April 2006 Newsletter
Don't give up on your pet!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 seekingr 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.
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
