A Pet For a Christmas Gift?

A Pet For a Christmas Gift?

December 8, 2011

By Julie Kay Smithson propertyrights@earthlink.net

Christmas is fast approaching, and people are shopping for pets for Christmas presents.

They are swarming the pet stores, and unless they're adopting a shelter pet from PetSmart, they're probably looking at a puppymill puppy, which likely will have health issues (due to puppymill "breeding") that will arise later in life.

"Purebred" doesn't mean "healthy."

"Wanting" a pet and being READY and ABLE to provide a pet with a great home and life, are NOT synonymous.

I may "want" a Hummer or F-350 crewcab diesel dually, but I cannot afford to fill up the fuel tank of either, or buy tires for either, or buy full insurance coverage, so I have no business GETTING either.

With a pet, the difference is even more pronounced.

It will mean whether that new pet you WANT, will get a home -- for the duration of its LIFETIME -- that is happy and healthy for it, or NOT. It is sobering and very sad, to think that people are turning in their pets -- or even worse, DUMPING THEM -- because of a laundry list of "reasons," very few of which have actual merit.

If you buy a St. Bernard or other large breed puppy, don't think it's okay to get rid of it by whatever means you deem "all right" because the puppy grows up to be a BIG DOG. If you buy a breed of dog that's known to be a barker, don't consider it a valid excuse for disposing of your loud pet.

If you have a job (or go to school, or have a houseful of young children), consider, PLEASE! how much actual time you'll have for your potential new pet. Pets are family members, too, and should receive comparable time and care.

No, they're not children -- but they have even more needs than children, because they cannot run away from home when things are tough. They cannot phone a friend to commiserate when their people are fighting and screaming at each other. They don't understand marital or other breakups, yet they often pay a terrible price for the discord they did not initiate.

Many times, buying a stuffed animal for a present is doing the real thing a favor.

What really gets to me, though, are the dogs that are kept outside during all weather and are ill-suited for it (example: a very short-haired dog outside when it's cold, or a very long-haired dog outside when it's terribly hot), with invisible 'owners' who appear to have lots of cares -- but care and love for their dog/dogs isn't one of them. Why have a dog if you're not interested in playing with it, walking it, loving it, and being around it?

I'm not judging folks whose animals are properly sheltered outside, but get to spend time with their people, either inside the home or outside on park trails, etc.

"Absentee parents" is a phrase that can also apply to pets, and far too often, does. Pets can't open the door to come inside when the weather is bad, nor can they open the door to go outside when they need to go potty.

Christmas is a time of year when getting an animal should not be a gift. It is a serious responsibility -- not something that can be fed / watered / cared for whenever the person happens to think of it! Please, adopt your next pet, but do so AFTER committing to take the best possible care of it. We're talking about a living, breathing creature with a heart and soul, needs and wants! Also, hoping people will steer clear of pet stores that market puppymill puppies. PetSmart offers shelter pets to adopt, God bless them!

Cats becoming prey to coyotes

Cats becoming prey to coyotes


'“We try to encourage people to keep their cats inside,” says Dennis Tabella of Defenders of Animals, an animal advocacy group. “Too many people are letting their cats out at night. Some people just don’t get it.” ... Lund says studies show that indoor cats live an average of 17 years or so, while outdoor cats average just 3 to 4 years. Outdoor cats may also be harmed by dogs, cars, people and other cats, she said.'


September 8, 2009


By Peter B. Lord, Journal Environment Writer plord@projo.com or 401-277-8036

The Providence Journal

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This summer, posters for missing cats have become nearly as common in some suburban neighborhoods as “For Sale” signs in front of houses.

Despite the news reports for several years now that coyotes -- and more recently, fisher cats -- have become commonplace in Rhode Island, people continue to let their cats out at night and wonder why they don’t return in the morning.

“We try to encourage people to keep their cats inside,” says Dennis Tabella of Defenders of Animals, an animal advocacy group. “Too many people are letting their cats out at night. Some people just don’t get it.”

