Poor economy = more abused, abandoned dogs
This week I was honored to have photographer Melissa McDaniel spend some time at my home in Arizona. She’s on the road helping raise awareness of animal rescue and deaf dog rescue in America.
We first met on Twitter. Melissa graciously allowed me to re-post her blog comments and photos following a trip to the Humane Society of Arizona. (Don’t read it if you’re squeamish!). She doesn’t just tell stories: she offers tips as to how you and I can help these vulnerable creatures.
Lessons from the Road, by Melissa McDaniel of The Photo Book Projects: Animal Rescue in America and Deaf Dog Rescue
Many of you have been writing to ask how life on the road is. Well, after 5 weeks, I can honestly say, it’s awesome. When I was a child, I was always either a cat or a gypsy for Halloween. I think the transient life suits me. I love meeting new people, especially people passionate about their dogs.
I’ve met families with their dogs, pet boutique owners, shelter workers, and spent today with the officers of Phoenix animal cops. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Everyone has been very passionate about their part to play in educating the public about problems facing pets and animal rescuers. It all keeps me going, keeps me focused on the role I’m playing to help educate the public and help raise money for these shelters and rescue groups that are doing amazing work, often with little or no praise for the important job they are doing to help save animals every day.
At the Humane Society of Arizona today, there were many tragic stories, which make me wonder how the shelter’s employees can find the energy to go to work every day. There was a cat who had no front paws because the owner’s friend had wrapped rubberbands around the cat’s ankles so tightly that the paws had lost circulation, wasted away and fell off.
There were six dogs who had been seized in an abuse case. They had been chained up in the yard of an abandoned house. Many of the dogs were coated in mud with infected wounds, ears and eyes. This was very difficult to look at, but nothing prepared me for the airedale who had been beaten to death with a hammer by a burglar. The dog’s body stiff from rigor mortis, his head coated in dried blood.
I have been visiting shelters in every state, meeting with low-kill and no-kill shelters to discuss the problems they are dealing with. Every place I go, it is the same story…number one reasons for dog relinquishment to shelters - foreclosure, moving, divorce, etc….never anything to do with the dog or the dog’s behavior. The pets are simply victims of their owners’ circumstances and are nothing short of innocent victims.
The other story that is consistent in every shelter across the country - the economy is keeping the numbers of animals in shelters up and the numbers of donations down.
So what can you do?
1- The next time some someone tells you they want to buy a dog from a store, or the next time someone says they don’t want a shelter dog because shelter dogs are dropped off there for a reason, let them know the facts. Dogs in shelters don’t deserve to be there. There are thousands of wonderful dogs in shelters who need a good home. If you buy a dog, you are taking away a home from a shelter dog - a dog who might be running out of options.
2- Donate to your local shelter. They are already underfunded and understaffed, but due to the bad economy, donations are down and the numbers of homeless pets are up due to foreclosure and the owners’ inability to afford their pets. The shelters need your money more than ever. If you have just $25 to give, consider donating to your local shelter today, so they can continue to help animals like the six seized dogs and the abused cat who I met at the shelter this morning in Phoenix.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for being a part of the solution!
All of the dogs in this post are up for adoption at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For more information, visit their website.