Well, it’s all good now.  My companion and I are all snuggled up together on the big couch.  It has to be a big couch because he is a really big boy.  This happy story is about how I found my companion.  You may find some of these points helpful.

A few months ago I retired from my job of many years.  For awhile I was busy with farewell parties and lunches out with friends and relatives.  But soon the retirement activities slowed and my little house got very quiet.  Oh, there were still outings from time to time, but in between times, most of the time when I’m home alone, it is very quiet, even sometimes lonely.  So it came to me that I needed a full-time companion, a 24-hour buddy.

After some consideration, it came to me that a pet would be ideal.  I have always enjoyed animals but for most of my life have not had the time or place to host one.  Now it seemed to be just the right thing.  I began to look into the possibilities and a dog, a nice cuddly dog, came to mind.  I began to search about for where to find the right one.  Like so many prospective dog owners, my first idea was a cuddly little puppy.  I could be it’s first mommy and it would have special love for me because I was the only one.

I soon found my way to a shelter for puppies and dogs needing a home.  The caretaker was very kind and helpful.  I explained to her my desire for a puppy companion.  She smiled and said “They’re all cute when they’re little, but also a lot of work.”  Next we went to the area where the dogs were kept.  So many!  All sizes, all ages, pure and mixed breeds!  For a moment I wanted to take them all home with me to my empty house.  How could I decide? 

At that moment I felt my gaze drawn to the back of the room where a large, handsome male stood staring at me.  I motioned for him to come over to me.  He came immediately and rested his head on my knee.  You know my heart melted.  He was a beautiful dog, but obviously older with grey around the muzzle.  “How does an older dog like this come to be in a shelter?” I asked.  The caretaker sighed and said that older dogs are brought there for many reasons.  This dog and many others are brought here because their owners “age-out” on them.  How sad that an older person will adopt a puppy or young dog not thinking that the owner may die before the dog.  So when their original companion leaves suddenly, often there is no one else to care for the dog and they end up here where, because of their age they may be more difficult to adopt out.  This is a shame because they are often the most loving and best trained.  And certainly they seem to appreciate a second chance at a loving home more than most.

As I signed the papers to take him home to my no-longer-to-be-empty house, I said to him “Well, you’re an old boy and I’m an old girl, so I think we’ll get along together famously” … and so we have.

Thoughts from an Old Dog – reasons to take us home:

1.  Older (preowned) dogs can actually love and appreciate a new companion more.  We can compare your loving care with a previous home.

2.  Older dogs likely have good manners.  Most of us know not to counter-surf, and to do our business out of doors.  We are also likely to know a lot of cute tricks like SIT, STAY, DOWN, FETCH, and so on.  This saves a new owner lots of training time.

3.  Older dogs, unlike the youngsters, do not so much feel the need to swagger about demonstrating their “macho.”

4. Older dogs, like older folks, are unlikely to want to charge about making a disturbance.  Cat, squirrel, and bird chasing are much reduced.

5. Finally, older dogs love to eat, to chew on things, but mostly food.  We’re not too much interested in pillows or chair legs.

So you can see why we’re more fun and less trouble!!!

This story is dedicated to all the brave, marvelous people who adopt old dogs.

Last Walk

This story is about love, love that carries through death. Oh, it’s not a story about romantic love. There are plenty of those. This is a story about an unselfish love. This is a story about love that accepts unconditionally and asks for nothing. This is a story about the love between a rescuer and the last dogs she saves.

Margaret was an old woman who loved dogs. She loved big dogs and small dogs, short-haired dogs and long-haired dogs, quiet dogs and not-so-quiet dogs. She loved puppies, too. But what Margaret loved the most were old dogs. You know, the ones who sleep a lot and maybe can’t see so well any more. They’re the ones who hang back when the treats and pets are being given out because they have a little arthritis or aren’t so sure on their legs. They don’t want the other dogs to bump them or even knock them over. They’re the dogs who might have trouble eating hard food but try anyway. You know those dogs.

Some people want puppies or young dogs with strong legs to go up stairs or jump on beds. Margaret loved those dogs too. But, maybe because Margaret was old or maybe because she was just such a caring person, she had a soft spot for old dogs. She used to say that she fit right in with them. She said they were her speed, slow. Then she’d laugh and pet the nearest fuzzy back. And there were always plenty of fuzzy backs to pet.

Margaret would say, “We get along cause I’m old, too.” Then she’d give that throaty laugh and pet another dog. Of course, she had been saying that for so long she must have started taking care of old dogs long before she really was old.

