Photo: waterrose/Flickr

Jessica Alpert

It’s getting closer to the holidays and folks around the city are pulling together to remember the special cats, dogs, horses, hamsters, fishes (shall I go on?) of the Boston area.  Make sure you do your part, too.  Whether it’s attending an MSPCA event or cooking up a homemade doggie treat, you know your actions mean a lot to the critters.

Boston Zest recently shared the blogging stage with the MSPCA’s Brian Adams.  Besides a bake sale, the MSPCA is offering various events over the next few weeks to help raise funds for the organization.  Check out the options HERE.

The Animal Rescue Site is so fantastic.  Many of you web-ites probably know about it but just in case, I’m putting another link HERE. Click once a day to donate food (at NO cost to you) for homeless animals.  There is also a special challenge going on right now that allows you to vote for your favorite local shelter. The winner will receive $100,000 towards improving their services.

Now what about taking a break from your vigorous pie-baking regimen to create some treats for your animals? Here are some great horse/bird/dog recipes from the What’s Cooking Blog.

Only have time to think about animals during your commute?  Download this Radio Boston broadcast on DOGS (really…..DOGS) and be prepared to be amazed by the information we found (from fun tidbits to serious public policy issues).  No JOKE.

Have a local tidbit/event/idea for us?  Tweet us @jessprk and @pubradiokitchen.

Pumpkin here! Nice to meet you!   I am a one-year old beautiful long haired calico female cat who is looking for a great new home!  I came to MSPCA after a Good
Samaritan took me in when I wondering the streets of Jamaica Plain. The staff here can’t believe that anyone let me out of their sights!  I am really friendly and greet visitors with cute chirps and belly rolls!  I enjoy human companionship and really hope that I can get a new family before the holidays!  Please give me a nice warm place to snuggle in and maybe I’ll even help you unwrap some presents this year!

If you’re interested in adopting Pumpkin, please contact the Boston MSPCA.

MSPCA Boston

Animal Care and Adoption Center

350 South Huntington Avenue

(617) 522-5055  www.mspca.org/boston

I realized after posting yesterday’s discussion of kill shelters, that it would be remiss of me not to clarify some of the MSPCA’s policies and practices. I may have mistakenly given the impression that they euthanize aggressive and weak/ill animals as a matter of course but, actually, the MSPCA is notable for doing the opposite. The full title of the Boston branch is MSPCA Angell, the latter part referring to Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, one of the most acclaimed animal hospitals in the United States. They employ not only a plethora of full time veterinarians, but an array of specialists, who work in such (animal-focused) fields as cancer, ophthalmology, nutrition and neurology.

Bailey, just one cat successfully adopted from the MSPCA. He and his dog companion were surrendered together.

Of course, Angell is a full service animal hospital for paying customers, but they are also quite notable for offering 100% free health care to animals in dire need. When the shelter side of the MSPCA finds an animal that has been abused, burned, run over, etc. etc. there is a fund (Spike’s fund, among others) that takes care of their medical expenses, and over the years, Angell and the other medical facilities across the state (the MSPCA has three care centers) have performed innovative and life-saving procedures on direly wounded animals who have then been fostered and adopted to loving homes. I hope I did not give the impression yesterday that unless an animal is healthy, sociable and perfect they will be put down. Let me share some of the MSPCA’s amazing stories of saving animals who may have otherwise been considered a lost cause.

– most recently is Jonah, a blind puppy who was abandoned at a supermarket. Jonah needed surgery to relieve build up in his brain, a side effect of his congenital condition. The MSPCA has performed multiple surgeries on Jonah since his discovery in October, and in inbetween procedures has been in foster care. All reports indicate that, while he will be blind for life, he is a playful puppy who will be able to live a full life. Once he is fully recovered, an adoptive family will be sought.

