Prejudice against handicapped pets?

[SilviaGTO]

Who has encountered this?

I often take my neuro kitty to petsmart. I put his bed in a cart and he curls up in it, and has a field day watching the fish and the birds. Not to mention plenty of people pet him and he loves the attention.

I do get the people that ask, "how does your cat stay in the cart?!"
After explanation I usually get two responses "aww, what a good person you are to care for such an animal"
OR
"thats horrible! no animal should have to live like that! poor thing!"
and
"why didnt you have him euthanized?"

Those past two questions infuriate me to no end. Instead of telling them off however, I end up standing there educating them for about a good 20 minutes. Most of the time theyre actually willing to listen so I feel better, but if I get the look at the watch routine, ill just simply tell them, If he wasnt a happy loving cat, I wouldnt keep him around unfairly.

A lot of my husbands friends think hes a freak show to laugh at and giggle their behinds off constantly when they see him which promptly gets a "stop it or leave" type of comment.


So my question is, what prejudices have you encountered, if any, for having a disabled pet? How do you deal with them?

[Cindidoxiemom]

When they see Oscar in his cart I get ,"Awwwwww how cute"...Ummmm My dog is paralyzed...I don't consider that cute! Now Oscar is cute as a button, but how stupid is it to say that being in a cart is "CUTE". Duhhhhh

I too have been told my dog and I are both FREAKS ! Nice huh? Oh well....I try not to let it bother me. I figure they are either too ignorant to understand, or they don't love animals the way I do, so I pitty them.

Hugs,
Cindi

[Dianne]

Do you remember the movie, "Babe" where the small dog is in a wheelchair? The kids all thought it was ~cute/funny~ also.

Now that I have a dog in a wheelchair, I don't think it's cute anymore. It's just a happy dog.

There will always be ignorant people. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to educate them.

Dianne

[connie]

oh yes, i have encountered that so much . my own family was the worse. people would say, oh poor little thing. and that was while he was running all over the yard. this dog is in no pain, is healthy, happy as could possibly be. you know the ones who never say anything like poor thing or how can you be so cruel to keep him going? my elderly that i care for on my job. i take him for visits to their homes and they adore him, spoil him rotten. i truly believe he gives them some of his fighting spirit, makes them fight harder to keep their health going. one man wouldn't try to walk after his stroke, after visits from cricket , he is actually doing so now.!! i have discovered that no one would take him if something happened to me tho. so i have told everyone that if i was to go, i want him put to sleep and layed with me, i will take him to heaven with me.
my vet has told me that it was sad he had to be paralyzed, but if it was to be, she was glad it happened to me, because no one could else she knew could do what i do and smile about it.
i took that as a complement. yes, he not perfect, but i tell everyone "what would you do if it was a family member, would you toss them away? i had a father that was brain damaged from 7 strokes, he layed in nursing home on feeding tube for years, but did i abandened him? no, and i will never give up on this boy of mine. the kind of love i receive from this little dog is remarkable, he is grateful for everything, unlike most humans who complain over little aches and pain. our handicapped pets have overcome so much, i for one will shout it out how perfect they are to me.!!
they can call him cute, cause he is, but he gets mad if you call him cripple. lol he growls. lol. he thinks he is just like other dogs. (well not really) i haven't broken the news to him yet that he is not just a little boy with fur. lol lol.
so let people stare, make comments, WE know , We care,
and i believe we are blessed to have these SPECIAL PETS in our lifes to care for. i for one get back as much love as i give.
god bless you all and your fur babies, your all special , and in god's eyes so our our pets!.
hugs,
connie
and a slurp from the fur boy cricket

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

You better believe it! My vet's tech chewed me out for not putting AllicksBlindPup down and putting resources towards HEALTHY animals. I said, SHE'S BLIND! She's not sick!

[dogfox]

Connie, your comments are very thoughtful and caring. I agree completely.
Dan, Stevie ( Blind Aussie), Sonja ( Deaf Spitz mix), and Skippy ( three legged Sheltie)

[SilviaGTO]

You better believe it! My vet's tech chewed me out for not putting AllicksBlindPup down and putting resources towards HEALTHY animals. I said, SHE'S BLIND! She's not sick!

ugh! I would never tell a client to put an animal down because they were blind.. good grief.

[demelza81]

It's quite disheartening when people disciminate against a pet just because it's "different" or "not normal". While two of our cats have distinct disabilities (Sweetie's is her back legs, while Lucky has a condition our vet called 'fishribs' at the time), we also have three polydactyl kitties.

I'm not sure if anyone else has found it...but for us, most people who love cats (almost as much as we do in our family), they are fascinated by these cats of ours and the things about them that make them so unique....

Where as, we get family and friends over, most of which "like" cats, or strongly dislike them...and some of the things they say just make you want to tear your hear out. My dad's side of the family are less accepting of their differences, where's on my mum's side they always ask after them, make sure they're doing okay and all.

The saddest statements are definitely when we're asked why do we keep them when they're 'like that'. People also make assumptions to us that 'they've got to be hard to look to look after' and 'why would you want to do that?'.

