Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Animal Hoarding - A Glimpse Inside

2012-01-28T14:19:27-05:00

This article over at SFGate, by Jennifer Scarlett (Co-president of the San Francisco SPCA) really opened my eyes to the issue of animal hoarding: Shedding Light on Animal Hoarding.

She talks about "therapy -and legal action" and share this image for a peak inside the way researchers believe this issue starts.

Jennifer writes, "One very clear thing about animal hoarders is that they need intervention to stop. After all, most of them think they’re doing the right thing. And two of their signal traits are denial and persistence."

She goes on to state cases where hoarders are discovered and defend themselves, where they actually believe the animals are fine - when in truth, they are riddled with parasites or disease. Or, they are malnurished.

On one level, I feel a kinship to animal hoarders. I mean, I, too, would love to rescue hundreds of dogs and cats - to bring them home and shower them with love. But, I stop myself because I do not have the resources to care for more than I am caring for right now. I have three dogs and a cat. That is all I can manage. Even if and when we move to a larger house, with a bigger yard, I will not have room for more than one or two extra dogs and maybe one or two cats. It's a fact of life. And therein lies the problem for hoarders - they do not recognize their own limitations.

Jennifer describes three types of hoarders: 'the overwhelmed caregiver' who obtains her animals (it is most often a woman) "passively." Second is the 'rescue hoarder' who is "mission-driven" and who feels compelled to do better by the animals (and then doesn't). And, third, the 'exploitive hoarder' - who is "sociopathic: charming, manipulative, lacking empathy."

The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, mentioned in Jennifer's article, is "a group of researchers who collaborated from 1997-2006 to define and better understand the problem of animal hoarding" and which also shares resources on the subject.Including, links to places that discuss the issue. Including, this link to the show on Discovery - which seems shocking to me. A show on hoarding. But, maybe it's a good idea - maybe exposing this issue is what it will take to diminish or change it.

This video (click the image) is from a serious hoarding event, and shows how hard it is on the animals.

Reading about this has shown me that it's more of an issue of mental health, sometimes, than one of cruelty or just ignorance. Not sure what to do about it - I once knew a woman who had like 100 cats, but as far as anyone knew (I never went to her 'farm' so I don't know if this is true or not), she lived on a farm and the cats were not only well-fed, they were well cared for. I do know the vet I worked for vaccinated them.

I recommend reading the article and writing about this issue. Education - of us, the people who know about these things only tangentially, via the news. What can we do? What should we do?

Wordless Wednesday - It's Kitty Time!

2012-01-25T08:00:00-05:00

Pandora- affectionaly known as Wabby Wibby (baby kitty in baby talk!) Relaxes on the family bed

Bailey - snoozing.

Bella, being her usual flirty self. Belly rub anyone?

Booger (I didn't name him)... frisky as usual.

Dear Animal Planet

2012-01-24T08:00:00-05:00

Dear Animal Planet,

I'm a pet lover. I love all pets but I'm especially fond of dogs and cats. That doesn't rule out ferrets - some of my friends have ferrets and those little guys and gals are a delight. The one shown here is called Snotface and he's a bundle of laughs. I also hear that chickens are pets, these days. Of course, we shouldn't leave out horses, either.

If you really push me, I have to admit it's not just 'pets' that move me to tears, on a regular basis. It's all animals. It's donkeys and sheep and pigs and cows and wolves and bears and ... all creatures great and small. Well, except insects. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't dislike insects but I do.

As a member of a growing online community of devoted animal lovers called BlogPaws, I get to see reports from all over the world on the ways people abuse and neglect animals. It's appalling and horrifying and downright criminal, although for the most part the humans who perpetrate this cruelty on innocent animals don't pay for their crimes. They just continue to do ... what they do. And, those in authority continue to pretend it doesn't concern them.

In the U.S. we do try to bring these abusers to justice. Many, many people across the nation are working on legislation to make animal abuse a felony, with more jail time and more serious consequences than they get now. I so applaud and support them, as much as I can. Shouldn't animal abuse be a more serious offense than it is? Why isn't it just below child abuse? You see, I don't equate children with animals, even though my pets are my children. I do believe that those who abuse innocent creatures are also as likely to abuse people - women and children, mostly. And, studies prove that is true. Just look at Okey's Promise.