– at the beginning of 2009, Angell repaired a ruptured eye in a Boston terrier puppy, who was one of several puppies confiscated in a neglect case (which touches on the point of breeders and the deplorable conditions their puppies are in). Later, when Lefty was experiencing difficulty swallowing, they performed open chest surgery to repair the damage. This is just another wonderful example of an abandoned animal with serious medical demands whom the MSPCA treated with expensive surgeries, followed by foster care and finally adoption.

– one story that isn’t on the website but I recall personally, is that of Trucker, a six month old kitten who was badly burned in a fire. I am fuzzy on the exact details, but she got her name in relation to the accident — I believe she was asleep in a truck/under a truck that caught fire. A Good Samaritan rescued Trucker from the blaze and brought her to the MSPCA, where she immediately received care for her wounds. She took a lot of the damage on her ears and neck, and those places were bare of fur, but she was a sweet, inquisitive kitten who stayed in the adoption center while she recovered. She was adopted after about a month, and from what I hear is very happy

– also there is poor Hope, a calico kitten around whose neck some horrible person had wound a rubber band, which embedded itself in Hope’s skin and caused severe injury.  The MSPCA determined that Hope was abandoned at some point AFTER her condition was apparent, and she may have been a victim of purposeful abuse. She was given treatment, recovered in foster care, and was adopted.

– other horrible things done to cats just in 2008 include being thrown out a window, cooked in a microwave, set on fire, put in a cloth bag which was knotted and left on the highway, and being beaten with a frying pan. All of these cats were brought to the MSPCA, treated and have since been adopted.

Also, here is a wrap-up of animals who were rescued and rehabilitated in 2007 and 2008.   Reading these stories of immense cruelty to animals and then how the MSPCA saved them brings tears to my eyes. It’s painful, of course, to think of all the poor animals who don’t have a happy ending, but so many do, who otherwise might have been written off as lost causes. Not at the MSPCA. They do everything in their power to help animals who have either been born with severe conditions, or become injured due to neglect or abuse.

Domingos came to the MSPCA in May 2008. He had skin & food allergies and his fur was dirty and matted. He photographs poorly due to his skin condition, but he's an intensely sweet cat with a monster purr! Domingos was eventually moved to foster care due to shelter anxiety, and was FINALLY succesfully adopted in October 2009! Even if it takes 1 year and 5 months, the MSPCA won't give up on a great cat!

And then, of course, there are the special needs animals, who get equal opportunity to find forever homes. You will often see cats on the adoption floor who have diabetes, food allergies, feline leukemia, anxiety disorders and histories of abuse, all of which require very special adoptive families. In some cases these animals aren’t on the adoption floor but live with foster families — especially those cats with anxiety disorders (who don’t fare well in the multiple cat shelter environment). In every case, the MSPCA employees and volunteers work hard to find above-average families who are ready, willing and able to handle the animals’ special needs requirements. Just because an animal will need expensive dietary or medical supplies, or daily injections or months of gentle rehabilitation, doesn’t mean they aren’t “adoptable.” I think that’s where I was a little too general in my last post. Adoptable has a broad meaning at the MSPCA.

If anyone is reading this and lives in the Boston metro area, please consider adoption! Or if it is not an option for you at this time, the MSPCA is great about welcoming new volunteers. When I was doing my initial research, I found it was the only Boston-metro shelter that made it relatively easy to get involved. Many others had waitlists or “no open time slots” for volunteers, which I found crazy. If you can help, in any way, whether it’s socializing animals, helping families find the right pets for them, clean cages, walk dogs, etc. — they can use your help!!!

And of course, you can always donate, in lieu of adopting or volunteering (or in addition to it!).

