I O U

I owe you all a post about the definitions of a Service Dog, a Companion Animal, and a Therapy Dog. With luck, and a whittled down to-do list, I'll try to get it up tomorrow.

Tempory job and the Animal Control Officers that I work with

It seems May got away from me all together. I have been working as a temporary licensing office for a local county shelter. Yup, I'm what the Animal Control Officers here (mostly) jokingly refer to as a "county streetwalkers". Since a few of them got their start doing this job, the needling is mostly in fun.

There was a moving and very realistic article in a local paper about what these Animal Control Officers are dealing with on a daily basis, "Life or death: Animal control officers make tough decisions on the job." It ends with this line, "Locke replied, "She won't be in pain any longer," and left to pick up Sadie before her owner's kids got home from school."

The other licensing officers and I are one set of public faces of the shelter. I do what I can to offer information and a smile to the folks we meet. I remind folks that the ACO's are not the dog-catchers and the shelter is not just the pound. I carry spay and neuter coupons, information about dog parks, a flier about shelter operations and programs, and stickers for the kiddos.

Sometimes it amounts to just a bit more.

Last week I went knocking on a door, first house on the block, the late summer rain just starting gently down. A weepy man, face folded with his pain, answered.

"I can't talk to you right now" he blurted, trying for politeness through his stress "My dog just died". He was assuming, as so many people do when I come to their houses, that I am selling something.

"Just died?" I asked. "Yes, just now. Please go away", he stated bluntly.

I dropped my eyes to the porch steps for a moment, inhaled and said, "Actually, I'M with county animal services; maybe I can help".

He stared and me and mumbled, "You are kidding, right?".

"Nope, not kidding" I responded finding a soft smile, remembering the sudden passing of my River dog and how shook up I was at the time.

He invited me inside (I don't go inside peoples homes when on the job). I stood and talked with him and his wife for a short time, helped them contact the shelter and request an office to to come by and assist them with transport, and talked some about what happens next. He thanked me and told me I was a god-spend.

The new director of the shelter is doing what she can to make a change for the better, as the prior director did during his time. It is hard. There is so much to do and so little money to do it with.

Thank you all for the care you give your animals.

From Homeless Pet to Working Dog

Alamo, Service Dog
Male Anatolian Shepherd mix
Adopted from Town Lake Animal Center, Austin


Dogs end up in shelters for a variety of reasons, many of which are behavior related. Today I'm addressing sub-adult, big-brained, active dogs that can be very challenging pets for many households. These dogs need to be kept busy, their mind and their bodies need to work, if they are to be happy and relaxed. These sorts of dogs often find their own job to do if an adequate one is not provided for them by their owners. My own crazy cattledog once decided his job was to un-stuff the sofa...he did a very thorough job and that is a story for another day.

There are some programs that go searching in shelters for just these sorts of dogs: to find them, train them up right, and place them where they can excel.

The Prison Pet Program in Gig Harbor has placed over 700 dogs (as service, therapy or sometimes pet dogs) since 1981. The dogs are cared for and trained by inmates who benefit greatly from their time with the dogs as well. It is a win-win-win situation for the dogs, the inmates, the shelters and the communities that the dogs go into. Project POOCH at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Oregon pairs up shelter dogs with juvenile offenders and both canine and human team mates' lives are made better through their time together.

Texas Hearing and Service Dogs "trains dogs to assist Texans living with hearing or mobility challenges", using dogs from local shelters and taking the responsibility to find loving homes for those dogs that do not make it through the service dog training. This facility has a full time staff of canine professionals as well as volunteers to help in the the training program and will be offering workshops to help other organizations learn to do the work they do.

On a smaller scale, local law enforcement agencies sometimes have the staff to train their own working dogs. "Dog goes from stray to patrolling county jail"

Rules of Love

Positive training methods, getting a companion dog from the shelter, cute doggie voices giving saying insightful things - whats not to love!

The Canis Film Festival "is designed to showcase innovative, highly–communicative, short videos on animal training. These videos help educate pet owners and professionals who work with animals".

While I support clicker training it is certainly not the only good training style out there. I am a middle of the road philosophy trainer myself. Many different schools of thought have a lot to teach each other. I apprenticed for a while with Sirius Dog Training, attended Marin Humane Society's Canine Behavior Academy and SF/SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers; I came away with different lessons from each experience. I continue to read voraciously on canine behavior, history, and biology. But my best teachers remain, to this day, the dogs I watch and work with.

Trust your dogs; they can teach you the rules of love.

