Dog rescues kittens

I will never understand what brings people to abuse animals in such horrid ways. Here in Iowa we’ve had several incidents this year that were picked up by the media. One was of a litter of kittens dumped in a trash bag and thrown into a trash receptacle. All of the kittens died except one. That one was rescued and eventually adopted. One happened in my own sister’s neighborhood. Several litters of kittens were unceremoniously dumped in a ditch. She saved the ones she could, took some to the shelter and is now trying to find homes for the last two (one of whom is pregnant!).

Now we have an even worse incident involving a litter of kittens. The links at the end of this post will lead you to the full story but basically some horrible person “packaged” a litter of kittens in a cat food bag and threw them out onto the road. At least one car ran over the kittens killing all but two of them but finally a dog found them and dragged them home to his angel of an owner. The kittens were so young that she wasn’t able to care for them and called all the area rescues to find someone who could. Eventually she got ahold of the Raccoon Valley Rescue. They took the kittens in and nursed them back to health. Very soon those two remaining kittens will be looking for homes.

Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. What about the hoarders, the puppy mills, and other folks who think that an animal is there for them to beat on? Why do people do these things. Hoarding is caused by a mental disorder that makes the sufferer think they are “helping” the animals they collect. Puppy mills are run by greedy people who have no regard for the welfare of their charges only that they keep on producing. And abusers? I have no idea what their problem is. And unfortunately many animal abusers eventually graduate to abusing people as well.

Original newscast:

http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-dog-rescues-kittens-20111129,0,5285512.story

Follow-up coverage:

http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-kittens-find-a-home-20111206,0,2953726.story

Story as told by the rescue folks:

http://raccoonvalley.com/SN/Bagkitties.html

What do you think? Is there a way to stop this? Have you ever rescued an animal from one of these situations? Have you adopted a pet that was rescued? I’d like to read of your stories.

Strays and You

I’m one of those softies that gets terribly concerned whenever I see an unescorted animal wandering near my path. I don’t usually pick them up but I have been known to report them or follow them to find out if they have a home. Sometimes it’s obvious that they are strays as in my sister’s situation (see http://andreadorn.blogspot.com/2011/10/pet-dumping.html ). Other times you just can’t be sure.

I’m also obsessed with the Lost and Found ads in the paper. I always check them out just in case I happen to see a stray animal that fits the description. Sometimes I notice a Lost ad and a Found ad that seem to match and call them to make sure they’ve noticed each other. I know, I know, I’m a worrier and maybe a busy-body but I like to think I might be helping in some small way.

The AVMA has posted a podcast to their website addressing this situation with their recommendations here:

http://www.avmamedia.org/display.asp?sid=401&NAME=Lost_and_Found?utm_source=smartbrief&utm_medium=email

What steps would you take to help a stray animal? Have you ever done anything to help strays? I’d like to hear your stories.

9/11 Hero Dogs

I remember when JFK was shot, the day my grandmother died, when my grandfather died, the day the Challenger exploded – and I remember 9/11. I turned the T.V. on that morning as I prepared for work and saw what I thought was an explosion in some building overseas. Yet another war, I thought. Does it ever end? So I changed the channel to see what the Today Show had to offer. There it was again, the tall building on fire. Then suddenly I saw as a plane hit a second building and knew this was something much more. I forgot what I was doing and sat down to watch.

Though I’m a long way from New York I felt the pain of all those who were lost that day as well as the friends and families. But the ray of sunshine that outshone the darkness of that day appeared almost immediately in the reactions of the first-responders. These were not just the on-the-job folks but even retirees, volunteers and eventually people from all over the world. Even more amazing not all of the workers were human. Search and Rescue dogs played a great role in the recovery from 9/11.

Dogs began working that first day helping to search for survivors and later for remains. But their secondary and unintentional job was to comfort the rescue workers as they struggled against their feelings of hopelessness and despair. Many other websites have addressed this aspect of the recovery from the 9/11 tragedies including:

http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2011/09/never-forget-9-11-and-the-search-and-rescue-dogs-who-served-our-country/

http://www.goodnewsforpets.com/Articles.asp?ID=990

http://www.goodnewsforpets.com/articles.asp?ID=127

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/pets/story/2011-09-07/Rescue-dog-teams-are-unsung-heroes-of-911/50295920/1

In 2005 I adopted my dog, Blizzard. He showed an unusual ability to learn new tasks. Partly because of my memories of 9/11 and partly because Blizzard needed a job to focus his energy I looked into joining a local Search and Rescue (SAR) organization. I went to that first meeting with great anticipation looking forward to a rewarding career as a team member. I left that day knowing it would never happen. Blizzard passed the test and proved to be a promising recruit but I failed. First of all the physical rigors of SAR are great and I wasn’t sure I could handle them. Second, though I knew all costs of the training and work would be mine to provide, I had no idea how expensive it all was. And finally I realized that I would not be able to take off work at a moment’s notice to answer the call to service.

I continued to train Blizzard to “find” with treats and toys and he enjoyed the games, we never joined the ranks of the SAR teams. The experience gave me a greater appreciation for all that SAR teams must go through to even be accredited let alone what they go through while on the job.

Now, ten years after that fateful day, many of the hero dogs of 9/11 and the aftermath are gone. Let’s not let them be forgotten. Memorials have been set up to recognize their contributions, as well as a memorial to honor Sirius, the Port Authority dog that died in the WTC collapse. Please remember these dogs every time you look at your own faithful friend and be thankful that more SAR teams are being trained every day to answer the call to service.

Have you ever given your dog a job? Do you participate in SAR? I’d like to hear your stories!