*please note that the pictures in this post are some I took while volunteering at the MSPCA, of cats up for adoption. Unfortunately I do not have ready access to high-resolution images of cats who have been rehabilitated by the shelter, though I will check my archives to see if I have a photo of Trucker. Taking photos of adoptable animals at the MSPCA is just one of many volunteer opportunities offered at the shelter XD

Boston's MSPCA is based in Jamaica Plain

This weekend, during my weekly volunteer shift at the MSPCA (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), I overheard a conversation between a couple surrendering their pitbull and an MSPCA employee that really got my goat. Animal rights, specifically of the humane treatment of domestic animals (and less of the rabid PETA kind), are close to my heart. I’m a shamefully text book cat lady, to boot — it is the felines of this world for whom I particularly pine. I love dogs, too, but with the exception of pitbulls, you don’t see dogs clogging our nation’s shelters, carelessly discarded by humans too selfish to care for them properly, or even get them fixed so they don’t continue to over-populate.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Animal rights is a multi-faceted issue about which I feel very passionate. I haven’t written about it before now because I couldn’t find a way into it that wouldn’t lead to a massive, meandering rant. My focus today is at the heart of the shelter debate: sometimes it is necessary for a shelter to put animals to sleep. The one thing people always ask me about when I share my volunteer efforts with them is “do they euthanize?”. Yes, they do. And I am proud to volunteer at a shelter who sometimes makes the difficult, but humane decision regarding animals.

Here is the jist of what I overheard on Sunday:
Couple giving up pitbull: “Wait, you mean you kill animals here?”
MSPCA employee: “Oh, yes, sorry. I thought you would have done some research before deciding to bring them here. We do a behavioral assessment of all animals to determine their adoptability.”
Couple giving up pitbull: “Will you call us if you can’t find a home for him?”
MSPCA employee: “Yes, of course we can do that.”
Couple giving up pitbull: “And if you’re going to kill him, could we take him back?”
MSPCA employee: “Honestly if that’s how you feel, we’d prefer you don’t give him up in the first place…”

It’s an all-too-common sight at places like the MSPCA. People decide they don’t want their pet anymore, and live in a dream world where they think they can just drop them off at the shelter, they’ll find a new home, and live happily ever after. Who wants to feel guilty when they give up their pet? The reality is, there are far more homeless animals then there are people willing to adopt them, and there are far fewer spaces at the shelters for them than there are animals in need. It’s a gruesome equation, and with the exception of a small handful of “no kill” shelters and animal havens (which, fun fact, are often the center of ASPCA raids for animal neglect), most shelters have to put down animals, on a regular basis.

Before you start ranting and raving about how horrible that is, and how could they DO that?!?!, here’s another fun fact: noble as they are, most “no kill” shelters, when they are full or they find someone has dumped an “unadoptable” animal at their doorstep, will simply drop them off at kill shelters like the MSPCA. No kill shelters have the luxury of saying no to an animal. Large shelters like the MSPCA (and their other SPCA cousins across the country), have an “open door” policy — if there is an animal in need, whether it be a stray, a feral cat, a surrender or what have you, they will take it. They may not have the space — or the animal may not have the health or temperament — for long-term adoption prospects, but they will take them in and see that they find a humane end, whether it be a permanent home or, sometimes, euthanasia, rather than have the animal die on the streets, or suffer at the hands of an abusive owner. I’ve even seen the Animal Rescue League drop off its extras at the MSPCA!

And in the last year, due in large part to this nasty recession, the MSPCA had to shut down three of its seven shelters, state wide. Yet, again due to the recession, animal surrender numbers have gone sky-high — there was a 120% increase in surrendered kittens in summer 2009. And that’s kittens — I imagine the numbers of adult cats was even worse. There are more animals than ever, and people surrendering them for the most ridiculous reasons (that will be the topic of another post), and less space than ever to put them in. It’s a losing game.

That is the reality: shelters have to put down animals. They don’t enjoy it, trust me. It’s not nice, or fun, and I assure you the people who work directly with these animals feel as much if not MORE pain than you do when it comes down to it. When you’ve cared for an animal but find that, despite your best efforts, no other solution can be found, it is painful. I’ve observed the amazing individuals who work at the MSPCA over the past year and a half and they care more for these animals than any individual I’ve seen ranting and raving on a forum — or in person — about how kill shelters are “wrong.” They care more about animals than anyone else, but they realize the limitations of reality, and that’s there’s only so much they can do in the face of others’ selfish acts and stupidity.