Another fun fundraiser

This is a an entertaining fundraiser where guesses are made (at $5 each) as to what breed(s) this dog is.

DNA testing will be done and the winner will get a nifty gift from NW Healthy Pets. Photographs, videos of the dog at play, and the owners comments on the dog are all up on the site to help with the educated guesses.

All proceeds go to Paws to Freedom "a non-profit all volunteer organization with 501(c)3 status...a Service Dog Team education and information organization, teaching people with disabilities to train their own service dog as well as offer service dog information within the community".

Stephen Huneck - Lending a Helping Hand

An artist that I am fond of is doing a fundraiser for a number of animal welfare related organizations. I'm not flush enough to be buying for myself just now but if this sort of art is your sort of thing, please consider lending a helping hand.

"Here's how the program works.
When you purchase anything on the Stephen Huneck Gallery website, a generous contribution will be made to your selected organization as follows: 50% of your purchases of Fine Art Giclee Prints and Original Woodcuts* and 10% of your purchases of other products will be contributed."

Please Don't Do That

Yes, there is a new dog in the White House. No, he did not come from a shelter or a rescue. While I believe it is best to lead by example (this is miss-step as I see it) there are still plenty of other opportunities to do the right thing (training, socialization, neutering, etc).

*edit* It seems that Bo is already neutered. "Stern worries that puppy mills will try to capitalize on the Obamas' dog choice and start churning out PWDs for an eager public. It's the responsibility of good Portuguese water dog breeders to try to prevent that, she said. As for Bo, he has already been neutered, Mrs. Obama's spokeswoman said."

What am I pointing a wagging finger at?
1) not adopting a dog after saying they would adopt
2) insisting that these dogs are hypoallergenic
3) LEANING OVER A DOG, STARING AT THE DOG, REACHING FOR THE DOG'S HEAD (This is the recipe for how not to greet a dog, how to get yourself bitten if the dog is so inclined. Do not put your face in the dog's face!)

How to meet a dog:
Stand tall but with loose body language, pivot sideways shoulder to the dog, make a "soft-paw" with your fingers and thumbs tucked in and your palm down, raise that "soft-paw" slightly, avert your eyes and lower them a bit, and wait for the dog to approach you. With a cautious dog, kneeling down but keeping your upper body vertical is an option.

Doggone Safe teaches how to read canine body language, how to understand what the dogs are trying to tell us before they are forced to bite.

"Despite 12,000 years of living with dogs, they remain largely misunderstood by humans. When a dog bites we interpret this in human terms. In most cases the bite is a normal dog behavior. The dog that bites is not necessarily a mean dog or a bad dog - he is just a dog. To prevent dog bites we need to understand what motivates the dog to bite and reduce risk through modification of both human and dog behavior"

HSUS tries by offering Stay Dog Bite Free and has a number of links to related products and programs for teaching children dog safety.

No More Turning Away

The range of emotions that these shelters dogs offer in these images touched me deeply. There are some very painful pictures here so proceed with caution.

To quote the poster from her words on YouTube:
"You can make a difference. Through adoption, fostering, volunteering, donations (whether it be money or something you don't need anymore that the animals will benefit from), and even just educating people about responsible pet ownership and the pet overpopulation crisis, you can help these animals. The animal shelters are not the bad guys. They are just doing what they can. Not having animal shelters would not keep animals from dying-- it would just keep them from dying humanely."

Strays in Moscow around the campfire again?

In the past several decades the study of the nearest and dearest animal to us humans has truly come into its own. Before this period scientists interested in canid species studied wild dogs such as wolves or coyotes, over looking our dog friends sharing our homes. The term Cynology is sometimes used for the study of dogs in general. Where and how dogs were domesticated is one of the top questions being addressed. National Geograph's cover article "Wolf to Woof" investigates the debate. Did humans domesticate the wolf or did wolves domesticate themselves?

Our recent knowledge of where dogs came from and what affects their behavior has come along way from "Man Meets Dog", to Scott and Fuller's 1965 "Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog" onto Serpell's "The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People" and Coppinger's ground breaking "Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior & Evolution". A list on dog behavior and evolution can be found at Dogwise.

In 1959 Novosibirsk, Russia a study was begun with 130 silver foxes primarily to study if "tame" responses to humans was genetic in nature. By breeding the tamest to the tamest within a surprisingly short time both behavior and physical type had changed, "The selectively bred tame foxes show behavioral patterns extremely similar to those of domestic dogs: by one month postnatal they become eager to establish human contact, whimpering to attract attention and sniffing and licking at humans, just like puppy dogs". These new foxes showed new color patterns (before unknown in their ancestors) some looking rather Border collie like and/or having floppy ears and wagging tails.

