Don't Give Up On Your Pet!
Written
by Dr. Laxmi Iyer
Pet
issues
The world's largest population of dogs and cats live between
Europe, North America and Australia. That also means that
the world's largest population of pet lovers in the world
stay there!
Yet,
a horrendous fact shakes up the mind. Millions of cats and
dogs are euthanised every year in thousands of animal welfare
shelters, rescue homes and pounds.
The
question that needs to be asked is why is this happening?
In countries with a high standard of living and truck loads
of compassion for pet animals.
One
then gets down to studying some of the reasons why people
give up their pets. Scanning the literature one notes that
a rather large study was done in the US a few years ago.
And
the findings from that study is an eye opener to get to
know some reasons why pet owners to give up their pets.
The
NPHS Study
The National Pet-owning Household Survey (NPHS),along with
the American Veterinary Medical Association selected 7,399
households with at least one dog or cat for study. 50% of
the homes were selected because a pet had left in the previous
year. People who had given up their pets were interviewed
at 12 shelters in 4 regions in the US.
Findings
included that 30% of dogs and 6% of re-linquished cats were
purebred. Most animals were between 5 months and 3 years
of age. 27% of dogs and 36.5% of cats were reported to live
outdoors always or almost always.
The
NCPPSP study
In another study carried out by the National Council on Pet
Population Study and Policy at 12 shelters in 4 regions, relinquishers
tended to be young males and females less than 35 years who
were not well informed about veterinary care. In most of the
cases the pets had been given by friends. More often than
not, animals given up tended to be intact, young - often less
than 3 years of age, and mixed bred.
Moving
is not a valid reason to relinquish your pets
Research at the National Council on Pet Population Study
and Policy Regional Shelter Survey has revealed that moving
was cited as among the top 3 common reasons for why people
give up their pets. When moving, always look for homes large
enough to give your pet enough space.
Don't
hit the panic buttons!
If you are going through a crisis in your life, learn to handle
it calmly. Don't press the panic buttons. If all the pets
in your house get on your nerves, simply take time off. Leave
your pets for sometime with someone you know will care for
them. Alternatively leave them in a boarding home for a short
while.
Be practical
Have realistic expectations about your pets. Pets are not
easy to take care of. They need more looking after than an
infant does. If they don't get sufficient attention, they
tend to develop all kinds of difficult to correct attention
seeking behaviours. Some of these can sometimes be quite irritating.
Make
time
Take time off to think. Are you sure that with a houseful
of kids to support, two more dogs in the family won't add
chaos. Would you be able to devote enough time to take care
of your family and pets. Give it very serious thought. Embark
on a second or third pet adoption plan only if you can afford
both the time, space, money and energy to take care of them.
Don't give in to sentiments and emotions.
Don't!
multiply your pets
Don't breed your cat or dog unless you are certain that
you can find homes for them. Without finding at least 6-9
new homes for your pet's litter, don't think of letting
them breed. Don't get sentimental and think that your pet
needs to have at least one litter. No! They don't if you
don't know who's going to care about the pups and kittens.
It might
not sound very nice but sterilizing your pet is not such
a bad option after all. In all the surveys most pets who
were given up were not sterilized. Also, if
Accept responsibility
That means when your pet is sick, grows old or suffers from
a terminal illness, you cannot absolve yourself of the responsibility
of care. For all the years that your pets have given you
love and solace, you owe it to them be there for them in
their troubled times.
Get
good veterinary advice
Whichever breed of pooch or kitty you wish to have, get
veterinary opinion first. The first thing that you need
to do is to go out and find a good veterinarian close to
your home. If you think having a pet is a dream, look after
your friend's pet for a week, that way you'll have hands
on experience.
Vaccinate
Prevention is better than cure. Vaccinate! All your pets.
That way the chances of your pet coming down with many of
the deadly bugs is greatly reduced.
Get
pet insurance
Insurance. The umbrella that protects your pet is the first
thing that you should get once you have a pet. Having a good
insurance cover can dramatically cut down on health care costs.
Make
space
Make sure that you have space for your pet. If you have a
great Dane, then you need to exercise for at least an hour
each day. And a small box type apartment may not be the most
comfortable place to stay. For most dogs and cats without
enough space to run around
Send
the right signals
Understand how to handle your pet correctly. Always make sure
that you give your pet positive feedback whenever your pet
behaves correctly. Many times incorrect and bad behaviour
patterns are set into action by the pet owners themselves
- simply by rewarding negative behaviour patterns. Once set,
a vicious cycle gets into place, which can be very frustrating
to handle - even for an experienced animal trainer. Beware!
Educate
yourself
You always fantasized about having a golden cocker spaniel.
But do you know that they are also susceptible to ear infections?
They can also get pretty neurotic and sometimes deaf in their
later years. Dobermann are vulnerable to demodectic mange
and gastroenteritis. If you think of having a pet, get yourself
some good books to read on the subject. It can help tremendously.
Conclusion
Think hard and for a very long time before you decide to go
in for a pet.Once you do, stick to it. It's a tough job but
" Hey, that's what friends are for!" isn't it. Be
your pet's best friend.
References
1.Characteristics of Shelter-Relinquished Animals and Their
Owners Compared With Animals and Their Owners in U.S. Pet
Owning Households. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science,
3(3), 179-201. 2000. Requests for reprints should be sent
to John C. New Jr., Department of Comparative Medicine,
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee,
Box 1071, Knoxville, TN 37901-1071
2. Behavioral Reasons for Relinquishment of Dogs and Cats
to 12 Shelters. Salman, M.D.; Hutchison, J.; Ruch-Gallie,
R.; Kogan, L.; New, J.C., Jr.; Kass, P.; Scarlett, J. Journal
of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 3(2), 93-106. July 2000.
3. Moving: Characteristics of Dogs and Cats and Those Relinquishing
Them to 12 U.S. Animal Shelters. New, J.C; Salman, M.D.;
Scarlett, J.M.; Kass, P.H.; Vaughn, J.A.; Scherr, S.; &
Kelch, W.J. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 2(2),
83-96. May 1999.
4. Reasons for Relinquishment of Companion Animals in U.S.
Animal Shelters: Selected Health and Personal Issues. Journal
of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 2(1), 41-57. January
1999. Requests for reprints should be sent to Janet M. Scarlett,
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
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