It may be something about the eyes

My first Delta Dog was River. She was an amazing girl and more of her story will be told here; I learned so much from her. For one story of her life see out

local dog magazine page 6 http://www.spotmagazine.net/Issues/Spot_March2006.pdf

She died in my arms in January of 2007. http://corva.livejournal.com/194946.html

It was a long search for a new partner. I did not have the luxury to mourn her. I was working full time at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington as their Humane Educator and Behavior Specialist. I was crippled without a canine partner at my side.

We welcomed two dogs into our home in what turned out to be long term fosters as they were not suited to the Work.

The work is therapy dog work. I am trained and registered through the Delta Society http://www.deltasociety.org/ . It takes a very special dog to be solid enough, willing enough, and friendly enough to be a Delta dog. It is not something that can be taught, though there is a lot of teaching involved. It is something in the basic temperament, the soul of the dog if you will.

This is from the time we welcomed the third canine application into our home. (I am guessing there will be some stern looks and disapproving thoughts about re-homing two dogs for “not fitting in” but it is more than that. I was not looking simply for a pet dog, a Delta dog is a working dog and need to be cut out for the job.)

July 2007

“Moon has come to live with us.

It seemed there was still something missing from our pack with River's passing and there are work situations where I fear little Journey Bug is just too much of a pushy clown.

I'm thinking that Moon might be a Border/Spaniel or some sort, or maybe Border Aussie?

She lived the first year of her life neglected: on a chain in a back yard of a small town, escaping often and going out wandering the town (finding much of her food that way). She was noticed by her soon to be foster family who saw how sweet and charming she was despite her start in life. When Moon became pregnant on her first heat, the direness of her situation became even more apparent. Her savior starting bringing her high quality food and trying to talk the owners, a somewhat clueless young couple with a baby of their own that took most of their focus, into giving Moon up for adoption into a family more able to take care of her. Which they eventually did, after Moon gave birth to four pups on the first day of spring.

The pups and Moon when to live on a sheep farm in wonderful foster-home, with other dogs, room to run and huge hearted folks. All the pups were placed. When Moon was spayed, a lump was found. The cancer was removed but it was very unusual to find cancer in that young a dog. She stayed in foster till this weekend.

I have been taking with her foster folks for many weeks. She seemed like such a perfect dog but the cancer thing really spooked me. I spoke with my vet, had the lab tests sent to her, spoke to her some more. The only answer remains, there is no answer - only hope.

I finally shifted to wanting to meet Moon by thinking of what a short time we had with River Girl, under three years! "River of a thousand days", well 1015 anyhow. She was such a blessing to us and to so many others! I came to the thought that even had I known she would have only been in our world so such a short time I would I jumped at the chance to have spent that time with us.

We never know how much time we have.

So, here is Moon.”

There is a organization called Dogs Deserve Better that works with amazing heart to educate about unchaining dogs, to offer care and support to pet owners trying to take proper care of their dogs, and rescues chained-ones when they can. Please take the time to visit them at http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/

The economy is hitting the pet-owner very hard.

There are many fewer options for folks with pets that those families without pets when hard times come. I listen to many of their stories everyday on the telephone here at Animal Aid (www.animalaidpdx.org). We provide counseling relating to re-homing as well as limited no-interest loans for emergency veterinary care.

We’ve been working with another local organization called the PAW Team (http://www.portlandanimalwelfareteam.org/index.php) to serve the pet-owning homeless in the Portland metro area. We strive to provide access to low cost spay and neuter and offer loans for urgent pet care and PAW Team offers: quarterly wellness clinics (volunteer vets and techs doing the work) to give vaccinations, parasite control, food/bedding/collars to the folks on the streets with their pets (or in transitional housing).