Are stray dogs re-domesticating themselves again now in Moscow? "The vast majority of homeless dogs go out of their way to avoid antagonizing people, says Mr. Vereshchagin" These strays have learned to ride the subways and act in solicitous and surprising ways to get their daily bread. "Adaptations by individual dogs have added up to a dramatic shift in canine culture. Begging is a submissive activity, so today there are fewer all-out interpack wars, which sometimes used to last for months, according to Mr. Poyarkov. Within packs there are more stable social hierarchies that allow the whole group to prosper". Here is a link to a website about these dogs.

Is this a safe and healthy environment? No.
Are there things to be learned for the study of this situation, both for animal welfare and Cynology? Yes.

(images used are from National Geographic and an International Collaborative Study of Fox Domestication at Cornell.

Easter rolls in again

I've know a few rabbits in my life.

As a child there were the hutch-bunnies outside who were cared for as best as we knew how. They were fairly warm (nesting box and straw) or cool (water and good ventilation) as the seasons shifted. The had fresh food and water everyday. The had outside time. But this outside time was in a small fenced run and while they were socialized somewhat; they certainly did not come inside.

While growing up in New York City I met some apartment rabbits. They lived right there in the home, bounced about on the linoleum and snuggled on the old sofa. They had nice neat litter boxes (which they mostly used) and lived longer happier lives than my poor hutch bunnies ever did.

Not all pet rabbits are as fortunate as the apartment rabbits or even my hutch bunnies. Far too many of them are bought as gifts to children and then, after the honeymoon period wears off, they are neglected or abandoned. Domestic rabbits need our care. Those that are not just cut loose end up passed around and often, in the end, at some animal shelter ill-prepared to deal with their needs. Barking dogs and staring cats are not conducive to relaxed rabbits.

While I worked down at Willamette Humane Society I had the pleasure of knowing a true rabbit advocate. She was WHS' Bunny Lady and she taught us all such wonderful lessons about rabbit communications, needs, health, and even social lives.

These little Lagomorphs(they are not rodents) are not the right pet for everyone but they are just perfect for the right sort of person.

Every year the word goes about in late spring, just before Easter, "Easter Bunny? Make Mine Chocolate".

A local rescue and education group called Rabbit Advocates does some amazing work here in Portland. They are very honest about their rabbits such as they policy to place bonded pairs together.

"County budget feels the pinch" and that will hurt the public

"Multnomah County residents are getting the first glimpse of massive cuts coming to county services because of a projected $45 million gap in the coming budget...Animal Services would operate four days a week instead of six."

"All of us at Bideawee are saddened by the closing of the Wantagh Adoption Center that has been meeting the needs of area residents since 1915. Like many organizations, Bideawee is facing difficult financial challenges that are the direct result of the economic downturn."

I know these are only two shelters in the thousands that serve our nation's animals but they are two that are known personally to me. There are many more in similar situations. More pets coming into fewer shelters - it can't be good.

I know the rescues are feeling the burden of this as well and are going begging for foster homes. My thanks go out to all of you in animal welfare continuing to do what you can in this difficult time.

Update March 13, 2009:
Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler will decide whether to accept Oswald's recommendation when he presents his budget April 23. County commissioners will make a final decision by July 1. Washington and Clackamas counties don't expect big budget cuts and don't intend to reduce their shelter hours.

Reflecting on saying good-bye to River

Day to Day is going off the air in just over a week and there was a radio piece about songs of farewell today: "Day to Day, March 11, 2009 - Saying goodbye is never easy, but musician and contributor David Was shares some of his favorite farewell songs as a salute to Day to Day. The show goes off the air after the March 20 edition." I'll miss this show when it is gone.

They closed the show with the request for stories of good-byes from the listeners. This one might be too grim for their use but it came and filled my mind. My son still talks about missing River. The look on his face when he speaks of her is the same dented shape as the wound in my heart.

My River Girl was a middle-aged fluffy herding dog from the Madera County Animal Shelter. She had led me through almost three years of journeying and then left me all at once. One moment she was dancing about the living room, romping and frolicking as only she could, and the next she was seizing on the carpet; then she was still. I switched in to animal tech mode and did a response check on her. She was already gone as I knelt by her: no heart-beat, no eye-blink, no breath. My husband was suddenly there crying, asking questions that I couldn’t quite understand and my replies were all, “she’s gone”. He stroked her fur and told her good bye. It seemed a long time before I could do what came next.

