Update on the Dog I Almost Stole at the Animal Shelter

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This morning, I took Julius in for his alteration (sounds like he’s having a suit tailored, doesn’t it?) and through the glass door between the clinic and the animal shelter I saw a young couple with the Chihuahua I fell in love with on Monday. I set Julius down by the counter and approached them.

"Are you guys taking him?" I asked.

"Yes, we got here at 1 this morning to make sure we were the first ones in line," the girl told me.

Wow. They slept in their car during an ice storm to get this dog. That’s committment right there.

Watching him sit in her lap and seeing how much she loved him already and how comfortable he felt with her, I knew it was the right family for that dog. It made my morning.

Do you want a pet? Please adopt a shelter animal. They are so desperate for love, and they deserve a forever home.

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What’s More Cruel: Euthanasia or Natural Death?

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Is Euthanasia a Kindness or a Cruelty?A case out of the UK brings to mind an important and controversial question: Is it better to put your sick pet to sleep, or to let him die naturally at home?

Here are the salient points of the story:

A debate in the United Kingdom centers on whether negligence or kindness killed a 17-year old Great Dane.

Darren Stephens, 28, argues that his dog Chad was loved dearly. While he knew the dog was ill, he couldn’t bear taking Chad to the vet, knowing he would be put down.

Prosecutors representing the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals argued in court this week that Chad did not have to suffer. Read the whole thing.

Now, I’m of two minds here. First, 17 is an unheard-of age for a Great Dane. Big breeds usually top out at 12 or 14 years, or less if they receive only average care rather than excellent care, so clearly the owner took care of his pet, and Chad lived a good, long life. But second, if your dog is so immobile that he can’t move or eat, are you keeping him alive for you or for him? It’s a tough call.

What I’m 100% certain of, though, is that painting the owner as “killing [the dog] with kindness” is absolutely insane. The dog was dying anyway. By all rights, he should have been dead well before the age of 17. The guy kept the dog alive out of kindness; he didn’t kill him. That’s what the whole debate is about.

It’s been a long time since I had a pet old enough to even think about this stuff seriously, but I do think about the day when I’ll have to make a choice about Pickles, Ty, and Murphy, and it will likely be a lot sooner for them than it will be for Zoe, Isabel, and Julius. I don’t know what I’ll do. But I do know that I can sympathize with a dog owner who just doesn’t want to say goodbye.

What do you think? Is euthanizing a sick pet kinder than letting him live out his time? Leave a comment.

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Do You Clean Up After Your Dog on Walks?

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Scoop that Poop!I always thought that it was an unwritten rule of dog owners to pick up the poop if your dog makes a deposit on a walk. In most towns there are “curb your dog” laws, as well. But not every dog owner is as considerate as we might like, especially at the dog park. Here are some tools to help you keep things, um, fresh and clean.

And here’s what happens when you don’t scoop the poop!

Hidden Dangers at the Animal Shelter (or why I almost got a fourth dog yesterday)

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Falling in Love With Shelter DogsThis is not one of those upsetting posts about serious animal neglect or anything like that, so don’t worry. Yesterday, I visited the local animal shelter to pick up paperwork for Julius’ scheduled alteration later this week (more on that as the situation develops), and I swung through the dog kennel on my way out to check for black pugs since I harbor not-so-secret fantasies of adopting a pug brother for Pickles. And while I was there, I met this guy.

He’s a 5-month-old mostly white male Chihuahua who was found with no collar and no microchip, and I very nearly broke down the door of his holding pen and stuffed him into my coat in a dramatic rescue operation. You see, this shelter is not a no-kill shelter, and they have been innundated with animals lately. I didn’t know how long he’d been there or what his story was, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He looked so scared, with this air of please-protect-me-from-the-world-because-my-mommy-and-daddy-abandoned-me about him.

This morning, right when they opened, I called the shelter to find out how much time he had if he wasn’t adopted. The patient woman who answered the phone informed me that he goes up for adoption on Thursday, the same day I take Julius in for his surgery, and that she’s quite certain someone will take him home. "Euthanasia is definitely not a concern for him. I can guarantee that someone will be here for him on Thursday." When pressed, she confessed that she was not aware of any specific person who was planning to adopt the dog, but that the little dogs generally don’t have a problem getting placed in a home.

I’m dropping Julius off at 8:30 Thursday morning, and the adoptions start at 10:30. I am going to try to coerce the shelter staff to call me if the dog is still there at the end of the day. I can’t bear the thought of this tiny puppy being put down because his original owners were too selfish to care for him. Forunately, he’s small, so we’ll have no problem finding room for him. Now to figure out how to house the other 20 dogs I fell in love with while I was there…

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How Playing With Your Cat is Good for You…and Your Pet

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Play With Your Cat DailyEspecially in a multi-pet-species household, the aloof cat often gets overlooked when it comes to playtime. But in an increasingly traffic-heavy world where more and more cats are being confined to the great indoors at all times, play is critical to your cat’s health.

I loved this article from PetStyle.com, which offers some specific ideas for keeping Fluffy physically and psychologically healthy:

Boredom, loneliness, and a lack of challenge can be extremely stressful to cats. The feline by nature is inquisitive, social, and playful, and when their lives become so isolated, without adventures to observe or participate in, and without any trouble to get into or new things in their environment to explore, they can get depressed, and perhaps even feel no sense of purpose to their lives. This of course, can lead them to becoming lethargic and more susceptible to illness.

So, what are the options available for providing more stimulation for your own indoor cat?? The two key words that most feline behaviorists agree upon seem to be: “variety” and “randomness”. Read more >>>

Also worth noting is that there’s a huge body of evidence indicating that cat owners, and pet owners in general, lead longer, healthier lives. Spending time with your cat reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and provides encouraging companionship. When the cat’s not completely ignoring you, that is…

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