Barbara~
I really admire your tenacity in trying to get to the bottom of this case, and in determining the best route for future injury cases.
I know this is coming out of left field, but this is the reason I PREACH spay and neuter. Hang with me...It will make sense..LOL
If we didn't have the over abundance of dogs and cats in the HS and shelters simply because of accidental pregnancy, then dogs like your fellow would have a fighting chance.
One possibility is raising funds for injured strays and EARMARKING those funds for stray dogs or cats that come in with injury.
I don't know the answer Barbara...but I am cheering ya on! I hope your kitties are feeling better soon hon.
Cindi
injured shepherd on Jurupa in Mira Loma / Pedley, California
-
Cindidoxiemom
- Posts: 1359
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:17 pm
- Location: Houston, Texas
Re: injured shepherd on Jurupa in Mira Loma / Pedley, Califo
I am not a vet; please consult your vet before making any treatment decisions.
Hunter IVDD Surgery x 2~Walking
Oscar IVDD Surgery x 1~ Paralyzed
Sage and Misty
Hunter IVDD Surgery x 2~Walking
Oscar IVDD Surgery x 1~ Paralyzed
Sage and Misty
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Barbara Boehmer
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:39 pm
Re: injured shepherd on Jurupa in Mira Loma / Pedley, Califo
I agree with what you are saying about spaying and neutering. That is part of the problem. Pets getting loose out of people's yards or trucks is another part of the problem. And not having a publicly funded means of immediate medical treatment, rather than euthanasia, for injured animals, like we do for people, is another part of the problem.
In my adult life, I have never owned an animal that had babies while I owned it. I have had every cat or dog I have owned spayed or neutered and encouraged others to do the same. Unfortunately some people won't listen. A former neighbor kept saying he was going to have his cats spayed and neutered. I kept bugging him about it and he kept sayiing he was going to get around to it. After some of the cats had two litters each, he said it would now be too expensive, so he wasn't going to spay or neuter any of them. I ended up getting his permission to take each one of them to my vet and having all of them vaccinated, spayed, and neutered, at great expense to me. There are currently low-cost vaccination, spay and neuter clinics available at various veterinary facilities and at animal control. For those who cannot even afford that, I recently found that there are some groups who may help with those fees. For example, the local discount pet food store that I shop at gave me the following information for a group that does that:
Pet Over Population Coalition (POPCO)
690 Humane Way
San Jacinto, CA 92582
1-877-447-6726 (1-877-44POPCO)
popcoatras@aol.com
I have already begun referring people, such as the new worker at the recycling center, who has assumed care of his mother's cats after she went into the hospital and another who has been feeding wild strays at her trailer park, but needs to figure out how to catch them first.
The dog that I found with the broken leg by the side of the road clearly got loose from somewhere. It had a broken collar with a broken leash attached to the collar, as if it had been tied up in a backyard or the back of a pickup or some such thing. It appeared young, well-bred, well-groomed, well fed, and very friendly, so it must have been well-cared for. I don't know if its owner knows what happened to it, but somebody is probably misisng him very much. Some people let their animals roam free deliberately and in some areas that may work, but not in crowded cities and suburbs with busy streets. The new next door neighbors have a fenced front and backyard and front and side gates, but they leave them all open, so their dog gets in and out whenever it pleases, and so do other people's dogs. There is a dog that lives down the street, but likes playing with the kids next door, so it gets loose every day and comes to their house. I have heard it barking at midnight and peeked outside and saw that it was going back and forth from their front porch to their back porch, barking like it expected the kids to come out and play at midnight. One of these days either of the dogs may get hit by a car. I hope not, but there is nothing I can do about it. At least I know where they live and who owns them. Some dogs are well-trained to stay in their own yard, even when the gates are open. The only time that I have complained to animal control is when one of the loose dogs is vicious and causing me a problem. I have had neighbors in the past, one with a wroughtweiler and one with a pit bull, that let their dogs run loose and they dug into other people's yards and killed other animals and chased people. I used to take a shovel with me to empty the trash or get the mail from the mailbox. I had an electronic gate put across my driveway, so that I can drive in, close the gate while I sit in the safety of my car, then get out and unload my groceries and such behind the closed gate. Unfortunately, the thing kept breaking and I need to fix it again. Animal control was of no help whatsoever, but that was years ago, so it was the old animal control. Back then, they told me that their policy was that they didn't respond to stray vicious dog calls even when it was known whose dog it was, until after a human was bitten. They said that there was no leash law at the time. I believe a lot has changed since then.