Her body was heavy and warm and so still, so still. I wrapped her in her blanket and called the operations manager of the shelter where I worked. I told him River was dead. I asked if the back freezer was empty and was told that is was. I drove her to the rear parking lot of the shelter, closed for the night and quiet. I walked to the drab white freezer and stared at it. Lifting the lid the cold dead smell brushed my face. I spoke to her as I lifted her from the back seat. I somehow managed to put her body in that place.

I said goodbye settling her into a freezer. She laid there, curled in her blanket as if she was sleeping. She looked peaceful but also folded and wrong, fitted into that tight rectangular space. I was so grateful she was alone there. I have been a euthanasia tech and have put many animals down and then carried them out to the freezer. I felt every one of their deaths. Grieving for even those unknown, unwanted animals’ deaths is part of the job. There she was now. I knew her! I had welcomed her into my home and now I saying goodbye. My sorrow was for her but also for all those others that had no one to cry for their deaths.

River came to us an unwanted animal, picked-up as a stray and gone unclaimed at a county shelter. She was brought to Marin Humane through their partnership with the county shelter. She became a registered Delta therapy dog and worked with me in classrooms. From where she was when she came to live with us, without a clue as to how to be a house-dog, to the amazing ambassador for shelter animals that she became was a journey that changed the course of my life. I am forever grateful to her.

Bringing Dogs in

I am all for saving lives. I understand the dismal situation animal welfare suffers under in many foreign countries. While local animals, here in the Metro Area and out in Eastern Oregon not so far away, continue to be in need should animal welfare's focus be here or should we be to be reaching out to help those far away?

Abused dogs brought in from other countries to find homes here:

"Her nonprofit has placed 20 dogs from Mexico into Portland homes in the past six months. One of those had been at the Cabo Humane Society for two years; it was adopted here within two weeks."

I am thrilled when American organizations step in to be of help with training and supplies. The Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs works to do just that.

"Esterilsol™
You’ve likely heard about Neutersol—the first permanent injectable sterilant for male dogs to receive regulatory approval in the U.S. Well, Ark Sciences, a new animal health company, recently announced the Mexico launch of Esterilsol, the Latin American version of Neutersol. Ark Sciences has not yet announced details on pricing or availability, but are inviting inquiries to info@arksciences.com.

We are excited to see this tool introduced in Latin America, where economic challenges and cultural resistance to castration make sterilizing male dogs particularly difficult. Ark Sciences has signed Julio Cesar Chavez—a well-known retired Mexican boxer—as the Esterilsol spokesperson.

We’ll keep you posted on progress with Esterilsol, including potential import opportunities for other Latin American countries. "

Some groups take on the spectrum of issues, including rehoming, while educating:

"Compassion without Borders is an all volunteer, grassroots non-profit that works to bring about humane reform for the animals of Mexico through spay and neuter, humane education and outreach, international rescue efforts, and humane euthanasia programs."

Marin Humane Society drives its own van, staffed by employees and volunteers, out into the central valley to relieve some of the burden from those embattled and under-funded shelters with its Pet Partnership Program. I've been a part of those teams. I have been blessed with a Madera Dog myself.

"The Pet Partnership Program focuses on networking, building resources, and transferring adoptable dogs and cats to The Marin Humane Society. We travel throughout Northern California to pick up dogs and cats who would be a good fit for Marin families. The Marin Humane Society is an open-door shelter and has always welcomed out-of town animals, but now we are actively seeking adoption animals."

We can work together for a better tomorrow. We need to start today.

Difficult times make other difficulties

Things are getting harder and the mixed messages about open, limited admission, and now sometimes open admission shelters is making it even more confusing.

“The recent movie, 'Hotel for Dogs', pushes the message "No stray turned away." Unfortunately, shelters are finding this philosophy exceedingly more difficult to follow as they become inundated with relinquished animals. The Humane Society of Genesee County is constantly full. Their doors open at 8:00 a.m. and on most days the shelter is full by 8:30 a.m.

An enlarged animal population is not the only effect shelters are experiencing in the continuing economic downturn. Shelters have also seen a decline in donations. The low donation rates affect the entire shelter including staffing, supplies and the process for handling increased animal populations.”

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/02/prweb2187164.htm

The shelter down in Salem, which is very progressive in a lot of their programs and does some truly amazing work has had to cut its hours of service now.

