Animal Welfare Movement

Sometime last night my domain host received a request to change my website’s password; the request came from an IP address in Moscow.  Several years ago, this website was hacked and a malicious software file was added.  Fortunately, I paid the extra bucks to have my website routinely scanned.  But, I realized that they were able to access the site through my password.  I admit that my password was weak at that time.

In the latest attempt at hacking this site, they came across a much stronger password and attempt to get my hosts to change the password.  Of course, my host is not stupid.

I can think of no benefit of hacking my website; it carries no secrets.  In fact, I pretty freely speak my mind.  So, with our current administration’s lack of will to go after hackers; the hackers are now free to use a shotgun approach to hacking.  They will just hack anyone and everyone.

Now is the time for your to review the strength of your passwords.  And hope that there is a special place in hell for cybercriminals.  I’d also like to add spammers to that list as well.  Don’t forget to constantly scan your work and personal computers for spyware as well.  China seems to want to know everything about us.

A half of a (my) lifetime ago, we entered an era that changed the way that dogs behaved. The harsh methods of training our dogs turned from disciplining our dogs when they did something wrong to rewarding them for when they did something right. Many people just didn’t do anything to control their dog’s behavior and thus started the golden age of animal control.

Because owners did not play a role in stopping their dogs from becoming a menace to society, animal courts started becoming a big thing. More and more disputes divided neighbors. These same techniques parents applied to their children.

Spanking children in public places for disruptive behavior became frowned upon and eventually, we stopped disciplining them at all. At the same time, video games entered the stage and kids would rather play games than joining the Boy or Girl Scouts.

Scouting was a necessary step in child development. Scouting taught children to rely on themselves and to leave the world a better place.

That era of bad parenting turned out undisciplined dogs and children. Many of the dogs were later turn into animal shelters and the children turn to protesting. They could turn their violent gameplay into real-life looting and damaging property and people.

We can only thank ourselves for how things turned out.

Most shelters have a price list for charging fees for the animals that they routinely adopt from their shelter; but, on a rare occasion, an animal come into the shelter that isn’t on the fee schedule. Usually, the animal is an exotic bird or reptile.

Over the years, I discovered that the easiest way to determine the fee to adopt an animal is one-half of the market value. When you are ready to adopt the animals, you call three local suppliers that sell the animal and then charge one-half of the average of those three vendors.

The problem that you face is that pet stores are disappearing and getting three estimates is becoming harder. Fortunately, you have the internet to help you determine the fee. Keep in mind that other factors enter in as to the health or condition of the animal that will decrease the animal’s fee. If the prospective adopter is going to face large veterinary fees, you might consider decreasing the fee to allow for the cost of owning the animal.

When it comes to exotic animals, you need to consider the skill that is necessary to care for the animal. You should not adopt to anyone who comes into the shelter on a whim to adopt an exotic animal; and, of course, you should not adopt wild or venomous species AT ALL.

I came across an old photo of my wife playing with a litter of foster puppies. The photo reminded me of one of the joyful hazards of working in an animal shelter. I was a sucker for taking foster animals home. Based on the number of photos that I found, I am reminded of the large part they played in my life.

The animals are the reason that many of us get into the animal welfare profession, but our contact with people seems to overshadow that during shelter hours. It was so nice to come home to my foster children.

It is too easy to get caught up with the “work” of animal welfare, but by living as a foster family, you never forget why you are doing what you are doing. If you ever get overwhelmed, find an animal to cuddle with.

Even on a good day, the animal welfare profession is volatile. I’ve seen videos of animal control officers having a dog sicced on them as they approached the front steps. In another incident, an officer spoke with the owner, on his front porch, concerning an issue with his dog and he calmly walked back into his house and blew his brains out. Those were issues from years ago. People today have much shorter fuses.

Portland Oregon is a good example that people have been raging for such a long time that they don’t know how to stop. The greatest worry that we have as animal control officers is looking like a police officer. Police officer are being shot just for doing their jobs.

I’ve always said, “People are looking for an opportunity to express their rage.” That is truer than ever before. It has become increasingly more important for our employees who work with the public to avoid alterations. Today, minor altercations seem to lead to violent attacks. Be aware of the tools you have available to you to protect yourself. If you don’t carry pepper spray, now is a good time to start. You are likely to get into less trouble by using pepper spray than using your catchpole to protect yourself from another person.

If you don’t feel right about a situation, always keep in mind that you can walk away.