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Our First Priority

The most important priority in government service is to protect the public.  Yet this priority is forgotten with today’s public policies.  Even today, we still encounter folks who want to defund those hired to watch our backs.  Opening our borders was such a mistake at a time when we have diminished police protection.

We are experiencing the same thing in our profession: saving animals’ lives overrides keeping people safe.   The worst of this, I experienced in Virginia.  Animal rescue groups would lie to potential adopters about aggressive traits in the dogs they had for adoption.

I was constantly battling staff, volunteers, and even my board of directors about adopting potentially dangerous dogs.  The problem became so widespread that the Commonwealth of Virginia was forced to write laws making it illegal for animal rescue groups to hide past behavior problems with dogs for adoption.  It is a sad day when you are safer buying an animal from the newspaper than getting it from your local animal shelter.

Today’s politics lead to anxiousness.  I was fortunate, I have always felt that God had my back.  Looking back, I realize how difficult it would have been to do the right thing without my faith.  The world does not have the answers, but the solution is only a whisper away.

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Jurisdictional Chess

Jurisdictions play a chess game in which they push their problems onto other jurisdictions.  It started years ago when dealing with dangerous dogs.  Judges would demand that dangerous dogs be removed from their jurisdiction without thought that they were pushing the problem onto another jurisdiction.  They could effectively solve the problem in their community by putting another community at risk.

I remember working in Jacksonville where our homeless population was growing because “Northern States” would give their homeless a bus ticket to Jacksonville; after all, wouldn’t the homeless enjoy the better weather in Florida?

Instead of dealing with our Country’s illegal immigrant problem, we are bussing them all over the country.  Texas is bussing them to Denver and Denver turns around and buses them to Salt Lake City.  Like dangerous dogs, no one wants them, so they are just passed to the next unsuspecting jurisdiction.

I feel bad that our profession played a hand in causing this mentality of not taking care of our own problems.

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Worrying

Three dogs were attacking people in a Roy Utah park.   The three dogs were a Border Collie mix, a Lab mix, and an Aussie mix.  In rural communities, dogs are not generally killed for attacking people, but most rural communities have laws that allow dogs to be killed for “worrying” livestock.

Utah Code 18.3 states, “Any person may injure or kill a dog while: 1) the dog is attacking, chasing, or worrying: a) a domestic animal having commercial value, b) a service animal, or c) any species of hoofed protective wildlife.”

So these three dogs didn’t risk being shot until the dogs moved on from attacking people to “worrying” a neighboring horse.  Don’t get excited, none of the dogs were killed, but one dog was shot with a bean bag round.  All three dogs were captured, with the help of the dog’s owner.  But the notion of shooting the dogs only rises to the occasion of the dogs chasing a horse.

I find these rural animal control codes interesting in that we overlook the actions of dogs biting people and concern ourselves with what is going on in the minds of a herd of cattle.  It isn’t as if you can get a written statement from a cow before you shoot the dog that has entered the cow’s domain.  I think the intent of this law is to catch a dog in the commission of engaging in an attack on cattle, but it goes on to include much more.

If a rancher decided to shoot a dog that was found in the pasture of his (or her) cows, no proof of an attack would be needed because worrying a cow is not a physical action.  Even a dog wanting to play with a cow would likely cause the cow to worry.

I’ve experienced plenty of dogs rushing at me in which I could not determine the dog’s body language to know the dog’s intent.  I have had more than my share of worrying.  This is one of the biggest problems with dog owners: not considering the mindset of the people around them.  They give no thought to people being worried about their dog’s unruly behavior.  It isn’t until the dog bites someone that the dog’s owner is pulled out of his or her stupidity.

 

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Two Types of Volunteers to Avoid

Every group of volunteers has two types you should avoid: Karens and Barbaras.   Karens are the ones who demand that you do everything their way and Barbaras are the ones that want to take credit for everything that you do.

It is easy to get frustrated with these volunteers, but once you see them as who they are, it is much easier to deal with them.

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Dog Bite Prevention

6,000 Letter Carriers are bitten by dogs each year.  Why?  Because dogs feel like they are invincible against the Carriers.  Every day a Carrier comes to their door to deliver mail, the dog barks at the Carrier, and the Carrier leaves.  In the dog’s mind, the dog believes that his (or her) barking has frightened away an intruder.  Day after day, the dog is further convinced of being invincible and their aggression increases with each return of that intruder who is taunting the dog.  In the dog’s mind, that intruder is begging to be bitten.

Receiving mail is an important part of our everyday lives.  Dog owners who want to continue receiving their mail should take a critical look at their dog’s behavior to determine if their dog presents a risk to their Letter Carrier.

As an animal control professional, I saw that when the USPS stopped mail delivery it was the most effective way to control loose dogs in a neighborhood.  In recent years, Letter Carriers have been encouraged to sue dog owners when they are bitten.  Lawsuits are an effective way to educate people.

The best prevention is to separate the dog from the carrier.  It’s pretty darn simple.  Lawsuits are simply an effective way to end stupidity.

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Owner Requested Euthanasia

I was recently reading an article in which a woman surrendered her dog to her local animal shelter expecting the shelter to euthanize her dog. She later discovered that her dog was still alive and had been adopted into another home. Feeling cheated, she demanded the return of her dog.

Animals are considered property, so an owner has the right to kill their pet, as long as it is done humanely. Over the years, I encountered so many lame excuses from owner deciding to euthanize their pet that I changed our policies. I got tired of hearing those lame reasons and decided someone had to act on behalf of the animals.  I decided that I could not allow pet owners to make that decision.  I won’t euthanize an animal based on their reasoning skills but felt I must use my own.  As such, I changed our policies to require any animal up for euthanasia should be the property of the animal shelter.