Before I go any further let me tell you about Margaret. Margaret was one of those people who seemed to slip between fifteen and her actual age of eighty-nine. One minute she was the serious crone overseeing her canine kingdom and the next something shifted around her and you could swear she was a teenage girl playing fetch with another new-old dog. She had long blonde hair that had faded more to a very light blonde rather than outright grey or white. It was almost like even Nature was trying to treat her with unusual respect. So Nature touched Margaret the way she touched her elder charges, with love.

Margaret wasn’t a particularly small or large woman. She was somewhere between five foot and five foot four depending on how she felt that day. She had a bit of arthritis in her back so some days she might not stand as tall. She usually wore comfortable jeans with the occasional stain on the knees or calves. Her shirts were roomy but slightly tailored and almost always pullovers. She almost always smelled like lavender, her favorite flower.

People always remembered Margaret. There was just something about Margaret that made people remember her. She had a way of making everyone feel relaxed in her presence.

Margaret had been a teacher, a professor in fact, before she retired. She taught anthropology. When she retired she left that all behind and I rarely heard her bring up the topic except to mention dogs in history.

After she was gone people would recount this story or that about Margaret but the one thing they always remembered was her love for dogs, all dogs, but especially old dogs. She always said, “Every old dog has been there for some human. We should be there for them.” She asserted that there was a covenant between dogs and humans. Dogs lived up to their side and Margaret said taking care of dogs when they get old is part of living up to our side.

So Margaret took care of old dogs.

I have no idea how many old dogs she rescued. She was the last resort for old dogs being tossed into an early death by circumstances or uncaring humans. She took in dogs whose humans had died and had not made arrangements for the dogs they left behind. She adopted dogs whose humans had fallen into assisted care and mental wards. Then there were the dogs who were tossed out by their humans because the dogs were older and a little more trouble. Those were the ones that made Margaret the maddest because they were preventable. Margaret could get pretty riled up about abuse cases but I think these “dog dumps” as she called them made her the maddest. “How stupid or unfeeling do you have to be to throw out a perfectly good dog just because he gets a little slower or she gets a little leakier? I hope these idiots get treated exactly the same way when they get older. What kind of example do they think they’re setting for their children? Mom and Dad get to be a bit of trouble so you can toss them out?” Then she would get back to tending to her old dogs. There was always another diaper to change or special food to mix. But Margaret didn’t seem to mind. I think every time she got tired she’d just pet another dog and remind herself what they had lost.

She never seemed to mind cleaning up after them, either. I know she always had another load of laundry to do or another pill to give. That was okay. She would clean up whatever mess was there and then pull up a high-backed Victorian seat next to her huge front window and brush down another old dog as she watched the world roll by outside.

Someone asked her once if rescuing older dogs was depressing. Puppies and younger dogs usually move on to forever homes but older dogs won’t find new homes. Margaret knew that when she took in an old dog that dog would probably die in her home. In effect, Margaret ran an old dog hospice. She was the last stop before they moved into death. Many of them were in good health but the hard fact was that too few people wanted to give them a chance.

Most people want a young dog so they don’t have to face death any sooner than necessary.
The last time someone asked her that question Margaret let loose a short laugh and gave the young, dark-haired woman a long look. “Are you afraid of death? Is it something to hide from or avoid seeing? It’s as much a part of life as breathing or being born. All things die. What a coward I would be to not help these senior citizens because I didn’t want to face death! I miss them when they leave but I treasure the time I can spend with them before the end. I learn so much from them! Yes, it is sad for me when they die but I love knowing that I made their last days or years happy. Sad, yes, but depressing? No.”

When the weather was nice Margaret would put all the dogs who could walk easily into harnesses and take them out. They made a motley parade making its way slowly down the avenue. Her retinue could include a Great Dane with its long arthritic legs and a white-muzzled Weimaraner with cataracts gingerly feeling her way along next to an ancient Brittney. The breeds varied and changed as the elderly canines passed into eternity and other dogs took their places in Margaret’s canine hospice.

So for more years than I can guess Margaret was the last home for dogs with no one else. Untold numbers of dogs spent their last days with Margaret and she never flinched from holding their paws as they passed from one world to the next.

Margaret always said death was the one thing we all had to meet alone but she could help her “sweet ones” to the edge and give them what comfort she could until they went beyond her touch. When they passed, Margaret made sure each body was treated with love and respect, either buried or cremated and the ashes spread over her mildly unkempt large yard. She didn’t keep all the ashes but she did keep a framed picture of each and every dog who had been with her. Each photo had the dog’s name and year he or she died clearly engraved on the frame. At least twenty or thirty of these portraits were arrayed on a bamboo bookshelf in her eclectic living room. Another twenty or so hung in her long hallway. She never forgot any of her canine charges. And they never forgot her, either.

Did Margaret ever talk about her own death? Only to say that she expected to see her “sweet ones” again. I honestly don’t think death was something she feared. Maybe she had spent too much time with Death as she watched Him embrace her old babies to fear him. Death had become if not a friend, then at least a close acquaintance.