I've been thinking... and that's the reason for this letter to you. I hope you see it. Our shelters and rescues, the world over but for this post, just here in the U.S., need your help. I know... if there is one group that is taking time and money and putting it to good use in the defense of animals, it's Animal Planet. But, what if there were additional ways you could help - that wouldn't cost all that much but which would go far in supporting our shelters - to allow them to do more, save more, and grow?

There is- It's called Pimp My Shelter.

Here's how it works: With BlogPaws, and many great sponsors (we have no doubt that between the two of us, we could get the right sponsors, including people like Ellen Degeneres and Rachael Rae, and all the support needed), Pimp My Shelter would travel the country in a van full of supplies and tools and ideas, and visit various shelters to help them ... in a dozen different ways. The van would be well-known. The show would be popular. People who know about it would submit requests for the van to visit their hometown and help their shelter.

Those people would be tasked with being the 'helping hands' on the day of the visit, and they would be asked to bring friends, so there could be a dozen or more people working together at one location, week after week, to paint, repair, fix, clean, and basically provide extra help to the shelter over a period of one day. Leading up to the day of the visit, we'd be in touch with the particular shelter to find out what their most important need is - it's not always money! It could be supplies, or blankets, or beds, or leashes, or someone to fix the back room.

Can you set it? It's sort of like HGTV's backyard makeovers.

Oh sure, there's a lot more to it. But, I don't want to take up too much of your time with this letter. I want to...present Pimp My Shelter to you in person.

Whadda ya think? Wanna talk?

Blame the right group - blame the humans

2012-01-23T14:42:47-05:00

Yvonne DiVita

Lazy Afternoon

2012-01-22T12:55:00-05:00

Yvonne DiVita

How Dogs Will Save the World

2012-01-21T10:45:57-05:00

With a head's up to Something Wagging This Way Comes, and her fantastic post, 5 Ways Dogs Save the World, here are my 7 Ways Dogs Will Save the World This Year. Seriously.

1. By being...themselves. Dogs just naturally generate love everywhere they go. They attract little children, they slobber all over their owners, they send out those, "Hey, want some warm hugging?" vibes and then they deliver.

2. Dogs rescue people. Dogs all over the world are called upon to rescue people from their own misfortune (hanging out on mountains where an avalanch is imminent - just saying...), from natural disasters, and even from other creatures - like those pesky cats that are allowed on the furniture when the dog isn't. Really, what's up with that?

3. Dogs sniff out danger. Like rescue dogs, there are dogs that are trained to sniff out drugs or bombs. At the airport (can you say - how to save hundreds of people - when flying is safer than driving... let's not go there).

4. Dogs sniff out disease. That's right. Dogs can detect cancer. Early on. Pay attention if your dog is always sniffing your armpit or your neck or your chest... dogs smell things we can't. Cancer is one of them. Get checked if you dog tells you to get checked!

5. Dogs don't discrimminate. Dogs love everybody or...they don't. If your dog doesn't like a 'new' friend, maybe you shouldn't either. For the most part, dogs don't care how tall you are, or aren't. Or how much you weigh or what race you are or what gender or where you went to school. Dogs belong to the equal slobbering club - they just want to slobber all over you, preferably your face... no matter who or what you are.

6. Dogs forgive - over and over and over and over and over. 'Nuff said about that.

7. Dogs teach us patience. They make us exercise more than we might. They alert us to intruders or smoke or other dangers and then work to make sure we're safe.

All in all, dogs exist to love us and help us and take care of us and make the world a better place. What has your dog done lately to prove my point?

All of the links in this post go to important resources for that point. Please visit them. Thank you!

Life Unchained, at last

2012-01-19T08:00:00-05:00

Thank you to Andrea Arden of Animal Planet. I saw her post this video on Facebook and I had to share. To me, this proves the undeniable fact that animals not only think, they have feelings. Humans are pompous and overbearing to think we are the only species on the planet with intelligence.