There are so few people shelters that will take pets in with their people. The Oregon Humane Society (www.oregonhumane.org) offers temporary foster care for pets belonging to folks escaping domestic violence or to pets displaced by natural disaster but there are so many more in-need! American Humane Association has started a pilot program to help women’s shelters look into the possibility of opening their doors to pets as well as their owners – Pets and Women’s Shelters (http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=lk_PAWS) but that is still only a one segment of the population in need of help…

SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) -- Barbara Harvey climbs into the back of her small Honda sport utility vehicle and snuggles with her two golden retrievers, her head nestled on a pillow propped against the driver's seat.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/19/homeless.mom/index.html

Abandonment of pets is way up (I’ve read 12 – 24 %) this year in our metro area.
Animal abandonment on the upswing in county http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=121099987056950400

There is not enough shelter space for them, and not all shelters are playing fair through the media -

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Police cited a woman who was caught on a security camera dumping two animals out of her car in front of the Oregon Humane Society, officers said… http://www.kptv.com/news/15970641/detail.html ... "We don't charge a mandatory fee for bringing an animal to us, so there's no excuse for endangering an animal by dumping it in a very busy parking lot next to a very busy street," OHS Executive Director Sharon Harmon said...If you ever have an animal you feel you can't take care of you can take stray dogs to the Multnomah County Animal Service Center that's located on the Columbia River Highway in Troutdale.

Oregon Humane currently has a very long waiting period due to the number of people looking to relinquish their pets. Normally this would be a consult appointment 3 to 6 weeks out now it is up to 12 weeks out.

We are being crushed by a combination of lack of affordable housing/pet-friendly rentals, economic down-swing, and pet over population.

Rio's safety tip, "Never play with cats toys"!

And someday soon I will tell the story of "Rio and the Jingleball" or "Near Death Experience First Thing in the Morning..."

needing some humor, passing this along...

I can't recall where this came from to begin with (if anyone does, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due). This is one of the most hilarious dog related bits I've ever read. It is long, but take the time as it is most certainly worth it.

edited: ah-ha! found it http://littera-abactor.livejournal.com/7748.html
My thanks go out to the "Minion of the Universe" http://littera-abactor.livejournal.com/profile

...any lab owners out there?

Dog: I is starving.
Me: Actually, no. You aren't starving. You get two very good meals a day. And treats. And Best Beloved fed you extra food while I was gone.
Dog: STARVING.
Me: I saw you get fed not four hours ago! You are not starving.
Dog: Pity me, a sad and tragic creature, for I can barely walk, I am so starving. WOE.
Me: I am now ignoring you.
Dog: STARVING.
Dog: Did you hear me? I is starving.
Dog: Are you seriously ignoring me? Fine.

[There is a pause, during which the dog exits the room in a pointed manner.]

[From the kitchen, there comes a noise like someone is eating a baseball bat.]

Me, yelling: What the hell are you doing?
Me: *makes haste for the kitchen and finds dog there*
Dog: *picks up entire raw sweet potato, which is what was causing the baseball bat noise, and flees for the bedroom*
Me: *chases dog, retrieves most of sweet potato, less the portion which has disappeared into dog's gullet*
Dog: See? STARVING.
Me: ...That can't be good for you. It's a RAW SWEET POTATO.
Dog: I had to do it. I haven't been fed. Ever.
Me: You realize you aren't normal. Normal dogs don't steal raw sweet potatoes.
Dog, sadly: I was badly brought up.
Me: Yes. Yes, you were.
Dog: By people who starved me.
Me: Oh, no. I am not doing this again.
Me: *exits the room, bearing sweet potato*

[There is a pause.]

[There is a noise like someone is trying to eat a baseball bat very very quietly.]

Me: Oh, for the love of GOD.
Me: *heads off to the kitchen*
Dog: I am not eating a raw sweet potato.
Me: You have sweet potato parts all over your snout.
Dog: But you don't actually SEE a raw sweet potato, do you? So maybe that's just - um. A birthmark.
Me: Did you seriously eat a whole sweet potato?
Dog: You don't listen. I told you, I wasn't eating a sweet potato.
Me, searching around fruitlessly: Look. NO MORE SWEET POTATOES.
Me: Oh, what am I saying? This is you we're talking about, here. *goes to hide all the sweet potatoes that are left - which isn't many - in the fridge, because some people cannot be trusted*
Dog: *attempts to look thwarted*
Dog: *does not succeed, because her tail is wagging so hard small cyclones are forming in the kitchen*
Me: *has a very bad feeling about this*

[There is a pause, during which I do not even bother trying to return to what I was doing. I just stand in the computer room, waiting.]

