Another great inspiring read from Nathan Winograd and the perfect follow up to Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation & The No Kill Revolution in America.
We've heard it time and time again. We've been lead to believe that there is a pet overpopulation problem and it's because there aren't enough homes for them. That's why we kill over 4 million pets every year in this country. But when you look at the facts, this just isn't so:
There are 8 million dogs and cats who enter U.S. shelters annually.
Over 90 percent of those -- just over 7 million -- are savable. (The remaining are hopelessly ill or injured animals and vicious dogs whose prognosis for rehabilitation is poor or grave.)
4 million will actually be saved. 3 million will be killed.
Of those killed, over 2 million to 3 million (on the high end) need a new home. The remainder includes lost strays who should be reclaimed by their families and feral cats who should be neutered and released.
Other than those who will always adopt from a shelter (those saved above), there are 17 million people who are considering a new dog or cat next year and who would also consider adoption from a shelter. 17 million! "Consequently, even if roughly 80 percent get an animal from a source other than a shelter, killing of healthy and treatable animals can be ended."
"Today, there are about 165 million dogs and cats in homes. Of those, less than 20 percent come from shelters. Three percent of 165 million equates to 4.9 million, more than all the savable animals killed in shelters." Therefore, we need to increase the market for shelter pets by only three percent in order to eliminate killing."
So there are, in fact, plenty of homes for the animals killed in our shelters every year. There is NOT a pet overpopulation problem! The problem is that our shelters, some of who are very large and powerful, are not doing all they can do to save lives. They are stuck in the old belief that the only answer is to kill. They are not doing what we expect them to do with our donations -- save lives. "If all shelter directors cultivate the desire and will to do so, and then earnestly follow through, we can end killing for all savable animals right now--today!"
"From the perspective of achievability, therefore, the prognosis for widespread No Kill success is excellent." And these results have already been achieved in communities across the country; some urban, some rural, in the North and in the South. In liberal states and conservative ones. "Demographically these communities share little in common. However, they do share shelter leadership committed to saving all the lives at risk."
So what can we do? We can demand from our politicians and shelter leaders to adopt better policies, procedures and management by using The No Kill Equation, which has been proven to stop the killing. We can donate to the organizations who advocate and use these no-kill methods instead of the ones who continue to go on with the same old belief that adopting out a few & killing the rest is acceptable. We can adopt from animal shelters.
We can't wait for the big humane organizations with the big political muscles to lead us. "Instead, we must lead them. We're the ones we've been waiting for. We have found our voice, and recognize the potential its fullest expression can create. No more compromises. No more killing."
In a recent issue of Dog Fancy, they listed the following five iPhone apps that might interest dog owners. Cat owners might be interested too!
MiPets: Basic way to track upcoming vet appointments, microchip numbers, medications, and food information for an unlimited number of pets. You can email the file to a pet sitter or boarding kennel. $1.99; www.vurgoodapps.com
PetFinder.com: A terrific free resource for finding thousands of adoptable dogs, puppies, cats, kittens and other animals around the country. You can share listings via Facebook, Twitter or email. http://www.phunware.com/product.html
Pet Safe: Contains a searchable database of plants harmful to dogs, cats, horses, compiled by expert toxicologists from the ASPCA. You'll find toxicity symptoms for each plant and a direct link to the Animal Poison Control Center hotline. A portion of the proceeds goes to the ASPCA. $2.99 www.trevisomedia.com
PetSnap: To help get your dog (or cat) to look at your camera, this app contains 32 different sounds that catch your dogs' (or cats') attention. Turn up the volume, snap the picture, add a frame and email to friends. $1.99 www.spacelama.com/petsnap
PawTrotter: This app has more than 130,000 pet stores, dog-friendly hotels, veterinarians and dog parks. The app uses the iPhone's GPS to determine your location and find businesses near you. $2.99 www.pawtrotter.com
If you know of any more iPhone apps for pet owners, let me know!
I rescued another dog today. An 11 month old male Maltese named Snowball. He was running down Stella Link right in front of me as I was driving. Thank goodness he had a tag. I called & went to his address but no one was home. I dropped him off at my house while I finished my pet sitting rounds. They called a short time later & he was returned safe & sound. His family was very happy that I rescued & returned him! They had gone somewhere & it started thundering & he got scared & jumped through the wrought iron fence in his yard. He had gone quite a distance for such a little bitty thing. I was just happy to get him out of the street & back home! I love happy endings!
Pet Sitters International, the largest trade organization for professional pet sitters (currently has over 8,000 members world-wide), of which I am a member, is the only source for statistics, data and information on the industry of professional pet sitting. The last survey which was conducted in 2008, with a total of 1,814 members (24% response rate) responding, was tabulated and analyzed by an outside marketing research firm. Although this survey is a little old, I'm sure the results haven't changed that much in the last couple of years. When they do a new survey, I'll be sure to update you with the current findings.
The survey says.....
The typical member is Female (92%), age 41 to 60 (60%), Caucasian (94%), Married (59%) and owns her home (82%). Additionally, she has completed at least some college (88%), entered the pet-sitting industry due to her love of animals (55%), and has been in business for 5 years or less (61%). 98% of all businesses are independently owned.
Pet sitters most commonly own dogs (79%) and cats (61%). Of these, members typically own two dogs and three cats. Approximately one-third of all members belong to an animal rescue or shelter organization. A large majority of members carry both liability and bonding insurance (84%).
Nearly all PSI members service both dogs and cats, while two-thirds service fish, birds and cage pets. The average number of clients (for 2007) was 191, and the average number of pet sitting assignments was 2,169. More than 90% of all members advertise; through word of mouth (98%), business cards (96%), and PSI Pet Sitter Locator Web (94%). 68% of all members advertise through their own website. (This percentage may be bigger now.)