Sometimes it is just obvious when an animal comes through our doors that the animal needs to be euthanized. I have seen many animals that were kept long after when it should have been done and more than once I considered charging the owner with animal cruelty. If the owner has asked to be present when the animal is euthanized, I consider the animal’s condition and the competency of the person performing the euthanasia.

I make it very clear that my organization doesn’t do owner-requested euthanasia. When an owner surrenders their pet to me, it becomes mine. I decide its final fate. If I decide that the animal has been well cared for and is now in need of euthanasia; I will see that it is performed as soon as possible. If the owner wants to be present, I’ll remind them that we are euthanizing my animal and not theirs. They can always go to their own veterinarian to have “their” animal killed. But, again, if they have been good owners and I have competent staff working in the euthanasia room, I may consider allowing them to be with the animal during its’ last moment.

Let’s face it, I have had outstanding people who were a wiz at performing euthanasia, but I would never allow them to EVER talk to an owner during this sensitive time. Hell, I’ve had staff that I tried to keep from ever talking to anyone. Some people are good with animals but fail horribly being around people.

Some of the feedback on this article had many people feeling that the shelter was wrong to not euthanize the dog and even demanded that the dog be returned back to the previous owner. My response, if it had happened in my shelter, when she surrendered her dog to me, that it isn’t her dog anymore. She signed the dog over to me. I’m now the owner. I will make the decision that I think is best for the animal and if she ever came into my shelter to adopt, I would probably turn her down. I know, I know, I am a public employee whose job is to serve the people. So….. fire me!

For the most part, we public servants have to serve people, but there is a balance that must be kept and we sometimes have to stand up for the animals when they fall into the hands of stupid people. As they say, “I’m sorry if my commonsense has offended you!”

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Veterinary Colleges

In this morning’s new paper, I read that one of our colleges is opening a veterinary school. I thought to myself, “What a wonderful opportunity for the local animal shelter.”

I started my career in animal welfare in Pullman Washington. I could not have picked a better place to start. I was living in Idaho and earning my Wildlife Resources degree when I took the job in Pullman. The City of Pullman used to pull their Animal Control Officers from the students attending the Veterinary College at Washington State University. My background as a military working dog handler gave me a boost into the position.

The Veterinary College and I developed a close working relationship. They needed my help in dealing with abandoned pets and assisting them in making the difficult decision of euthanizing an animal. I got a lot in return.

The College had a problem with people delivering their pets to them for treatment and then abandoning their pets when they got their bill for services. I accepted those animals. Frequently, strays were brought to them that required extensive treatment. Without an owner present, I would aid the College’s veterinarians in deciding to save the animal or euthanize it. In this manner, I helped relieve them of the liability in making that decision.

In return, they would provide the training that I required. I worked with their Head of Ornithology to learn how to capture and handle birds of prey. They taught me how to use chemicals in the capture of animals. My experience was so great, that in the first years that the National Animal Control Association began offering an annual training conference, they did so in Pullman so that they could teach nationally the things that I was learning locally.

Throughout my career, I had the opportunity to work with colleges. In Fairfax County, I worked with a college that trained veterinary technicians and they incorporated much of their study time with hands-on training at the shelter. In Alachua County, I worked with Florida State University where veterinary students would provide hands-on training once a week at the shelter. It is a natural fit for veterinary students to work at their local shelter. A wise shelter director will aid them in seeing that fit.

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Transgenderism in Animals

After writing the last blog, it dawned on me that researching the impact of transgender animals in animal shelters might be another source of alternative income. Hey, don’t laugh. Google it! Others are writing articles as to transgenderism isn’t just a human thing. Just think about the confusion we would experience in regendering all of the animals in our animal shelters. This notion is so stupid that it deserves further research. This is your chance to be on the cutting edge of Woke Research. The idea is so stupid that you’ll probably find people begging to fund your study. Hell, they might even fund your entire budget.

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Alternative Funding

Let’s face it, animal sheltering budgets are among the lowest priorities for government funding. It is incumbent upon animal shelters to seek other funding sources. One funding source that seems to be unlimited is research on climate change. A smart animal shelter director would approach government sources to explore the impact of pet food intake on methane production. The idea is to test various pet foods to see which ones would give pets the least amount of gas. Granted, you and I know that the results would be inconclusive, but that is basically the same results that other climate researchers find anyway. If money is going to be wasted, it might as well be wasted on feeding your shelter’s animals.

One word of caution, stay away from pet sterilization research. If the Woke learned that we are sterilizing animals without their consent, we would be in a sh*t storm of outrage. People would claim that we are attacking an animal’s reproductive rights. So let’s keep that a secret because if we were forced to allow animals to maintain their reproductive state, we would only be forced into killing more animals after they are born.

I know, I know, I should have thought up this stuff years ago and not waited until after I retired; but, I suppose if I had broached this years ago, I would have been forced to retire much earlier. The world has become a much crazier place and I think now is the time to allow one crazy idea to take its place with the rest of the crazy ideas out there.

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Universal Safe Word

I don’t know what triggers dreams; this one I suppose was caused by a jury notice that I received, that triggered a backflash to a previous jury selection that I once sat on. In this dream, I was being questioned as a jury select and asked, “Can a woman say ‘no” and not mean it?”

I responded “It doesn’t matter. ‘No’ is a universal safe word that means no. It isn’t up to the man to determine the truth of the statement, it is a word that should cause the man to do everything in his power to stop what is happening. ‘No’ is a very powerful word and it can turn an act of passion into an act of rape.”

This was a very powerful dream for me; otherwise, I would not have placed it here. Any man who doesn’t honor this simple word should have his member cut off. If a man violates this trust, you know how I’ll rule on your jury.