We pay taxes and such to ensure that there are enough funds for emergency treatment for indigent humans and firemen to put out fires and other emergency things. There should be funds for emergency services for animals as well. I know that in some cases, they tax specific things to provide funding for related things. If they want to tax pet food to fund emergency treatment for pets, that works for me. I know that there are many private organizations that donate money, resources, and so forth. Some places do it in such a manner that we, the consumers, are actually funding it, and they are just facilitating it in a convenient way. For example, if you get a Club Card at Ralph's grocery store and sign up for their pet club program, a certain percentage of the amount you spend on pet food and kitty litter and other pet products, gets donated to organizations that help animals. I just recently found out about that and signed up.
I do believe things are getting better, but there is still room for improvement. It sounds like we have it better around here than some places that others on this forum have described. Change is always slow. I think the hardest part for the average person is not knowing how to help make those changes happen. As individuals, we cannot take care of every injured animal we find by ourselves. We simply do not have the money, the time, the space, or the energy. I have taken care of a lot over the years, but now that I am retired, my funds, my energy, and my health are limited. I have lupus and an assortment of other minor problems, such as being anemic, hypothyroid, and having obstructive sleep apnea. My father, who had lupus and was having multiple organ failure because of it, was three years older than I am now when he died. He was alcoholic and smoked cigars and drank caffeinated beverages, but I don't drink alcohol or caffeine or smoke. Those things are bad enough by themselves, but are particuarly bad for people with lupus. I also try to avoid too much sun, which is bad for lupus. I expect that I will live longer than he did, because I have done better at avoiding such things that tend to trigger flare-ups, but I don't really know how long I will last, so as my animals gradually get old and die, I don't take in replacements anymore. I no longer have a horse or dogs or cockatiels, just a few senior cats. The last time I adopted a cat was nine years ago. I am just trying to outlive the few I have left, so that nobody is left homeless after I am gone. My father left me one elderly cat when he died.
My 21-year-old cat, who is hyperthyroid and having kidney and mobility and incontinence problems and has bad teeth, is doing very well on tapazole pills and lactated ringer's solution given subcutaneously, and canned science diet k/d food. A 21-year-old cat is like a 100-year-old human. She is too old to risk sedating her to clean her teeth or do anything else. The vet said she is one of the oldest cats they have ever seen. I have had her since October of 1985, when she looked about 3 months old, so I know how old she is. It is amazing that she is even alive and even more amazing that she still gets around as well as she does. She can still jump up and down off the couch. I have carpeted pet ramps for her, but when she tries to use them, she gets her claws caught in the carpeting, and gets stuck, so she prefers to jump. I may try some wooden steps without carpeting or some such thing.
My 16-year-old diabetic cat has been having a rough time of it lately. His blood glucose tests at the vet ranged from 30 to 409 after we had to switch to pzi vet insulin when they stopped making the humilin lente insulin that he did so well on for years. Because his glucose levels have gone up and down to dangerous levels so drastically, it has become critical that I learn to test at home and be able to test every morning and evening and anytime he doesn't look right. I have had a very difficult time learning to do so. I just did the first successful test Saturday morning. This morning was our fifth successful test. Sometimes it goes quick and easy and other times I have trouble getting him to hold still and getting blood and getting it on the test strip before he moves and splatters or smears it in the wrong place.
In addition to having access to the whole house, my cats have a safe outdoor enclosure 30 feet long by 18 feet wide by 6 feet high, with chain link on the sides and wire mesh top, and grass and plants, that they can get to through the kitty door in the back door any time they want, so they don't get hit by cars or attacked by dogs, so they live long lives, and I end up dealing with their old age problems. I have done well with providing quality life for my cats for periods beyond the expectations of the vet and expect that I will be similarly able to extend my own time beyond most expectations, but by how much I don't know. I believe I have been doing far better than most.
