Ownership of pets: Good and Bad.

I was distressed by a case the other week. This involved a cat usually seen in a different practice. I examined this cat an explained there was a procedure we could initiate that has a very high success rate. I gave options and was rebuffed and services were declined. I recognize a client needs to agree with and authorize treatment for an animal even if it is option E or euthanasia. I get very frustrated when a logical treatment plan is presented and is declined. I some times let this show. I can never get into a serious poker game as my face tells it all. It shows sadness, love, happiness and unfortunately displeasure streaks out on occasion.
        
There are some basic rules people need to understand about pets. One of which is the responsibility to pursue a treatment that will usually give a cure. I get frustrated with people that will not allow a medical / surgical procedure to be done. What is worse is they refuse any treatment. Going against medical advice is certainly another "right" people have. I am trained to save animals and it saddens me when people ignore advice and take their animal home to a terrible painful death. If they are not going to treat medically or surgically they should at least euthanize and end the suffering.

There is a covenant or an implied contract with a person and a pet. Each will mutually give care and comfort to the other. That is the basis for the animal-human bond so much is written about.

There are many books written about dogs and people that warm your heart and lift your soul. Walter Farley wrote the Black Stallion series. The 1941 children's novel by Mary O'Hara "My Friend Flicka" is another example of an equine based story.

Every one should remember about Lassie the Collie this television show focused on the bond between a boy and his dog. Granted this was a Hollywood composite of a manufactured relationship. This show ran for seventeen years and when it switched to the American Foresters theme the ratings dropped and eventually the show was taken off the air. The sponsor all seventeen years was Campbell Soup. They certainly had the seven o'clock viewers and a marvelous way to sell product.

I wondered how many cans of Campbell's soup were bought just to get the high grade wallet "made of rich brown plastic" you could get for 5 different labels of Campbell products. Wikipedia said it was 6.5 million cans of product sold. This generated a list of 1,343,509 wallets to eager viewers.

One year there was this metal ring with an image of Lassie embossed on it. Campbell Company mailed 77,715 rings to viewers that sent in a Swanson label and twenty-five cents. I know we ate a bunch of the soups advertised on the show. I am almost certain there was a wallet and a ring in our house during the show. The show was dependable Lassie and Timmy would always defeat tyranny and the American Way of life was preserved until next week at Seven O'clock. You even would get a geography lesson and spectacular views when the theme moved on to different parks across America. It was an outstanding show and story for it's time and has an ageless timeline that continues to attract people.  There have been variations on a child dog theme that are still a great human interest aspect.

I continue to listen to other people's animal stories because they reaffirm the animal human bond to me. I go to Bible Study on Wednesday mornings at The Lighthouse Coffee Café. This morning I was talking after study with Dr Oscar Brown. Doc related how when he and his sister were away to school in Chicago their dog would tell their parents when they were coming home. The dog would go set by a window and this would clue the parents one or both were coming home. Doc said they could never sneak home as the dog would somehow know they were coming home. No phone calls or letters to tip the parents, the dog just knew.

Doc told about when they were on a vacation near a lagoon. His son brought a dog that had never met Doc's other grandchildren.  All of the children were out by the lagoon. All were wearing a personal floatation device or a life jacket except one. The dog would position itself between the child and lagoon. If the child moved it would shift position and act as a biological barrier.  This went on until one of the adults noticed what was happening and put a life jacket on the child.  How amazing the dog was able to notice and protect the child from danger. These type stories fill me with wonder. I know it may be herding instinct on the dog's part but to identify and isolate the unprotected child is impressive to me. There are other ways this relayed incident could have ended; some would not have had such a happy ending.

There are other stories about the glories and comfort of owning animals. I know there is a healing effect talking to the animals. Growing up I had quite a bit of time doing milk chores or just fooling around with 4-H steers or livestock projects. A lot of this time was spent discussing how my day went.  This is an outlet, calming time and looking back it was probably very therapeutic.  Being able to talk to critters or just grooming them is definitely and usually a good way to unwind at the end of a day. I still look forward to setting in the living room chair and petting Tinkerbelle.  It makes getting to the sleep point easier if I have had the time to do it in a relaxing manner.  Not doing it is like not going to church; things just go better if you do it.

For more information about a specific case, consult your veterinarian.          
The outside of a pet is good for the inside of a human.