“Dogs, cats and other furry residents at the Willamette Humane Society will soon see a decrease in visitors as the building will be closed to the public two days per week.

The facility, which is now open seven days per week, will keep its doors closed to the public Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning March 3.
The Humane Society has reduced hours at the main shelter to decrease expenses, said Executive Director Susan Carey. She said labor is the greatest expense for the organization.”


http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090226/NEWS/902260357/1001

I know it is happening all over, and happening not just to the pets, but I am beginning to worry where we’ll all find ourselves when this is all done.

My thanks go out to all of you that volunteer and work in the animal welfare industry for keeping on!

Oregon Senate Bill 304 - protecting animals abandoned in forclosures

We shouldn’t need to have this written into law but it there seems to be need of it with more and more animals being abandoned when their families lose their homes. The family’s thought process is in all likelihood is not to cause harm to the animal, and I have been told of cases where food, water and notes about the pet are left with the animal in the foreclosed home. In many cases these families have tried what options they thought were available to place their pets with friends or family members, tried local shelters and found them full, and ran out of time. It does not change the fact that they abandoned their pets. That not all those that are finding these pets are doing their level best to get care for these animals only repeated the abandonment.


OHS takes lead in protecting pets abandoned in foreclosures

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Hillsboro Argus

The Oregon Humane Society is urging state lawmakers to better protect animals who are abandoned because of mortgage foreclosures. In testimony to be presented this afternoon in Salem, OHS Executive Director Sharon Harmon will ask lawmakers to make sure animals don't suffer from neglect when they are left behind at a foreclosed property.

"These animals need food, water, companionship and veterinary care to survive and deserve to be treated better than personal belongings that are left behind," said OHS Executive Director Sharon Harmon.

SB 304, backed by Sen. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton and introduced at the request of OHS, would for the first time establish a clear process for placing animals abandoned because of foreclosure into new caring homes. Mortgagors, for example, would be required to provide minimum care for an abandoned animal and to contact the appropriate agency or animal shelter to take custody of the animal. While many mortgage companies and banks try to do the right thing, current law is unclear when it comes to the issues of animal care and ownership transfer.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/new/1235503211196460.xml&coll=6

Summary of bill reads:

Requires mortgagor taking possession of real property to provide minimum care for domestic animal or livestock abandoned at property. Requires mortgagor to arrange for law enforcement agency, animal control agency or animal shelter to take custody of abandoned domestic animal or livestock.

Makes mortgagor that fails to provide abandoned domestic animal or livestock with minimum care subject to animal neglect statutes having maximum penalty of six months¢ imprisonment, $2,500 fine, or both, or if failure results in serious physical injury or death of domestic animal or livestock, to maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment, $6,250 fine, or both. Makes failure of mortgagor to timely arrange for placing domestic animal or livestock in custody of law enforcement agency, animal control agency or animal shelter subject to maximum $90 fine.
Authorizes animal shelter taking custody of abandoned domestic animal or livestock from mortgagor to petition for legal ownership of abandoned domestic animal or livestock.

http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/sb0300.dir/sb0304.intro.pdf

Missing Links

Blogger seems not to like my links anymore (I blame Vista).

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/02/new_fees_suggested_for_animal.html

http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=21293

http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=229546&c=26997

Checking in

This venue has been quite for a while. I'm still job hunting and staying active as a volunteer and advocate but it wears one down to be out of work for so long.

The news I've stopped by to share is that the Animal Services Task Force that I have been an active member of for over a year now has completed our task and presented the document that we created at City Hall today. It was well received and now it goes off to the county council tomorrow. We have strong support in both places. I remain hopeful even in this stressful time. I am proud of the work that the task force did.

Two local papers published short pieces:

The Oregonian covers what their reporter heard in council chambers today quoting Commissioner Leonard, "We have a huge problem and it's getting more difficult," Leonard said. "Animals in Portland deserve better than they're getting." http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/02/new_fees_suggested_for_animal.html

The Willamette Weekly spread the word a day early with “City and County Want to Re-brand Pet Licenses to Raise Money for Animal Care”
http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=21293#continue and included a link to the document we presented as well http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=229546&c=26997

The task force represented a number of animal welfare agencies, municipal and private, government departments, and concerned citizens. We were a very diverse group and we did not always agree. Yet no one lost their temper at anyone else, we all remained supportive and we met our goal on time. We focused on that 80% that we all share and reminded each other as need be that we could hash out that last 20% another day. Yes, we can.