In my adult life, I have never owned an animal that had babies while I owned it. I have had every cat or dog I have owned spayed or neutered and encouraged others to do the same. Unfortunately some people won't listen. A former neighbor kept saying he was going to have his cats spayed and neutered. I kept bugging him about it and he kept sayiing he was going to get around to it. After some of the cats had two litters each, he said it would now be too expensive, so he wasn't going to spay or neuter any of them. I ended up getting his permission to take each one of them to my vet and having all of them vaccinated, spayed, and neutered, at great expense to me. There are currently low-cost vaccination, spay and neuter clinics available at various veterinary facilities and at animal control. For those who cannot even afford that, I recently found that there are some groups who may help with those fees. For example, the local discount pet food store that I shop at gave me the following information for a group that does that:
Pet Over Population Coalition (POPCO)
690 Humane Way
San Jacinto, CA 92582
1-877-447-6726 (1-877-44POPCO)
popcoatras@aol.com
I have already begun referring people, such as the new worker at the recycling center, who has assumed care of his mother's cats after she went into the hospital and another who has been feeding wild strays at her trailer park, but needs to figure out how to catch them first.
The dog that I found with the broken leg by the side of the road clearly got loose from somewhere. It had a broken collar with a broken leash attached to the collar, as if it had been tied up in a backyard or the back of a pickup or some such thing. It appeared young, well-bred, well-groomed, well fed, and very friendly, so it must have been well-cared for. I don't know if its owner knows what happened to it, but somebody is probably misisng him very much. Some people let their animals roam free deliberately and in some areas that may work, but not in crowded cities and suburbs with busy streets. The new next door neighbors have a fenced front and backyard and front and side gates, but they leave them all open, so their dog gets in and out whenever it pleases, and so do other people's dogs. There is a dog that lives down the street, but likes playing with the kids next door, so it gets loose every day and comes to their house. I have heard it barking at midnight and peeked outside and saw that it was going back and forth from their front porch to their back porch, barking like it expected the kids to come out and play at midnight. One of these days either of the dogs may get hit by a car. I hope not, but there is nothing I can do about it. At least I know where they live and who owns them. Some dogs are well-trained to stay in their own yard, even when the gates are open. The only time that I have complained to animal control is when one of the loose dogs is vicious and causing me a problem. I have had neighbors in the past, one with a wroughtweiler and one with a pit bull, that let their dogs run loose and they dug into other people's yards and killed other animals and chased people. I used to take a shovel with me to empty the trash or get the mail from the mailbox. I had an electronic gate put across my driveway, so that I can drive in, close the gate while I sit in the safety of my car, then get out and unload my groceries and such behind the closed gate. Unfortunately, the thing kept breaking and I need to fix it again. Animal control was of no help whatsoever, but that was years ago, so it was the old animal control. Back then, they told me that their policy was that they didn't respond to stray vicious dog calls even when it was known whose dog it was, until after a human was bitten. They said that there was no leash law at the time. I believe a lot has changed since then.
We pay taxes and such to ensure that there are enough funds for emergency treatment for indigent humans and firemen to put out fires and other emergency things. There should be funds for emergency services for animals as well. I know that in some cases, they tax specific things to provide funding for related things. If they want to tax pet food to fund emergency treatment for pets, that works for me. I know that there are many private organizations that donate money, resources, and so forth. Some places do it in such a manner that we, the consumers, are actually funding it, and they are just facilitating it in a convenient way. For example, if you get a Club Card at Ralph's grocery store and sign up for their pet club program, a certain percentage of the amount you spend on pet food and kitty litter and other pet products, gets donated to organizations that help animals. I just recently found out about that and signed up.