Which brings me to the sad story of Oreo, a one-year-old pitbull mix who was thrown from a 6th floor of a Brooklyn rooftop by her owner’s cruel boyfriend. The story made national headlines, and a particularly big ripple among animal advocates following the ASPCA’s efforts against animal cruelty. Oreo became the poster puppy, so to speak, for unspeakable acts of violence against defenseless animals (she was also beaten), who despite all odds survive. Sadly, Oreo was put to sleep last week, and the ASPCA spoke out in a statement here.

The sad jist of it: Oreo had been so traumatized by her abusive beginnings that she had become dangerously aggressive. After much pained consideration, the ASPCA determined that she would never live a happy or fulfilled life, as she was unable to safely interact with people or other animals, and they put her to sleep. This is the kind of difficult decision that shelters make all the time, and they are too often demonized for it. But sometimes the most humane decision for an animal who has been the victim of stupid, careless and selfish human beings is to humanely put them to sleep, instead of letting them live a miserable life. It is more common than you think that animals become aggressive or prohibitively scared and timid due to poor training and treatment.

And at the end of the day, that is what is usually the case: stupid, careless, selfish human beings put millions of animals into situations where they are abused, under-fed, under-socialized, over-bred, or just unwanted. The base of the pet problem, and shelters even having to euthanize animals, is the actions of human beings, and specifically their not spaying and neutering their animals. But that, to be honest, is a huge topic for another day!

So I know its controversial, but animal advocates and shelters are not the enemy. They work tirelessly to care for unwanted animals, and to take preventative measures so that the problem gets better, not worse. Yes, I volunteer at a so-called “kill shelter.” And I love every minute of working there, doing my best to reduce the stress of the poor animals, and make every effort to find them good homes.

This is just the first of several posts I’ll make over time, discussing some of the prevalent issues in animal welfare in the United States. Humane euthanasia is the end-point for many sad stories. I want to talk about some of the reasons, too, and of course what we can do to fix it.

[Massachusetts/Boston, Estados Unidos] [La crueldad e insensibilidad humana parece no tener límites. Campaña para impedir que se siga extrayendo las cuerdas vocales a perros y gatos]. Lo leímos en la página web de Care2, y lo traduje:

Usa Tu Voz por los Perros, para Que Puedan Conservar la Suya. Campaña contra la desvocalización, o la extirpación de las cuerdas vocales. Probablemente no son pocos los que aprecian un poco de paz y tranquilidad de vez en cuando, pero hay algunos que llegan al extremo de desvocalizar a sus mascotas para conseguirlo.
La desvocalización es una intervención quirúrgica menor con un alto riesgo de complicaciones que utiliza sea una aproximación oral, o una laringotomía que resulta esencialmente en cortar o remover las cuerdas vocales de un animal, un polémico procedimiento que muchos veterinarios se niegan a realizar.
“Un corte en los tejidos en la parte de atrás de la garganta es unas de las cosas más dolorosas que existen. Muchas veces el perro tiene que ser operado nuevamente porque la membrana vuelve a crecer. No es bueno para el perro. Es sólo bueno para la gente”, dice el doctor Nicholas Dodman, profesor de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria Cummings de la Universidad Tufts y renombrado psicólogo animal.
Ese tipo de intervención rápida no hace nada para fomentar la tenencia responsable de mascotas entre la gente, y es un modo fácil de producir modificaciones de la conducta.
Mientras que algunos de los que están a favor de esta “operación de conveniencia” alegan que esta puede ayudar a animales que de otro modo terminarían en refugios debido a sus ladridos. Sin embargo, los perros desvocalizados siguen terminando en refugios y podrían encontrar más dificultades a la hora de encontrar un nuevo hogar adoptivo, porque algunos encuentran los resuellos y sonidos guturales que emiten cuando están operados todavía más bizarros e irritantes que los ladridos.
Una vez desvocalizados, los perros pierden su capacidad de comunicarse y socializar normalmente, lo que puede producir frustración y provocar problemas de conducta, aparte de hacerlos potencialmente peligrosos para personas que se quedan sin la capacidad de observar los avisos cuando los canes están irritados.
La Animal Law Coalition (ALC) ha presentado un proyecto de ley -la Ley de Prohibición de la Desvocalización de Perros y Gatos (H.B. 344)-, patrocinado por la representante Lida Harkings que penaliza la desvocalización de perros y gatos en Massachusetts, a menos que se haga por razones médicas.
Este desarrollo es la consecuencia de una campaña ciudadana iniciada por Jordan Star, un chico de quince miembro de Care2 que presentó el proyecto con la ayuda de la Coalición de Protección y Rescate de Mascotas. Star, que trabajó en un proyecto de ley para prohibir el alquiler de mascotas en Massachusetts, dijo que “[el proyecto] se convirtió en algo mucho más importante” de lo que había imaginado y que desde entonces ha recibido el apoyo del senador del estado Scott Brown, además de otros legisladores.
El proyecto de ley también es apoyado por organizaciones como la Sociedad Protectora de Animales, la Asociación Médico-Veterinaria, el Centro Médico Animal Angell, la Coalición Jurídica Animal, la Liga de Rescate Animal, la Sociedad Protectora Amigos de los Perros, el Refugio Animal Marbleahead, MassPAWS y la MSPCA, entre otras.
Si te preguntas quiénes podrían estar a favor de la desvocalización, la respuesta es que son los sospechosos de siempre.
De acuerdo a la ALC, “desvocalizar o silenciar permite actividades ilegales asociadas con perros y gatos: Los dueños que tratan de eludir las restricciones sobre la tenencia a mascotas, las leyes de ruidos molestos y de licencia de perros, pueden simplemente querer extraer las cuerdas vocales de los perros. Todavía peor son los criaderos comerciales que ocultan de este modo la cantidad de perros y gatos que mantienen y las misérrimas condiciones de su crianza, que recurren a la desvocalización quirúrgica. Esta, o el silenciamiento, permite albergar a perros sin ser detectados. También los tenedores de perros de pelea utilizan la desvocalización para evitar delatar sus actividades criminales”.
Para más información visita la página web de Animal Law Coalition.
Si vives en Massachusetts, ponte en contacto con los legisladores del estado y pídeles que apoyen la Ley de Prohibición de la Desvocalización de Perros y Gatos patrocinada por Lida Harkins.
[Alicia Graef]
[22 de junio de 2009]
[©care2]

Kitten Dropped in Mailbox Adopted by Postal Worker

Monday, June 22, 2009
AP

AP – A two-pound, eight-week-old kitten that was dropped Friday June 12, 2009 in a public mailbox and later …

BOSTON — A New Hampshire postal worker is getting his own special delivery.

Postal employee George Knapp and Dani-Jean Stuart have adopted the two-pound, 8-week-old kitten that was dropped in a public mailbox in Boston.

The MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center says Stuart directed a television news segment about the kitten, which the organization dubbed “Postina.”

A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier found the kitty earlier this month amid dozens of envelopes and packages. She likely was stuffed through the mailbox’s small opening and dropped several feet onto the mail below.

Animal abandonment in Massachusetts is punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and 5 years in prison.

Kitten dropped, discovered in Boston city mailbox

BOSTON – Officials said a two-pound, eight-week-old kitten was dropped in a public mailbox in Boston and later found unharmed among envelopes and packages. According to the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center, the kitten they’re calling “Postina” likely was stuffed Friday through a small opening of the mailbox and dropped several feet below.

A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier discovered Postina on Saturday during a scheduled afternoon pick-up.