Cathy Lund, owner of City Kitty Veterinary Care, a cat-only veterinary office, says she strongly encourages her pet owners to keep their cats inside. She estimates about 90 percent do.

She can recall only one cat in her practice surviving a coyote attack. “The mortality rate is pretty high,” she said. “Most cats are domesticated, overweight and a little sedentary.”

Charlie Brown, a wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Management, says he fields several hundred calls annually from people who are concerned about coyotes, and often their concerns begin with their pets.

He tries to make it clear: coyotes are now in every community in Rhode Island, except for Block Island.

“The average adult coyote is 35 to 40 pounds. The cat is a perfect size for them to go after. If coyotes get ahold of cats, they are gone.”

The experts who work at the intersection of the cat-coyote interactions insist the problem has been commonplace for several years, but many people just don’t want to accept the facts, or feel they can’t control their cats. The result is that cats continue to disappear at a fairly consistent rate. This is the most active period for coyotes because many are feeding young that were born in the spring.

Brown says coyotes began showing up in New England in the 1930s as forests reclaimed abandoned farmland. Rhode Island was the last state in New England to confirm their presence in 1969. (Apparently, coyotes were never part of the New England fauna because wolves kept them away before Europeans arrived and killed the wolves.)

“For ten years, they were sparse,” Brown said. “Now they are ubiquitous.”

Coyotes make their homes in cemeteries, river corridors, parks and small patches of woods. They gather to sleep and venture out alone at dawn or dusk to hunt. The biggest part of their diets is small mammals such as mice and squirrels. But they’ll also eat berries, trash, roadkill, compost, pet food and pets.

“They are pretty resourceful,” says Brown. “That’s the reason for their success.”

Fisher cats, small, bulky predators that are bigger than minks and smaller than river otters, returned to Rhode Island a few years ago, and they take some cats, too, Brown said. Fishers are native to New England and were extirpated by European hunters. But more often than not, he said, if a cat is missing, it’s because of coyotes.

When people call with concerns about coyotes, Brown advises them that 9 times out of 10, they can keep coyotes away by eliminating possible food sources such as trash, pet foods left outdoors — and pets left outdoors.

Several years ago, Warwick residents became alarmed about frequent sightings of coyotes in Warwick Neck. Brown, an adviser to the city, recalls the problem boiled down to people putting food out for the coyotes.

After that stopped, he said, “Miraculously, the coyotes disappeared.”

A special Coyote Commission in Warwick concluded in 2005 that the best way to manage coyotes was not to shoot or trap them. It was to educate the public about their behavior and feeding patterns so that people would stop leaving food out for them.

In Newport, Brown said, two coyotes became a nuisance after the coyotes became acclimated to the handouts. They wouldn’t go away, so they were euthanized.

Three years ago, the DEM established a coyote management policy that allows people to hunt coyotes at any time of year. But it also concluded that public education was the best solution for “negative interactions between coyotes and humans.”

There is a regulated trapping season for fishers, too, and property owners may shoot them if they threaten livestock, pets or crops. The carcass must be turned over to the DEM. There have been no recent complaints about fishers, according to the DEM.

Lund says studies show that indoor cats live an average of 17 years or so, while outdoor cats average just 3 to 4 years. Outdoor cats may also be harmed by dogs, cars, people and other cats, she said.

It may take a month to convert an outdoor cat to living indoors, she said. The key is to never give in. And, try starting in the winter when cats are less eager to go outside.

Tabella, of Defenders of Animals, recalls a cat in his neighborhood that was out all the time. A neighbor took it in and kept it in.

“He’s adjusted very well,” said Tabella. “But it takes some time.”

For more information on coyotes go to:

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/coyotes.pdf


For state coyote management policies, go to:

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/coyotpol.pdf


People with concerns about coyotes are encouraged to call the DEM at 401-789-0281.


Related Links:


Your Turn: Despite the warnings of coyotes in neighborhoods, do you still let your pet out at night?

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Copyright 2009, The Providence Journal.


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