Handicapped pets are just as loving, if not more so, than pets without defects....and they really just tug at the strings of your heart; what's not to love about them?

[stacybinnj]

So far I've had the opposite reaction. I sometimes take Purrfect with me to adoptions so that he can help create awareness about special needs cats. usually he's sleeping on his fluffy turquoise pillow and he's wearing a sparkly scrunchy collar and his cage is decorated with tassles and beads. People come up and ooh and ahh over him then read his story. Since he's laying there, you can't always tell that he's missing his legs unless you look closely. People get to see Purrfect first before they see his disability. Sometimes I get a "poor thing" but when I explain how happy he is, they all want to pet him. You can tell they like him and they are looking at him first and his disability second. Last weekend, there was a lady who was actually SCARED of cats. She says she hasn't touched a cat in 20 years. She pet Purrfect and then thanked me. He really touched her inside. Fancy doesn't get to see many people other than those that come over but when people do, they immediately fall in love with her. She's very angelic. I have never met anyone who has been able to resist her. They can see how happy she is.

I hope I never encounter any negativity towards my animals. My vet LOVES my special needs babies. Her whole office does too. But I'm lucky. There are lots of people who think that I'm wasting foster space and resources on disabled cats where there are lots of "healthy" ones out there. I'm blessed though to have the people around me that I do.

[sunspirit]

I hadn't thought of the possibility of people making unkind comments about my differently abled companion until I saw a similar message earlier on the forum somewhere. So far I have been fortunate not to get those comments but now I am prepared for them.

It's a great opportunity to inform people about the quality lives our furbabies have in spite of their difficulties. I know of a breeder on another forum who was the first one who suggested Tucker might have hemivertebrae. She had a pug puppy with it and euthanized him several years ago when he became paralyzed. She said she was not told of all the options available for therapy or living a happy healthy life with paralysis. I know the specialist didn't give me any therapy advice - just told me where to get a wheelchair (which I was already planning to do when I realized he would most likely be paralyzed). This breeder also shows puts and offers lots of advice to people on many pug issues and has been reading my journey with Tucker with interest. She now has new information to share and I'm happy about that. I feel like by informing just that one person, I can make a difference in many differently abled pugs (and other dogs/cats) lives in the future.

I'm one of those people who think my dog looks cute in his wheelchair. I think it is also a walking advertisement for a happy dog living with a disability. Fortunately he doesn't have to use it all the time, the therapies I have been giving him are keeping him on his feet.

I am so happy this site and forum is here. I have been telling people about it when they are faced with similar issues. I am also going to talk to my vet about it today when I go see her. I'll be informing the specialist too. They just need to know there are places we can go that will give us information and most of all HOPE!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Stacy, that is what it is all about EDUCATION & RESCUE!
We do a booth at Petsmart (and will resume as soon as Mr. Highway 170 ((PHoenix)) goes to 2nd foster if I can find one!) which is rescue & education on the breeding of merle to merle. Poeple are FASCINATED with these miracle deafblindpups! And my new veterinary hospital told me when I brought in a feral kitten, not to come in lessn I brought in my lethal whites too! They love them lethals!

[SandyNY]

The comments from people sometimes seems down right stupid or mean. but the worse was the vet. the vet who bit her tongue each time i brought in a snotty kitty or Baby Clyde with another ailment. She tried really hard to not show her true feeling about BC and how truely stupid and horrible a person I was for keeping him and the other furballs alive. ( BC is a cat with a few abnormalities: he has a cloudy eye which he can see thru, he had some bladder stones and a bout of intestinal problem, he has had frequent head colds/ sinus/ allergies) But this vet lost it when I arrived with a dog in a wheelchair. While she agreed that the dog was in NO pain or discomfort and was otherwise happy and healthy, the fact that i would make this poor dog live without the use of his back legs sent her off the deep end.
You have to sit down with your friends and a bottle of Jack Daniels - come up with some really good comebacks and one liners to have in your handbag should the need arise. Then, when you are happily walking your cart dog and someone goof says "hey, why don't you put that poor dog to sleep?" you snub your nose in the air and say :"you mean you aren't up on the latest fashions? how absolutely droll!!" and march off with your nose snubbed high. Or you can always use the one about " at least my dog isn't ugly like you." or
" A dog with two legs I don't mind. now if he had your face, I would take him out back and shoot him."
"Poor dog? My dog lives better than you!"

[Zorro]

Hi everyone! Well, I'm a registered nurse who has cared for handicapped people for 20 years. Many uninformed people make comments to me about my patients saying, "it would have been kinder if they had died."

The idea of using euthanasia as a way to end suffering began in the animal world years ago, and now it's moved into the human medical arena as a way to deal with suffering. The confusion arises because most people think that both people and animals are "suffering" if they're disabled. Unless there are acute medical complications from the disability, they're not.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised if we are considered "mean" because we help our animal companions live a full life with disabilities. But, friends, get ready for an uphill battle on this issue as euthanasia becomes more readily acceptable in the future.

That's why this website is so important!!!

[stacybinnj]

Well I can tell you that Fancy and Purrfect are NOT suffering. They are two of the happiest little cats you will ever meet. They deserve life just as much as a non-handicapped cat does.