The MSPCA is offering Postina for adoption after several days of nourishment and a round of vaccinations.

Animal abandonment in Massachusetts is punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and 5 years in prison.

The MSPCA said there has been a 48 percent increase in pet owners citing financial reasons for surrendering their pets.

Source

By Ross Dallas

A bill to allow more effective means of capturing and eliminating coyotes that threaten Massachusetts residents will soon make its way to a committee and receive a date for a public hearing.

The bill, re-filed this year, would amend a law that restricts leg hold traps. That law, however, provides exceptions for trapping beavers and muskrats which present an imminent threat to public safety. The bill would create a similar exception for coyotes.

Rep. William G. Greene, Jr., the bill’s sponsor, proposed the legislation in 2007. He said the restriction of leg hold traps hinders animal control officers’ ability to deal with rabid coyotes. When dangerous coyotes are reported, Greene said, officers spend too much time hunting the animal.

“In one incident they spent several days hunting an animal with rifles,” Greene said, “whereas if they were able to put out a trap, they would have been able to catch it in one night.”

But the bill faces opposition from organizations like the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a non-profit animal protection group.

Linda Heubner, MSPCA deputy director of advocacy, said the legislation could cause cruel trapping of innocent animals. Leg hold traps, she said, are unnecessary.

“They’re indiscriminate,” she said. “They’re inhumane.”

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are also opposed to the bill. Ryan Hauling, a PETA coordinator, said in an e-mail that any legislation allowing the killing or inhumane trapping of wild coyotes is cruel. He said the state should choose “compassionate” solutions to coyote problems over “cruel” ones.

But there is support for the bill in the scientific community. Laura Hajduk, a furbearer biologist for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, does extensive research on coyotes in the Bay State. She said traps for dangerous coyotes aren’t needed often because there are so few rabid coyotes. In the 50 years since coyotes first appeared in the Massachusetts, there were three attacks on humans, two from rabid coyotes. Between 1992 and 2007, nearly 3,000 raccoons tested positive for rabies in Massachusetts, according to a MassWildlife study. In the same span, only 10 coyotes in the commonwealth tested positive for rabies.

“It’s an extremely, extremely rare event,” Hajduk said.

Greene said that while coyote attacks are uncommon, it’s still important to prevent them.

“It doesn’t happen often,” he said, “but when it does happen it’s best to be aware that there are solutions, rather than just allowing the animal to run around.”

Researchers could benefit from the proposed law, Hajduk said, because it would repeal bans on certain traps for legitimate scientific studies. The box traps now used are problematic because coyotes must become acclimated to the trap for several weeks before they walk in.

Cathleen Ellis, a wildlife enthusiast and blogger from Cape Cod, said she supports legislation that helps eliminate aggressive coyotes. She said her friend, who lives in Bournedale, lost his dog to a pack of coyotes.

Ellis said overpopulation is a nuisance to people and other animals. She supports traps which enable research that helps control the population.

“I don’t think it should be ignored any longer,” she said.

Greene said he’s received several “nasty phone calls” from people saying his proposed legislation is cruel.

“It’s discouraging,” he said. “Some people have more concern for wild animals than they do for little kids.”

Greene opposed the original legislation to ban leg hold traps, which passed through a ballot referendum in 1996. The box traps, he said, don’t provide a better solution for dealing with dangerous animals. He said the method used now involves the animal sitting in an enclosed box overnight until an officer comes in the next day.

“The trapper shows up and beats it to death with a stick,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of logic here, it’s all gut feel.”

I am privileged to be owned by formerly homeless dogs, both now and in the past. At eighteen, I found a stray puppy of no particular breed. On a mid winter twilight just after a snowstorm, I took a less traveled route home from the drugstore after buying my father his evening newspaper. In the middle of the barely shoveled sidewalk stood a puppy that looked like a fox that mysteriously seemed to be waiting for me. I bent down to pat her, and she let me. There were no tags on her red collar and she was cold. I had always wanted a dog named Jeff, but my mother refused to let me have any pet except parakeets and simple fish. 