On average, the typical pet sitter client is a married couple between the ages of 36-50. Survey respondents reported that there are more married couples without children (40.5%), than couples with children (28.9%) who utilize their services. Single females tend to use pet sitters at a higher rate than males. Individuals ages 26-65 appear to utilize pet sitters at the same rate, while those under 25 years old made up only 4.2% of all clients. The top three reasons for the use of pet sitters are vacations, midday walks/visits and work schedules.
So where did Cozy Critters stand in 2007? (I am definitely a "typical" member and one who entered this profession because of my love for animals.) We had serviced dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, fish and various other caged critters. We had been in business 5 years, had 175 active clients (259 clients since we began but we lose a percentage to moving or death of pets) and did 4,218 visits that year (351 visits per month average).
Something else a lot of people don't realize about pet sitters is that we typically work 365 days a year (those of us who do it full time). Our busiest times are holidays and summertime. In the (now) 8 years I've been pet sitting, I've been trying to think of any other profession or job that requires you to work every day of the year and I cannot come up with any. If you can think of one, let me know. I also cannot think of another profession or job you could have where every time you show up, you are greeted with such love, excitement and enthusiasm!
If your cat has hyperthyroidism and you give it methimazole (trade name Tapazole or Felimazole) be sure to wear gloves when handling and administering the pills.
Though I've had many clients' cats take the transdermal methimazole, which is a gel that is applied inside the cat's ear, and I know (and was instructed) to wear gloves when administering this because it is absorbed through the skin, I was not aware that I should be wearing gloves when handling, breaking or administering this drug in pill form.
Veterinarians for decades have prescribed methimazole for cats, off-label; the drug is licensed for human use. Naturally, the safe handling instructions are intended for the individual who is the patient. But since they have come out with Felimazole, which is made specifically for cats the handling instructions are different because the recipient is not the one administering it. For example, the label for Felimazole has a section headed “Human Warnings” that reads, in part: “Wash hands with soap and water after administration to avoid exposure to drug. Do not break or crush tablets. Wear protective gloves to prevent direct contact with litter, feces, urine or vomit of treated cats, and broken or moistened tablets. Wash hands after contact with the litter of treated cats.”
According to Laura Alvey, a spokeswoman for the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine: "Since cats don’t self-medicate, they rely on their owners to administer the medication and because cats often don’t cooperate with administration of oral medication, there is potential for the pill to become wet/mushy/coating lost with re-administration, which could expose the owners to the drug unknowingly, if the coating is melted away. If they don’t wash their hands after administering the medication, repeated exposure could pose a risk to humans".
Alvey added that inherent risks exist for people who handle their own methimazole medication, as well, “but those instructions are left to the physicians to communicate,” she said. “We were concerned with people unknowingly exposing themselves to the drugs in ways they wouldn’t normally be aware of.”
The main reason for wearing gloves and washing hands is to avoid accidentally ingesting any drug residue on the hands, Alvey said, but she noted that methimazole presumably can be absorbed through the skin as well, since the medication often is compounded into a transdermal product.
Source: Veterinary Information Network, Inc., 2/1/10
I just finished reading the book Redemption by Nathan J. Winograd. Wow. What a great book! Definately "...a must read for anyone who cares about animals or about creating a more compassionate society."
He gives us an in-depth story of animal sheltering in this country. From its very beginning to the current situation. A movement that was born of compassion and then lost its way. It's the story of the No Kill movement, which says we can and must stop the killing. He explains why pet overpopulation is a myth and why public irresponsibility is not why animals are being killed in shelters. He explains the reason why the killing continues; how "those in power--the directors who run the shelters, the health department bureaucrats who often oversee them, the local governments which fund them, and the large, national non-profit animal welfare agencies which provide them political cover, are failing. Failing to learn from the past. They are failing to implement the programs and services with a demonstrated track record of saving lives and/or to demand that shelters do." He also explains what it takes for us to become a No Kill nation and has given us examples to prove it.
Nathan Winograd, a former criminal prosecutor and corporate attorney and also a lifelong animal rescuer, left the law to follow his passion and dedicate himself to the task of helping animals. He has helped write animal protection legislation at the state and national level, has spoken nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, has created successful No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities and has consulted with a wide range of animal protection groups, including some of the largest and best known in the nation. In 2001, he became the Executive Director of the Tompkins County SPCA. Under his leadership, Tompkins County became the first community in the nation to save all healthy dogs and cats, sick and injured treatable dogs and cats, and feral cats. By the time he left, Ithaca was the safest community in the nation to be a homeless dog or cat. In 2004, he started the No Kill Advocacy Center, dedicated to creation of a No Kill nation.
I want to thank No Kill Houston for bringing my attention to this book. It's been a real eye-opener and I highly recommend this to anyone who cares about animals! Bett Sundermeyer, President of No Kill Houston, has given copies of this book to the mayor and city council members with the hope of changing our shelters here in Houston. Nathan Winograd was brought here to do an assessment of Houston's BARC in September of 2009. Read Nathan's report.
I have been subscribing to The Whole Dog Journal since 2005. It's a monthly guide to natural dog care and training. It's full of great tips and information on everything from pet food, behavior problems, medical issues, training and more. Best of all, there's no advertisers! It's just packed full of information. Every year they put out their list of approved dry and can dog foods. In previous issues, they've explained in great detail what it takes to get on their approved list and why. I have learned a lot from this journal over the years. Especially when it comes to dog food. It got me started on really reading the ingredients on the pet foods (and treats) I buy. They are offering a free Top Dog Food Report on their website. Though there isn't a "Whole Cat Journal", unfortunately, I apply the same basic information when choosing cat foods. I highly recommend this journal for all dog owners.