The only thing she worried about was dying and leaving a dog or four behind. She knew what happened to dogs left with no one to love them and she did not want to do that to one of hers. But what could she do? She could have stopped rescuing old dogs but that was not part of her plan. She had to help as many as she could.

When I asked her what would happen with the dogs she left behind when she went through the Dark Door she said not to worry. “Maybe we’ll all go together or maybe some of my babies who have gone before will come back to help us join them.” Then she would laugh and change the subject.

The last time I saw Margaret she was on one of her daily walks with an assortment of older, blinder and somewhat lamer dogs. There was a grizzled Black Labrador Retriever with a white muzzle. There was a fat, long in the tooth Beagle boy and an Aussie mix with eyes that could barely see much beyond shadows. A proud ancient Shih Tzu led the stroll, his nails making a faint click-click as he maintained his forward watch. She had maybe ten or twelve dogs with her. I recognized a few of the dogs as current adoptees. But there was something about the others that tickled the back of my mind. There was something I should have seen but didn’t. The afternoon sun warmed the dogs and Margaret as they made their way together westward, their old pack standing together against the world.

Most days Margaret looked and felt like a mountain that time passed by. But not that day. Today, Margaret looked older, weaker. I asked her how she felt and of course she said she was fine. What else would Margaret say? She rarely complained or asked for help for herself so what could I do? I let her pass by and the next time I saw her, well, things had changed.

I stopped her for a moment but the dogs seemed anxious to move on. The Lab tugged at his harness. Margaret gave a knowing smile and reassured him they would be moving soon. “Max, there is plenty of time to get where we’re going. Patience, old friend.” Then she caressed his sagging back. The little Beagle rubbed his head against her pants leg and shook the tags on his collar as if to hurry her along, too. “We’ll get there, Barney.”

I glanced at my cell phone. “I have to go. Margaret. I have a conference call at 1:30 so I better let you get back to your walk.” We hugged and went our ways.

That night I got the call that Margaret had met her own appointment with Death. A mutual friend had found her. Our friend, Julie, told me what she saw. “Margaret had collapsed sitting with her ‘sweet ones’ as they sat in the backyard. The dogs had also died with her. All three dogs had been lying around her, touching her as they all made the last journey.”

I rushed to Margaret’s to help Julie. As I made the short drive I kept thinking there was something here that I was missing. Margaret had more than three dogs with her when I’d seen her that afternoon. Where were the other dogs? What had happened to the dogs who died with her?

Julie opened the door for me as I walked up to the lighted door. She had been crying. “Thank you for coming. Margaret and the dogs are out back. I didn’t want to move them until the ambulance got here.”

Julie and I walked out to where Margaret lay with her last old dogs around her. The paramedics had walked in right before me and the two women were busy checking Margaret’s body. There was the Shih Tzu I had seen. He was cuddled up against her chest under her right arm. The Beagle, Barney, lay on her other side with his head over her waist as if he was just sleeping. There was a pit bull girl here, too. I’d seen her in today’s walk but had not heard her name. But where were the other dogs? Where was Max the Lab? Had he gotten loose? Were there old dogs wandering lost around the neighborhood?

“Julie, are there any other dogs here?”

“No.These are the only dogs Margaret had.”

“Are you sure? I saw her earlier today and there were at least ten dogs with her.”

One of the paramedics, a middle-aged Black woman, stood up from Margaret’s body and walked over to me. “Ma’am, when did you see the deceased?”

I thought for a minute and pulled my reading glasses off my head where I had parked them. “It must have been about 1 PM because I was walking back from lunch over at the grill a few blocks over.”

The paramedic looked away at Margaret’s body and then back at me. “Are you really sure about that?”

“No doubt. But she had more dogs with her when I saw her. Where are they?”

Julie put a soft hand on my left arm. “No, Margaret only had these three dogs now. The odd thing is these three dogs just seem to have died. None of them were in really bad health. It’s as if they just decided to go with her.”

I turned and walked back into Margaret’s all-too quiet house. Julie came in behind me but I wasn’t listening to her right then. I must have been looking for something, anything to help me understand what happened to the other dogs.

The paramedic came in behind me and put her hand on my right shoulder. “I hate to ask you again when you saw your friend today but bear with me. Are you absolutely sure you saw her walking dogs at 1 PM?”

I turned toward her concerned face. “Absolutely. Why are you so interested in the last time I saw Margaret?”

The woman glanced at Julie and back to me. She ran her hand through her short hair and tugged at a small gold hoop earring. “Well, ma’am, I’m not doubting you but your friend passed early this morning. According to her vitals the latest she could have passed would be around 11 AM. There’s no way she could have been walking dogs at 1.”

