Dogs

I’m going to drift away from technology and economics today and talk about another topic close to our hearts — the furry members of our families and the challenges they face.

Our Dogs

Cristi has often told me, “You can judge people by how they treat those less powerful.”   This has been a good guidepost for my behavior and has helped me in dealings with others.  She has also noted that our domesticated pets are the most powerless beings in our lives — we have created them to be dependent through centuries of breeding, and then, too often, we abuse their trust.

The plight of some senior dogs can be especially sad. Many older dogs have owners who become ill or can no longer care for them. These pets, who have been loved and pampered all their lives, end up in shelters. As seniors, they can be particularly hard to adopt out because they often have significant medical needs and require substantial and expensive vet care.

Cristi has gotten us involved in adopting senior rescue dogs. Old dogs are fantastic because they are calm, full of love, and happy to have a nice place to spend their remaining days. It is wonderful to have them in our lives, but it is also a little heartbreaking because they pass on too soon.

This year, we lost Ruby and Eddie.  Ruby came to us quite late in her life; she was a beautiful little terrier mix and very good-natured.   We didn’t have much time with her; she was fighting kidney disease from the day we got her, but she was a sweet part of the family.  

Eddie was the center of our pack. He came to us when he was about 10 and initially was very sad to leave his old owner behind. But he grew to love us, and we grew to love and depend on him. He loved life and always had a great spirit. He was very social and loved to meet other dogs at the park. His little body just finally wore out, and we miss him every day.  

But now we have added Angel to the pack.  She has only been here a couple of weeks and is still fitting in, but she seems to be an absolute sweetheart.  Oftentimes, rescue dogs will take 6 months to fit in as they are going through their mourning and loss.   But Angel seems to be adapting well.

Helping Rescues

Cristi has tracked down many organizations that are helping these dogs and are worth mentioning and supporting.  In the local area,  Old Dog Haven does a great job placing senior dogs.  Most importantly, they cover the vet costs for these senior dogs, making it possible for many more families to foster or adopt them.  PAWS and the Seattle Humane Society do great work.  Doney Coe Pet Clinic provides vet services for homeless and low-income families.

There are a large number of organizations that help place senior dogs and that help transport rescue dogs from areas of oversupply to areas that have a shortage of dogs — Wings of Rescue, Project Freedom Ride, Senior Dog Rescue of Oregon, Big Dog Rescue Ranch, Big Easy Animal Rescue, Healthy Hearts and Paws, and of course so many humane society branches — Kitsap County, Ross County, Tacoma and Pierce County, Lopez Island, Marion, Wyandot County, Licking County.

The internet has allowed all these organizations to reach potential adopters and schedule and coordinate delivery broadly. We have rescue dogs from Texas, California, and Oregon, with multiple organizations helping with the initial rescue, treatment, placement, and transportation. This wouldn’t be possible without reliable and fast internet connectivity.  Dog rescue is primarily about great people with great hearts — technology can amplify their efforts but not replace them.

Preventing Rescues

However, all these great rescue efforts and great people are not enough.  We have too many unwanted dogs and cats — there are hundreds of thousands euthanized every year in the US, pets that were loving and deserved a home and a life.   Too many people are recklessly breeding them, and the showdog industry encourages overbreeding.  And surgical sterilization is expensive and time-consuming — a nonsurgical method is needed; ACC&D is one organization supporting research, but we need more effort.  And even when the will and the funds are there to provide homes and spay/neuter solutions, sometimes corruption and mismanagement get in the way.

Dogs give us unconditional love – and we need to do more and better to deserve it.