My parents have the exact same situation. Some neighbors that live behind them have a dog they keep in a small pen, all they ever do is feed her, and sometimes I’m not sure they even do that. You could probably count on one hand the number of times she’s set foot out of that pen in the past five years (when she escapes). This past week has been really cold, and my mom looked up and noticed the dog was up there just lying still. She got worried and went over to bring her some food and water; the dog hardly had the energy to even get up and eat. A while back one of the other neighbors called somebody to report it, but apparently it didn’t change anything; my mom’s been thinking about calling and reporting them again.
Cabbage: If I was your parents I’d ask around til I found a home for the dog, then steal it. Stealing is wrong, yeah, but I think it would be worth it in that kind of situation.
I remember hearing once about someone who was allergic to cats, but wanted a cat (persian, I think) so they got one and kept it in a cage in the backyard. Never took it out, EVER. It makes me want to cry.
Michelle, I have more respect and admiration for what you do than I have for most people’s professions. I could never do the wonderful things that you do, I am not strong enough. I am eternally grateful that you have chosen such an amazingly selfless, caring career and I wish more people would (and could) do what you do.
That being said, I want to say that you need to take care of yourself too. If you continue doing what you are doing and seeing what you are seeing, you are going to become too jaded and ambivelant to do any good. You have a special gift—you can stop animals’ pain and you can cure them of diseases. Don’t let that gift go away.
Maybe you could take an extended leave or something. Or try switching professions slightly (the zoo sounded good) so you will still be able to help animals in need but you won’t have to endure such endless exposure to the depths of human indifference.
Please do something for yourself because the animals need you to be on their side!
That is heartbreaking Michelle, is there not an ASPCA in your phone book? Maybe there is a national organization with an 800 number that would get involved over the Internet.
I echo the sentiments expressed, you sound heartsick, and weary to the bone, maybe it is time to find some other job in the same line where it doesn’t ‘cost’ you so much. Your compassion would be appreciated wherever you went.
Michelle, I don’t have any advice. It sucks to see a situation like that and not be able to change it.
As for why people treat their pets like those dogs left outside all the time, it’s often because that’s they way they learned - they don’t know better. It’s not like an owner’s manual comes with a pet - and despite the abundance of books on pets available, many people don’t consider they might should read one.
OK…where to begin…there have been a lot of good suggestions and issues raised.
I think I need to address the legal questions first. I am not an expert in the laws regarding animal abuse, neglect, or cruelty, but from what I have been able to glean from my job experience, I gather that the laws that are out there are few, ambiguous, and hard to enforce. Only the most clear cut cases are pursued. For example, a month or two back Animal Services brought in a dog that had been beaten about the head with a bat. Somehow, TWELVE people had witnessed the owner beating the dog, and everyone filed a complaint at the same time. Animal Services took the dog and brought him to us for treatment, and the police arrested the owner. What kind of punishment he got, or what happened to the dog after it left our care, I have no idea. However, the things I see on a nightly basis at my clinic are not as clear cut. Pets are property, and an owner has the right to take a critically ill or gravely injured animal out of the hospital without treatment. We do try our hardest to prevent that from happening but in the end, we have to do what the owner wants.
Now every once in a while something does come through our doors that IS a clear cut case of abuse or neglect or cruelty. This is where the second issue comes in: my hospital’s policy on no interference. Most of my hospital’s emergencies come in as referal’s from all the area day time practices. We solicit them for their business. Therefore, we cannot do anything that might piss off a referring doctor, lest he decide to stop utilizing our services. For example, Joe Blow walks in with a dog that was gored by a wild hog. It is obvious that the wounds are not new and we can see that Mr. Blow has tried his own hand at sewing things up. Mr. Blow admits that he trains his dogs to hunt hogs by capturing a hog and throwing his dog into a pen with it. However, Mr. Blow is also a long standing client of Dr. Smith, who refers all his emergencies to us. Now, if we report Mr. Blow to Animal Services, and as a result he loses all his dogs, Dr. Smith loses a client, and my hospital loses ALL of Dr. Smith’s emergencies. See how it works? Is it wrong? Sure it is. Do I hate my hospital’s policy on this? You bet. Am I having some serious ethical problems and wondering if I ought to change jobs? Yes. But will it be any different anywhere else? Probably not. I have gone against hospital policy, once, and thankfully, no one ever found out I reported someone. I would be much more willing to do it if the laws were there to back me up, but, as I already mentioned, they don’t. There are so many things that OUGHT to be illegal, but aren’t.
This leads me to my third point: my desire to be able to do something about the abysmal lack of pet protection laws. I think I am going to start small, by approaching the head of the vet tech program at my school, and asking what veterinary organizations exist (if any) that work towards getting more animal laws on the books. If there are no professional organizations, he still might be able to get me in touch with the right people. I’m not even sure what I could do once I do find a group to join, but as I already mentioned,I have to try something.
Michelle, I sincerely empathize with your pain and sadness for what may have happened to that bird, and for what you deal with in your job every day. Bless you for what you do - I know it’s not an easy job.
First off, have you called the woman today to find out how the bird is doing? Wouldn’t a follow up phone call be standard after you’ve seen a pet at your clinic? I know my vet’s office always calls after I’ve brought Mew in to see how she’s doing. Perhaps the woman can bring the bird in while her (jerk) husband is at work and you can work something out in the way of a payment plan that she can manage.
Second, to address some of the specific concerns you brought up…
I have done quite a bit of research into these issues for a project that I’ve been working on for the past couple of years. Some of the information I have gathered might be useful to you, and I’m happy to share it.
