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Thursday, July 31, 2008

ADDIE: Take the pet test: If ou can afford a maid ...

posted by BOFarrell at 9h36

by Huntley Addie

Driving up north, near Lachute, traffic slows due to construction. The passenger door opens of the car in front and, without even stopping, a collie is shoved out into the wild.
A Shih Tzu is tied to a pole, and the little baggy of food is empty when two Tim Horton’s employees finally decide enough is enough. For close to 36 hours they were witness to the fact that the owner is just not coming back.
Now that the golden retriever is no longer a puppy, the impulse family purchase has lost its charm. The dog sits alone in a small cage as the family carries on outside.
On her own initiative, the maid brings the dog to the vet. She admits how she can’t comfortably sit by any more. The dog is whimpering constantly and can’t seem to walk properly. The muscles in its legs have atrophied due to neglect and, as the dog is now overweight, it can no longer walk, let alone run, as it used to.
The whimpering, however, is due to an acute ear infection.
“It may cost a pretty penny, but we can take care of it,” the veterinarian says.
The maid replies, “Please, take care of the dog and don’t give it back to them.”
sss
Our 14-year-old cat has been having some problems of late. He’s diabetic and recently came down with congestive heart failure, a touch of pneumonia and, to top it all, a little urinary tract infection.
This is not due to caging, nor neglect, nor our lack of means. It’s just that he’s getting old.
Speaking of means, we are lucky enough to be able to afford the care and choose to do so for our little buddy. Some might criticize our choices, but for us, the choice is simple. There is none.
When we first got our two cats, we signed on for the long haul. Their presence, in sickness and in health, has been the gift and we would not trade a day away. Through the best of times to the pill-pushing, urine-soaking, vomit-cleaning, subcutaneous-injection poor times, our “boys” are family.
However, after being to the vet (albeit a little too regularly) recently, we have seen and heard stories of cruelty and abhorrent treatment of animals. It has been enough to make me gag with hairball-in-the-windpipe-like vigour.
Gerdy Gouron, who, since 1993, has been running a rescue and animal adoption organization (go to www.gerdysrescue.org) gladly spoke with me about cruelty to animals. Gerdy’s perspective is that the laws in place to punish those who mistreat animals are so relatively weak that those who would do it blatantly enough to get caught aren’t overly worried about the consequences of their actions.
She feels that it’s all about education. And she is not averse to pointing her finger toward the pet stores.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a parent say to their child: ‘If you don’t take better care of your dog, we’ll just take it back!” Gerdy said. “It doesn’t work that way.”
First of all, the “it” is an animal, not just a thing.
Retail stores often give a gift receipt so that if a size is off, or the colour or style is not favourable, the thing can be returned to the store. But this cannot be the way it works with animals.
Never, ever, give a pet to another as a gift.
Not without some serious thought at least. And this is where the pet stores are to blame. With their wonderful window dressing, and oh-so-cute kittens and puppies, at toddler touch distance, “Daddy, I wanna puppy!” wins out over common sense and decency a little too often.
The next thing you know, the family pet is tied to a pole, left in a cage or pushed out of a car on the way to the spa.
Of course, this is not always the case. It is a comparative few who make the sale or purchase with intentional cruelty. It is simply that this all feeds a corrupt system often hushed in too many circles.
Anyone who treats a pet as just a thing is fueling a system that supports mistreatment. Before you purchase a pet, test yourself and all involved to make sure you’re informed and ready.
After all, if you can afford a maid….

Huntley Addie is an English and journalism teacher at John Rennie High School.