Tough love: Tough Economic Times.

I was talking to a friend this evening.  He reveled there was a reversal of his fortune.  He had to close down the family business.   They are in the process of "letting the house go".  He has secured a job in a small plastic plant near Wayne, Michigan.  It is a job that pays for groceries for his wife and two children.  It will allow breakfast to continue for a short time in his Grandparents home, the house that is going back.   He has the love of a good woman and two children that adore him.  His biggest problem is letting the family dog go.  He has not been able to secure a new home for his pet.  Soon they will be moving in with his wife's parents for a minimum of two years.  Unfortunately the dog is going to be boxed out of a place to stay.   This is a good Christian family doing the best they can.   Faith is what is bringing them through this contracting economy.   He has contacted local Humane Societies, but they are at capacity with other peoples animals.  Rescue groups are not much help as the best description of this dog is nondescript.  She is a dog loyal to her present pack, although she could be converted to another family.  Even though it is tough this guy is doing what is needed to find a good solution for a bad situation.  If someone reading has an interest in re-housing this dog please contact me at my Clinic.

We all seem to be "evaluating" our next financial move.  Bail out money seems a nonentity and definitely is not reaching the mainstream or even Main Street.  There does not seem to be enough trickle down effect in this current recession / depression.  There seems to be more of a ticked off effect in people and the pets they care for.  Off center is what I am seeing.  People lack optimism present during the late seventies to early eighties.  I am not old enough to have gone through the "Great Depression".  I have seen the effect on animals when people decide to not to feed, house or care for them.  I have been an expert witness for "animal abuse" cases.  I do not understand how people can just stop feeding, watering and just caring for the animals under their control.  When we accept the custody / ownership of animals we also inherit the responsibility to use good husbandry habits. 

I have been involved in animal neglect cases as a witness.   I have contacted people I thought had authoritative power to do something about educating people.  What they need to know is a better way of feeding and caring for under nutritioned animals.  It is amazing what a difference of opinion there is in a normal body condition score.  I have had heated discussions with animal owners over what I consider a proper filled out body to be.   It may be a horse, pig, cow or a dog.   Owners some times are stable or kennel blind.  They only see what meets their criteria. 

There is always a big show by the instigating court people to "educate" the offenders by levying a fine with a term in jail if conditions are not met.  The people owning the animals maybe be given restrictions on owning animals.   I saw a farm case restricting ownership of one species of animals while allowing continued production and propagation of another species.  That case puzzled me.  I do not understand a partial guilty verdict when animal neglect / starvation / abuse are concerned.  The only plausible outcome was to agree to terms so the rest of the issues would go away.   If conditions are so despicable I feel all animal ownership should be blocked.  I guess if you allow officials to "save face" it may be the best course of valor and to fight a different way.  I always wonder how much food the fine money could have bought.

I have a hard time when called in for evaluation of a neglect case.  You wonder what is going through these peoples minds.  I have seen carcasses of animals starved, dehydrated, and tethered within feet of life-giving sustenance.   It removes human kindness right out of the equation.  Hearing how they just had to go on vacation makes it harder.  Real people take care of their critters before themselves.  I learned that rule from people with real values, my parents and grandparents. 

I have observed testifying and just being in court is a bittersweet moment.  If a judgment is not guilty, it feels terrible.  If a judgment is guilty of neglect, the brief millisecond of joy is tempered by the loss of animals.  You understand don't you, even if you win you lose part of yourself in a victory.  I would prefer tall clover, sunshiny days and large numbers of healthy animals in the realm of my day.

The cases I have been involved with have a few of things in common. 

1) There is an asset issue.  There is no money or time to secure food and water.
2)  There is an education issue.  People do not comprehend the volume of feed needed to maintain livestock.  There has to be an income or profit margin to purchase food, equipment, and time to pay help to put up a crop.  People think they can hide cats and dogs inside a house and forget about population control, feed, water and waste elimination problems.
3)  There is a form of mental impingement making "animal collectors" of certain people.  Collectors truly believe they are saving and helping the animals they accumulate.
4) There may be a physical illness starting the downward cycle.  In my opinion the sickness is allowing the situation continue too long.

If you find yourself in an "I can't take care of my critter sequence".  Please contact some one in local government, veterinary medicine or animal control for a humane way to solve your problem.  There is a solution besides abandonment.

It is not about animal rights.  It is about people doing what is right about animals.

For more information about a specific case, consult your veterinarian.