Rutgers University has an entire legal department dedicated to animal rights and animal laws. You can find them on the 'net at http://www.rutgers.edu
There is an attorney in Colorado named Linda Cawley that specializes in “dog law” (a term she sought a trademark on - not sure if she ever got it). She handles cases from all over the country and has set up an 800# to call for information. Even though she only works with “dog law,” her office might be able to provide you with information that could be helpful. 1-800-DOG-LAWS.
In addition, The American Dog Trainers Network provides a list of lawyers that specialize in animal/pet law (not just dogs, but all pets). The list can be found here… http://www.inch.com/~dogs/law.html
As to your concern about it not being better anywhere else, I don’t think that you’ll find that to be true. For instance, Pet Helpers, in Charleston, South Carolina is a clinic and shelter that is dedicated to animal welfare, not “the bottom line.” In fact, their mission statement is: “The mission of Pet Helpers, Inc. is to protect, to shelter, and to work to protect the welfare and rights of animals along with pursuing animal cruelty prosecution, needed animal welfare legislation, and public education.” You can find them online at http://www.pethelpers.org/ If you contact them, it’s possible they may be able to direct you to similar clinics in your area.
And lastly, if you are looking for a national organization that works tirelessly for the rights of animals and to prevent animal cruelty, you might want to check into The Ark Trust, Inc.
From their website: “The Ark Trust, Inc. is a national, non-profit animal-protection organization devoted to raising public awareness about the vast spectrum of animal issues. Our primary focus is to promote extensive and positive coverage of animal topics by the major media. Interacting with writers, reporters and producers, The Ark Trust seeks to enlighten societal attitudes and to encourage behavior which ultimately leads to a more humane and compassionate society. The Ark Trust also takes direct action on animal-protection issues and propels them into the media spotlight throughout the year.”
If you’ve ever seen “The Genesis Awards,” they’re the ones that put those together every year. You can find them online at http://www.arktrust.org/
Michelle, I hope you have/had a better day at work today and that everything turned out ok for the bird. Try to keep your chin up. The work you do is so important, especially to all of us pet lovers out here. We really do appreciate it!
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank
Shayna, I knew there was a reason I nominated you for “Poster we would like to see post more often”
Anyway, can you provide a more specific link on the Rutgers site? I looked over it but am not sure how to find the area you talked about.
Now as for making call backs, you have to understand that emergency hospitals are nothing like general practices. We don’t have a relationship with any of the people who come through our door. They are there for emergent care for their pets and when their pet leaves our hospital, we never see them again. From time to time a vet from our clinic will make a call to a client’s regular vet to see how a pet has done with follow up care, but that is about it. And honestly, with the amount of people that come through our doors every night, that is really all we can do.
Hi Michelle, and thank you again for the nomination. That really was very sweet of you.
I’m sorry to hear there is no way to follow up on the bird’s condition. I know it would give you peace of mind to hear that he/she managed to get through it, even with a degree of pain. Perhaps if they told you who their regular vet is, you could follow up with him/her to see if maybe the woman brought the bird in during their regular business hours.
As for the Rutgers site, wouldn’t you know the link isn’t active right now. I clicked on Centers & Institutes from the left menu and then on Animal Rights Clinic from the list, and I got this message on their page…
Animal Law Project
---------------------------------------------This website is currently under construction and will be back soon!
But in spite of the fact that their page is under construction, I’m sure you could still get some information by phoning the University. Their number is 732-932-INFO.
Or you could try emailing them at
info_update@cis.rutgers.edu
Good luck, and I hope some of this information has been helpful.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank
That really pisses me off when people treat their animals that way. I would pay all the money I could get my hands on if my cats ever needed something done. They mean the world to me, and I can’t imagine losing them… especially if I didn’t have to.
A certain piece of crap said once that $50 was too much to spend on an animal cause they’re just going to die anyway. Within a second, I was crying. The fact that he even said that was disgusting, but the fact that i knew he meant it… christ, I wanted to rip his ugly head off.
If anybody wants a sheep, that is proof that he exists.
You should have told him that you’d keep that in mind if he ever got hit by a car and needed emergency medical care. “A $50 co-payment? Nah, don’t bother, he’s just going to die eventually anyway.”
[rant]If you’re not going to take care of your pets, maybe you shouldn’t have any. Get a Tamagotchi instead. They have a “reset” button in back, and you can get your kicks by letting it die, instead of sacrificing a living creature because you’re too f**king cheap to go the distance.[/rant]
You should have told him that you’d keep that in mind if he ever got hit by a car and needed emergency medical care. “A $50 co-payment? Nah, don’t bother, he’s just going to die eventually anyway.”
[rant]If you’re not going to take care of your pets, maybe you shouldn’t have any. Get a Tamagotchi instead. They have a “reset” button in back, and you can get your kicks by letting it die, instead of sacrificing a living creature because you’re too f**king cheap to go the distance.[/rant]
You should have told him that you’d keep that in mind if he ever got hit by a car and needed emergency medical care. “A $50 co-payment? Nah, don’t bother, he’s just going to die eventually anyway.”
[rant]If you’re not going to take care of your pets, maybe you shouldn’t have any. Get a Tamagotchi instead. They have a “reset” button in back, and you can get your kicks by letting it die, instead of sacrificing a living creature because you’re too f**king cheap to go the distance.[/rant]
You should have told him that you’d keep that in mind if he ever got hit by a car and needed emergency medical care. “A $50 co-payment? Nah, don’t bother, he’s just going to die eventually anyway.”
[rant]If you’re not going to take care of your pets, maybe you shouldn’t have any. Get a Tamagotchi instead. They have a “reset” button in back, and you can get your kicks by letting it die, instead of sacrificing a living creature because you’re too f**king cheap to go the distance.[/rant]
Never attribute to malice anything that can be attributed to stupidity.
– Unknown