[There is, as I wholly expected, a baseball-bat-eating noise.]

Me, stomping back to the kitchen: OKAY. GIVE ME THE DAMNED SWEET POTATO.
Dog, looking up guiltily: What sweet potato?
Me: THE ONE IN YOUR MOUTH.
Dog: Oh, did you want this? I just, um. Found it. Lying here.
Me: *confiscates the sweet potato and deposits it in the locking trashcan*
Me: Let us say no more about this.
Dog: ...Nooooo! They be stealin' my sweet potato!

[I attempt to remember what I was doing before the sweet potato episode.]

[Some ten minutes later, I succeed, and return to it.]

[NOT ONE MINUTE LATER, I hear a noise with which I have become all too familiar.]

Me, bonking head on desk: Arg.
Me, arriving in kitchen: How did you even get another sweet potato?
Dog, smugly: I have my ways.
Me: Are you punishing me for being away for several days? I was at a FUNERAL, you know. It wasn't FUN.
Dog: How would I know? You didn't take me. You left me here with only one human to look after my needs. One human is NOT ENOUGH.
Me: *shuts dog in bedroom, conducts a sweep of the kitchen to track down all remaining sweet potatoes, wipes up random sweet potato particles from floor, eradicates all traces of sweet potato from house*
Me: *lets dog out*
Dog, sulkily: Oh, so you think you've won.

[I watch her go about her business with the same sense of overwhelming doom that heroines of Victorian novels get when they meet Count Sinistrus Grimblack for the first time.]

[Half an hour later, there is a wetter, juicier eating noise, as though someone was eating a very moist baseball bat.]

Me, wearily: What NOW?
Dog, hunched over the remains of a butternut squash: *says something garbled because her mouth is full*
Me: Okay. Fine.
Me: *stomps over, empties entire vegetable bowl into trash*
Me: WE JUST WON'T HAVE ANY ROOT VEGETABLES ANYMORE. THERE. ARE YOU HAPPY?
Dog: I'm not even remotely sorry. I told you I was hungry. And you went to a funeral without me.
Me: ARRRRRRRRG.

[A half-hour later, there is another baseball-bat-eating noise from the kitchen. The dog, who apparently does not know how to win gracefully, has found another sweet potato, or possibly caused one to materialize from the Rift.]

Me, hauling chewed sweet potato parts from the mouth of a dog very reluctant to part with them: Oh my god how is this my life?
Dog: Don't you think it would just be easier to feed me?
Me: EVERYONE GO TO THE BEDROOM AND STAY THERE. EAT NOTHING.
Dog: Actually, I feel...um...not so good.
Dog: *throws up* *vomit is very bright orange*

[Unfortunate details ensue.]

Some time later:
Me, attempting to rescue something from the wreckage: So. What have we learned from this?
Dog: Sweet potatoes are yummy!
Other Dog, looking thoughtful: I should pay more attention to crunching noises. Sweet potatoes are probably yummy.
Me: I need a lobotomy.

moved to reply to Dumping article

Our local newpaper (the Oregonian) ran a Community Writers piece about animal abandonment. The title was "City Cousins, shelter is a better fate" and opened with, "City pet owners are lucky. Sure, they have to deal with neighbors and the nearest off-leash park may be miles away. But they have the advantage of getting to choose their pets. Then, some of those City Cousins dump their unwanted pets in the country."

http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianopinion/2008/05/the_dark_side_of_dumping_unwan.html

Her ending, “I wish someone would invent a sort of recycling system for these pets - oh, wait! That would be the Humane Society, wouldn't it? Why, I ask myself, does my City Cousin dump unwanted pets on a country road rather than taking the animal to the Humane Society? I'm not sure.”, made me stand up and be counted by writing a reply.