“Hi Jeff,” I said to the puppy and tapped my coat for her to follow. She did and I was very happy. Even my mother liked her after a search for her owners found nothing, and tales on the street the next day where I found her told about a puppy being thrown out of a passing car. Jeff turned out to be a female, but the name stayed. So did she until her 14th birthday. By then I was married and had young children. We buried her in a solemn ceremony in the back yard. For years after I stood at her grave and cried when no one was looking. It was a perfect match, a perfect adoption. In the saddest of times, Jeff comforted me. In the happiest times she jumped like a kangaroo in shared glee. She was a gift to three generations of my family. Even my grandfather, who thought that dogs were “dirty” grew to love her. When he died, Jeff licked away my tears. 

Weeks after Jeff died, I felt that universal “hole in my heart,” followed by a sudden feeling that I “must” get to the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

I didn’t know why, but it felt like an emergency as I drove there and rushed in. Walking between the rows of caged dogs that waited for either a home or execution, I saw a truly funny looking mixed breed pup, all white with a brown eye patch. He looked so wise and sad that it startled me. The attendant opened the cage, and the dog sprang into my arms. I was adopted. He looked like the dog in “Lady and the Tramp,” and I said, “Hi Tramp.”

I took him home. The next day he woke up coughing and very ill. The vet said, “He has puppy bronchitis. If you didn’t adopt him yesterday, the shelter would have destroyed him today.” Antibiotics, a vaporizer, soft blankets and love helped him recover. He lived to be fifteen years old. I held him as the vet ended his suffering and wept.

A few weeks later my youngest daughter, Sara, who was born after Tramp adopted me, cried, “Mommy, we are dogless!” Another shelter trip while Sara was in school, and Brownie the sweet mutt adopted me. She’s 13 now, fifty pounds, a silk black coat, white vest, golden trim, one white paw, and full of vitality.

When Brownie was 4, I was newly divorced, and Sara and I were sad. Her older sister was married, and her older brother was at graduate school. To soothe ourselves, each week we visited one of the many shelters near us to play with the dogs. 

Late one December afternoon, a gentle gold lab and beagle mix puppy sat in her cage looking downward and wretched. We walked by, stopped, then stepped back. Hannah looked up and, with one look, adopted us with her eyes. Sara held her in the back seat as we drove home. It felt so good. 

Years of days after that have been sweeter because of Brownie and Hannah, even the bad days, sad days, sick days, angry days, heart breaking days. Brownie was a stray and was brought to the shelter after the legal ten days at the dog pound. Unknown owners gave up Hannah and took a risk because she would have been destroyed if not adopted. 

Shelters are filled with wonderful dogs and cats. Animals that may be dangerous are not put up for adoption. Brownie and Hannah are safe, but countless other dogs (and cats) languish in shelters, cramped in cages with little social contact, waiting for either a forever home or euthanasia. Other animals are fortunate enough to be in no-kill shelters. Some are superb, like Best Friends in southern Utah (bestfriends.org). Others are adequate or minimal. Human volunteers bless all shelters. But they can only visit.

At night the lights go out and these social, feeling, potential blessings to humans are alone and waiting. Unfortunately, even some no-kill shelters must destroy dogs and cats to make room for the endless flow of new ones. Fortunately, there are new programs between shelters, and dedicated volunteers transport the animals to less crowded facilities to save lives (Humane Society of the United States). Still, thousands are killed. Some of the dead are adult dogs, trained and appreciative, who would have been loving companions. All were destroyed for one reason or another as they waited for someone to come to take them home. 

Sometimes I think it may be a pleasure to add a third dog to the house. If that day comes, the new one will be only from a shelter, or from a rescue organization for specific breeds (petfinder.com is an excellent source). On one of our shelter visiting trips, Sara and I wanted to buy the silly poster in the waiting area of the MSPCA, but none were for sale. It showed a bright-eyed dog that clearly had the genes of many breeds. The caption: “Can’t decide what kind of dog to get? Why not get them all and adopt me!” Oh yes, I surely will!

