Vet Stress Roadside pet sales and the Byzantine ways of local governments

January 12th, 2008  

Add Comment5 Comments

DrK, as much as I love animals, I have to admit...we have limited resources in law enforcement, and we don't have enough people to investigate animal complaints unless a person is endangered.

The people you spoke to probably love animals, also. But they have to work within the limitations of their department. The tone of voice is from being overworked, underpaid, and tired.

I routinely refer animal complaint calls to our animal control officer.... the stories break my heart, but , again, our department has neither the manpower nor the training to handle animal calls. That didn't stop me from taking in a tiny puppy a kid brought in at 3am a few weeks ago. The pup was nearly frozen solid. I kept him a few days, and found him a great home.

We all want to save the world. But we have to prioritize and work within our limitations. I hope I'm no less a person for having this attitude... I'm just older, and have learned I can't fix everything.

Keep on making a difference.....

agadore's mama January 12th, 2008 07:11:00 PM

You did the right thing. Something. Anything.

Too often, people do nothing. And nothing never works. Something usually works. And often, anything works. Just not nothing.

I make it a policy to stop and run down loose dogs I see. I'd want someone to do the same for me if my dogs were ever loose. Often there's an owner who arrives a few minutes later, an address where I can drive the dogs to, or in one case the family was out of town and the dog stayed with me for a weekend (the dog sitter NEVER told the people the dog was missing even though they called daily).

The only one I haven't stopped for in the last few years has been one that had a collar with a tag and I was on the way to the vet with my Celeste who was minutes from giving birth to her first litter. Sorry doggy, but first things first.

It's never very hard... the most difficult thing I had to do was pull my car into the middle of an intersection, hit my panic button and wave some cars to stop and let the dog exit the intersection without getting run over. Some pissed off drivers in the back who couldn't see the dog, but heck, they'd probably be the ones who would have run over poor pooch and then felt horrible.

It's never very hard to help. Just do something. Anything. Just don't to nothing.

So kudos to you.

Border Wars - Christopher January 12th, 2008 07:39:00 PM

We have the same problem in my town. The police tend to be slow to respond to any call, much less animal calls. In fact, there is a total of one animal control officer. All the puppy sellers tend to have a few things in common:
1. Unvaccinated and exposed to parvo.
2.The sellers park in one of three places; Walmart, Target and the local mall. They also tend to go to all three in a course of a day.

Working with local animal rescues and humane society, what we have found most effective is to inform the store in which their parked in front of. The stores don't want them there, it is illegal to give away or sell puppies at a place of business without a license. A manager generally goes out to the parking lot to explain this to the seller, and the manager also warns the other stores to be on the look out.

Although this may seem to be a bad way to handle the situation, it has two very good effects. It discourages backyard breeding because breeders can't make a quick profit. And when that profit isn't so quick, the puppies of backyard breeding and oops litter come to one of the place in town like a rescue or the HS where they will get the vaccinations and medical care they need, not to mention a spay/neuter before being adopted into a approved home.

Faith January 12th, 2008 11:54:00 PM

Agadore's mama: No doubt you are right to defend the underpaid municipal workers, as well as point out the limited resources of law enforcement. Is there a better way, then? How do I not put myself at personal risk when trying my best to do my civic duty? When pet shops are disgusting and the animals don't have water, how best to handle it? More regulations don't work, there's no enforcement officer there when I need one and no political will to refuse these people a license to begin with. I know other areas don't have to contend with these problems nearly as much as we do in South Florida and it's really starting to stress me out. I'm even getting sick of my own self-righteous indignation on the subject. As I point out in todays post (on pitties, you'll be hapy to know), there has to be a better way for the average person to make a difference--especially when those paid to do the work are so strapped by their own resources.

Dr. Patty Khuly January 13th, 2008 09:42:00 AM

Dr K- I wish I knew the answer... and I do wanna point out that while we refer animal complaints to AC, we DO investigate in-progress cruelty complaints.... every one here has pets, and you'd be suprised at how much we all do on our own. The sad fact is, we'll never have enough resources to tackle the end of the problem. I think our best chance is to tackle it from the beginning. We need to change the way people think about animals. We need to, as consumers, to educate ourselves and refuse to sustain puppy mills and roadside vendors. We need a major overhaul on so many levels.

I can't advise people to stop and intervene. While it's horrible for animals to suffer, I wouldn't want to add an injured person to the equation. But, I know that I myself would stop, too, like you did.
I guess I'm saying we all have to make a difference, each and every one of us, as individuals. Because until people change, there just aren't enough resources to go around. If every person made a differrence in their little corner of the world, we could see change.

And the rescues get WAY too little recognition. These people do SO MUCH 24/7. I have donated money to out local rescue, and I hope everyone who reads this can donate, too. Even one dollar helps.

agadore's mama January 13th, 2008 05:41:00 PM

Add Commment

Your Name:

CAPTCHA Verification