Have tissues at hand. Know your tears will be the good kind.

Wordless Wednesday - All Mine!

2012-01-18T08:00:00-05:00

Typical Day at our house:

Undeniable - Dogs (and cats, I think) Do WATCH what we say

2012-01-17T08:01:00-05:00

Steve Dale, of Steve Dale's Pet World, shared a truly great article last week. "Dogs and People- an Integral Connection" is about how dogs communicate with us. He says dogs don't just listen, they watch.

I can tell you that I spend a fair amount of time watching my dogs. I love trying to figure out what they're saying to each other (what does that nose nudge mean? why is Emily following Olive today when Olive usually is the one following Emily? and how does Emily get Chester to come and poke my elbow, when SHE wants something... obviously she thinks Chester can get my attention - and he usually does; he's my boy)... and I know there are numerous times when I'm convinced Emily wants to talk to us. Really talk.

It can be painful watching her stare at us with those big, brown eyes... and feel her need to convey her message...which we are too stupid to understand!

Dale is citing a report from Cell Press Journal Current Biology, and he mentions a reader who says that although she lost her voice for awhile, she had no trouble communicating with her dogs. I wonder if I can test that by not talking for a whole day... Prolly not.

More studies show that dogs are intent on everything we do, and it's sure that way at our house. Our dogs remind us when it's time to walk - and if we delay, they are like little kids in their many ways of distracting us from whatever we're doing that is impeding their walk! Interestingly, though, Emily has learned the certain ways I approach her, "Can we walk now?" question, mean specific things.

If I nod and pet her, while saying, "Yes, in just a minute," she will go wait by the door. If I turn quickly away from the computer and say, not nicely sometimes, I'm sorry to admit, "I can't do it now, Emily, I have a blog post to finish," she will sigh and slink away. She doesn't bother me too, too much - unless a LOT more time goes by before we get the leashes out.

Olive is still to afraid to look right at us, but she's practicing. She must pay lots of attention to body language, even more than she pays to our tone of voice. And Chester, well, he lets Emily do most of his talking!

While it's true, and Dale reminds us, dogs learn throughout their lives - they learn what we like and what we don't, they learn how to make us laugh and that when we're angry, they should avoid us; I also think those of us who pay attention, learn from them. It's a great world to live in that shares these kinds of interesting challenges.

p.s. the cat doesn't seem to take a lot of time trying to understand us but she clearly wants us to understand her! and, she watches the dogs more than she watches us - you know, with that, "What ARE they doing now?"

Domestic Abuse bill protects pets, too!

2012-01-15T08:13:00-05:00

I want this bill in CO! As I've written about before, pets can be injured in abuse cases involving wife or children, just as humans can. And, often, the pet is hurt to inflict psychological pain on the other humans - as if the physical pain they feel isn't enough!

In Florida, State Senator Mike Fasano introduced an Animal Abuse Registry Bill to get animal abusers registered, which is about time, isn't it? Kudos to him. Well, he hasn't stopped there. He also just introduced another bill to hold people accountable when they abuse the family pet in a domestic violence case.

"The bill, called "Horatio’s Law" (Senate Bill 288), redefines the term "domestic violence" to include inflicting, or attempting to inflict, physical injury against an animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by one family or household member by another family or household member. It also includes placing a family or household member in fear of physical harm to a pet, which essentially widens the scope of the bill to include threats of violence against family pets.

"More often than not in domestic violence, animals are used and abused as an addition means to hurt someone else and emotionally blackmail them. Pawns in a violent relationship, the pets have to endure their role."

The bill is named for a dog that was protecting his elderly owner from her own son and was beaten so badly, the story says, that he now suffers from neurological damage and is blind in direct sunlight. Luckily, Horatio has been adopted by a loving, caring family and he doesn't let his previous experiences taint his devotion and loyalty! Isn't that just like a dog?

I discovered this information on a site called Dog Heirs. Nicely done, folks! It's also where I got this picture of the beautiful Horatio.