need help, and so many animals are abandoned. When is it okay to say enough is enough and end the suffering? A number of years ago, through some unusual circumstances, I became the owner of a ferret. This ferret was a mess, covered in ticks from his stint outdoors, he also was suspected to be suffering from a disease common in ferrets, due to the desire to get the "appealing" colours, rather than standard sable. He was suffering from Waardenburg's, which was very severe in his case - he was deaf, had vision problems, and had limitations in his jaw movement, due to the deformity caused to his skull by the syndrome. For a few years, I had this ferret, I loved this ferret and gave him the best care possible. But, as with all things with genetic diseases, his health grew worse over time. The limitations in his jaw movement prevented him from properly chewing his food, and prevented proper dental care, which in turn caused his teeth to literally start rotting out of his head. He had been to several vets, all of them agreed that the only thing to do would be remove the teeth, except they couldn't get the ferret's mouth open wide enough to work, and would probably have to break his jaw to remove his teeth. Very expensive, and very painful, and no guarantee that he would heal properly, or even wake up from the surgery. I took him home and waited. I waited for the time that he started losing weight and he didn't rebound within a day or two. I waited for HIM to tell me he was done fighting, he was done with the pain, and he wanted that easy out. And he did tell me. I knew the day that he refused his banana treat that he was done fighting. I called the vet we had frequented most recently to make an appointment. They refused to put him down until he had had another full physical, including bloodwork that would have to be sent away for analysis. They did not accept that I had seen in him the signs that he was ready to go. They did not believe me that he wouldn't last until the analysis came back, that he would end up dying a horrible death, slow and painful, because he was done trying. They essentially told me that I didn't know my animal and that they could not legally put down an animal without the full check up (which is a lie, by the way), despite the fact that a month earlier they had looked at his teeth and told me they needed to be removed or he would eventually starve to death. Luckily, the next vet I called agreed to have him in for an appointment, took a quick look at his teeth and tested his jaw movement and looked me right in the eye and said "You're doing the right thing, you know. He's older, he's in pain and having issues eating, and he is ready to leave." Of course, i cried my eyes out... even now, almost 4 years later, I am still tearing up thinking about that moment of compassion when I was already so devastated with the impending loss of my buddy, and the accusations I had gotten from the previous vet. What I did for that ferret was the right thing, the compassionate thing. No matter how much it hurt me to say goodbye, regardless of the fact that there was a surgery option available, I did the right thing by saying goodbye. It was the best thing for my ferret. And yet, many rescue groups refuse to see this. They refuse to accept that sometimes, death is in the animal's best interest. Sometimes it is more humane to say goodbye to the animal and suffer your heartbreak, than to pour so much money into an animal that is so close to death already. Death can be a mercy, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. It is easy for all of us to sit on the other side of the screen and be judgmental, make assumptions, and "know" the situation and how people feel. It is much harder to make those assumptions, to be judgmental and otherwise "know" things when you become actively involved. I'd like to share how it feels to be on that other side when the manure hits the fan.
There are many reasons to be wary of giving your animal "free to a good home." How do you determine if it is, in fact, a good home, and why would you take the chance? Dog baiters, laboratories, criminals, animal abuses, mill-type breeders, all these people are lurking and waiting to take your animal and do horrible murderous things to it.
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