I was only allowed 150 words. There is a longer version from which this was distilled from below.

"Susan Clark’s May 11 letter asks why her “City Cousin dump[s] unwanted pets … rather than taking the animal to the Humane Society.” Here’s why.

Oregon Humane Society cannot be Ms. Clark’s “recycling system” because the job is too large. OHS requires appointments pre-surrender interviews, three to eight weeks out. It doesn’t accept every animal, telling many owners that if left, their animal will be euthanized.

The only local shelter accepting all pets is Washington County’s Bonnie Hays, which is small and often euthanizes pets for capacity reasons. Some small shelters and rescue organizations serve Portland, but these have waiting lists. County animal services only accept strays.

Many pet owners cannot keep their pets for reasons beyond their control. The current economy has increased demand for animal re-homing services.

Portland’s animal-welfare organizations do great work, but they need help, primarily through public education about responsible pet ownership and spaying/neutering."

I’ll let you know if it is published…

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Options for Animal Surrender: as more non-profit humane societies limit their admission there are fewer alternatives for owner-released pets.

Susan Clark’s letter of May 11 asks why her “City Cousin dump[s] unwanted pets on a country road rather than taking the animal to the Humane Society.” Here is why.

The “Humane Society” is not a single organization; it is many local organizations with some principles in common. In Oregon, the best-known humane society is Oregon Humane Society (“OHS”) in North Portland. OHS cannot fill the role of what Ms. Clark calls a “recycling system” by taking in pets surrendered by their owners, for placement in new homes. This job is too large for OHS’s capacity. For that reason, OHS does not accept every animal that owners seek to surrender. Instead it requires an appointment for an interview, typically three to eight weeks out. It does not accept every animal at the interview, instead telling many owners that their animal, if surrendered there, will be euthanized. OHS also requests a donation of $45 to $100 for each surrendered pet.

So, what alternatives does a pet owner have, if they cannot wait three to eight weeks or if OHS refuses to accept their pet for re-homing? The only local open-admission shelter (meaning it accepts all surrendered pets) is Bonnie Hays, in Washington County. This shelter charges $10 - $40 for surrendering a pet. Bonnie Hays is a small shelter, however, and if the incoming animals overwhelm its kennel space and it cannot place them in new homes as fast as they come in, they are euthanized. There are a few small shelters and breed-specific rescue organizations in the Portland region, but these usually have long waiting listing for surrendering a pet. And Multnomah County Animal Services (“MCAS”) does not accept owner-surrendered animals, only strays – and then, only if citizens bring them to the shelter. (Citizens interested in these issues can attend a series of public hearings in July with the City of Portland Animal Services Task Force, a temporary organization exploring the creation of an Animal Control agency for the city, separate from MCAS. For further information contact county commissioner Leonard or commissioner Wheeler’s offices.)

Many pet owners want to keep their pets, and often go to remarkable lengths to do so. Sometimes, however, they simply cannot. The circumstances I have outlined leave many pet owners – faced with eviction, entering prison, moving for a job, or helping out after the original owner’s death – with difficult choices. They may not be able to wait up to eight weeks for an interview, or they may have been told that OHS will not seek to re-home their pet. They may not be physically able to get to Bonnie Hays, or dread the certain death that faces many pets surrendered there. The current economic environment, especially, the surge in people leaving their homes (rented and owned) has noticeably exacerbated the demand for services to re-home these animals.

I do not mean in any way to demean any of the animal-welfare organizations in the Portland region; they do great work. However, their task is Sisyphean: it is more than they can hope to accomplish. They need all the help anyone can give them, but even more, they need public support in the form of education about responsible pet ownership, including spaying/neutering, basic veterinary care, and behavior modification. These can help turn the tide of pet over-population and the crime of animal abandonment.

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