A woman from California has been wanting to open up a pet renting business and lots of people thought that this was not a very good idea. There was a letter writing campaign to state officials and it was reported that the House voted yesterday to ban this type of business. It is currently awaiting a vote by the Senate. Let’s hope they side with the House vote.

This from the MSPCA website: “The bill would prohibit the practice of renting pets in Massachusetts. Recent news of a company, FlexPetz, coming to Boston has prompted concerns among people who care about animals. The MSPCA has been working with The Coalition to Prohibit the Renting of Pets to pass this bill.”

Renting pets is a bad idea for any number of reasons. For more information, visit the mspca website at http://www.mspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=flexpets

From The Boston Channel – A Tibetan Lama will bless critically ill cats, including an animal that was allegedly placed in a microwave, at MSPCA-Angell Boston Tuesday.

Three of the animals to be blessed by Lama Gursam are enduring severe medical trauma. Zorro survived a South Boston apartment fire last week and is continuing to heal at Angell Animal Medical Center.

Newton arrived at Angell following a three-story fall. The young kitten, not more than 6 weeks old, was surrendered to the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center battered and bruised.

Edison, a 6-week-old kitten, was brought to Angell after allegedly being placed in a microwave and cooked. Upon examination, adoption center veterinarians found that his wounds are relative to those of being placed in an operating microwave that was then turned on.

Edison’s life-threatening injuries range from the loss of half of his tail — to be removed through surgery and possibly the entire tail in the upcoming days — burns to his legs and ears, including a dime sized hole on one ear and the possible need to amputate both, as well as blisters on his tongue. Edison’s case is currently under investigation by the MSPCA’s Law Enforcement Department.

The Lama’s visit comes during the busy adoption center season when many animals, especially cats, are in need of new families and the non-profit’s resources are stretched.

The Lama is currently on a tour of the northeastern United States and specifically requested a visit to the MSPCA-Angell to bless the animals following several incidents while teaching in Asia.

Donations are being accepted through the MSPCA-Angell’s General Fund to cover the cost of care of Newton and Edison, a considerable amount of Zorro’s care, as well as the thousands of additional animals cared for by the nonprofit annually.

To donate please click here. Mailed donations are also being accepted and should be sent to: MSPCA-Angell General Fund, Zorro, Newton and Edison, 350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130.

The MSPCA is asking the public to contact its Law Enforcement Department with any information regarding Edison’s case at 800-628-5808.

Pets enrich our lives in so many ways, that it seems strange to criticize a company that helps people who can’t have a pet full-time feel the joy of pet companionship. Yet when I look at Flex Petz critically, I can’t help but think the company’s product isn’t one that I support.

The company, which operates out of New York, L.A., and London, rents pets to people who want the joy of spending time with a dog, without the commitment (and hassle) of actually taking the dog home. According to the company’s website, many of the dogs are rescued from shelters; without Flex Petz, one could logically conclude, these animals may have faced far worse plights.

Except… I find myself thinking that these pets aren’t getting the loving homes they deserve; they are getting passed around from person to person. While I’m sure Flex Petz members have the best interests of the pets at heart, I can’t help but think that at the end of the day, pets aren’t like a video game or a Frisbee, something to be played with and then set aside. As the MSPCA in Boston so eloquently put it, “The practice of renting pets treats dogs and cats as commodities and is not something that is consistent with society’s views toward our ‘best friends.’”

The MSPCA isn’t the only organization in MA that doesn’t like the idea of renting pets. A proposed house bill would prohibit the renting of pets in the commonwealth (Flex Petz has plans to open a Boston branch this year). Supporters of House Bill 4753 can visit the  MSPCA’s website to find more info on how to make their voices heard.