I do believe things are getting better, but there is still room for improvement. It sounds like we have it better around here than some places that others on this forum have described. Change is always slow. I think the hardest part for the average person is not knowing how to help make those changes happen. As individuals, we cannot take care of every injured animal we find by ourselves. We simply do not have the money, the time, the space, or the energy. I have taken care of a lot over the years, but now that I am retired, my funds, my energy, and my health are limited. I have lupus and an assortment of other minor problems, such as being anemic, hypothyroid, and having obstructive sleep apnea. My father, who had lupus and was having multiple organ failure because of it, was three years older than I am now when he died. He was alcoholic and smoked cigars and drank caffeinated beverages, but I don't drink alcohol or caffeine or smoke. Those things are bad enough by themselves, but are particuarly bad for people with lupus. I also try to avoid too much sun, which is bad for lupus. I expect that I will live longer than he did, because I have done better at avoiding such things that tend to trigger flare-ups, but I don't really know how long I will last, so as my animals gradually get old and die, I don't take in replacements anymore. I no longer have a horse or dogs or cockatiels, just a few senior cats. The last time I adopted a cat was nine years ago. I am just trying to outlive the few I have left, so that nobody is left homeless after I am gone. My father left me one elderly cat when he died.
My 21-year-old cat, who is hyperthyroid and having kidney and mobility and incontinence problems and has bad teeth, is doing very well on tapazole pills and lactated ringer's solution given subcutaneously, and canned science diet k/d food. A 21-year-old cat is like a 100-year-old human. She is too old to risk sedating her to clean her teeth or do anything else. The vet said she is one of the oldest cats they have ever seen. I have had her since October of 1985, when she looked about 3 months old, so I know how old she is. It is amazing that she is even alive and even more amazing that she still gets around as well as she does. She can still jump up and down off the couch. I have carpeted pet ramps for her, but when she tries to use them, she gets her claws caught in the carpeting, and gets stuck, so she prefers to jump. I may try some wooden steps without carpeting or some such thing.
My 16-year-old diabetic cat has been having a rough time of it lately. His blood glucose tests at the vet ranged from 30 to 409 after we had to switch to pzi vet insulin when they stopped making the humilin lente insulin that he did so well on for years. Because his glucose levels have gone up and down to dangerous levels so drastically, it has become critical that I learn to test at home and be able to test every morning and evening and anytime he doesn't look right. I have had a very difficult time learning to do so. I just did the first successful test Saturday morning. This morning was our fifth successful test. Sometimes it goes quick and easy and other times I have trouble getting him to hold still and getting blood and getting it on the test strip before he moves and splatters or smears it in the wrong place.
In addition to having access to the whole house, my cats have a safe outdoor enclosure 30 feet long by 18 feet wide by 6 feet high, with chain link on the sides and wire mesh top, and grass and plants, that they can get to through the kitty door in the back door any time they want, so they don't get hit by cars or attacked by dogs, so they live long lives, and I end up dealing with their old age problems. I have done well with providing quality life for my cats for periods beyond the expectations of the vet and expect that I will be similarly able to extend my own time beyond most expectations, but by how much I don't know. I believe I have been doing far better than most.
Barbara Boehmer (not a veterinarian, just a fellow pet owner)
-
Barbara Boehmer
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:39 pm
Re: injured shepherd on Jurupa in Mira Loma / Pedley, Califo
I finally got a call back from the humane society. They said that they are purely an adoption agency and do not accept injured animals. They said that there is no place to take an injured found animal for emergency treatment at public expense. However, they did have some good information and a good idea, which is now my plan. They said that I would need to take it to my own vet, pay for it myself, and find someone to adopt it myself, if I could not find an owner and could not keep it myself. However, they said that I might be able to obtain some financial reimbursement afterwards from one of the following organizations:
Actors and Others for Animals: (818) 755-6045
Animal League Assistance: (714) 978-7387
Mercy Crusade: (818) 597-2926
Pet Assistance: (877) 772-9738
So that is my tentative plan, in the event of a future similar situation. I still think it is terrible that animal control kills injured animals without even attempting to locate the owner. Somebody could go to work in the morning, their pet could get out of their yard and get injured and before they get home from work or even go to lunch, animal control could have already killed it.
Actors and Others for Animals: (818) 755-6045
Animal League Assistance: (714) 978-7387
Mercy Crusade: (818) 597-2926
Pet Assistance: (877) 772-9738
So that is my tentative plan, in the event of a future similar situation. I still think it is terrible that animal control kills injured animals without even attempting to locate the owner. Somebody could go to work in the morning, their pet could get out of their yard and get injured and before they get home from work or even go to lunch, animal control could have already killed it.
Barbara Boehmer (not a veterinarian, just a fellow pet owner)