I lost my breath and took a few steps back, coming to lean against the bookshelf hosting the dog photos. Julie reached out to me to keep me from falling. I turned to avoid the two women’s doubtful glances. As I did, I realized where I had seen Max before. Max, complete with white muzzle stared out at me from a photo and gold embossed frame that very clearly proclaimed, “Max—passed 2007.”

Then I knew where the other dogs were and who they were. Margaret’s “sweet ones” had not forgotten her. She had seen them through Death’s gate and they had returned to make sure she was not alone on her journey. They had taken the last walk with her.

Copyright 2012 Joy Ward

Joy Ward is a member of the Sunbear Blog Squad and member of the Sunbear Squad Board of Directors. She is the author of Haint: A Tale of Extraterrestrial Intervention and Love Across Time and Space  and co-author with Missa Dixon of Interviews from the Ark.

Watch for collars that are too loose or too tight, and that don’t have ID tags. Pets deserve better from their families. A roaming pet without identification is at high risk for being picked up as a stray and might even be euthanized. Roaming pets can travel long distances. Reasonably-priced ID tags are available nearly everywhere. Speak with the owners or just do it anonymously. You may save a life.

Why Not Provide Tags for Adoptions?

Shelters and rescues often provide microchips for adopted pets, but they are not visible to human eyes; scanners are needed. The specific microchip technology used can be a factor in linking pets to owners as well. And even if a microchip is identified, the owner information can be out of date, causing a whole new set of hoops for the current owner. Collar tags have some important advantages: they are immediately visible by neighbors, assuming the pet allows their approach. A roaming pet can be returned home without aid of animal control. Responsible pet owners provide BOTH microchips and tags.

Could the animal welfare community provide tags at the point of adoption? Remember the most likely time for newly adopted pets to escape is right after adoption. A common refrain is “I was going to get my tags on Monday” but the dog or cat escaped on Saturday soon after arriving at the new home. Think about the pets: they don’t know they have been adopted! They believe that they are in the wrong place and must get back to where they were.

War Hero Dog Died for Lack of a Collar and Tags

Target’s family didn’t put a collar and tag on her or get a microchip implanted. They didn’t prevent her from escaping from her yard. And the neighbor who found Target without wearing any identification of course had no idea who she was, so called the pound. She was picked up by animal control and her photo was posted on the internet.

Her family found her photo but did not check the web site to learn the weekend hours that the pound was open. They came on Monday to pick her up. At the pound earlier that morning, a careless employee was performing her routine euthanasia duties and picked Target by mistake, not following the organization’s process. “Oops.”

Who was Target? Ask Oprah Winfrey, whose show Target appeared on. In Afghanistan, three stray dogs prevented a suicide bomber from detonating a bomb in the middle of a military barracks, and the bomb went off harmlessly near the perimeter. One of the dogs died from injuries suffered from the blast. The other two dogs, later named Target and Rufus, were brought to America by a charity to live out their lives in the land of plenty, where they have been widely celebrated for their roles in preventing a tragedy. Read more here.

Do you see one mindless assumption after another here? These are shameful mistakes that manifest a careless, uninformed regard for animal life by Target’s family and the pound. If she had been wearing a collar with a phone number, the neighbor who found her running loose would have had her back home quickly. Target should be alive today—no excuses.

Economic Hardship results in Euthanasia for Treatable but Ill Companion Animals

If a family must choose between keeping a roof overhead and paying for life-saving surgery for their beloved companion animal, that animal often ends up surrendered to pounds and shelters now. Sometimes the companion animals have only minor ailments but their treatment cost is beyond reach. Shelters and pounds experience the same economic constraints, as we are all afloat in the same economic sea; they euthanize those pets to save money for their taxpayers. And so dogs and cats die when they should have lived.

If you are a compassionate person, this double tragedy of pet loss and family guilt is hard to contemplate.  And you could do something about it: you could support those national organizations that provide financial assistance to families with ill or injured pets. Keep them going! Add a few to your annual giving list. Some have closed their doors permanently, such as Feline Outreach, or temporarily, such as American Animal Hospital Association Foundation’s Helping Pets Fund.

Your local shelter, rescue, SPCA or humane society might provide a special fund for ill or injured homeless animals in their care as well; please inquire.

Check out this list of life-saving financial assistance organizations for pets:

In alphabetical order, with text taken from their web sites:

The American Animal Hospital Association Helping Pets Fund:
Due to a decrease in donations received this fiscal year, the American Animal Hospital Association Foundation is temporarily suspending grants from the Helping Pets Fund. The suspension is effective January 1, 2012. Please consider making a donation to the AAHA Helping Pets Fund so that we can continue to help needy pets receive the health care they deserve.

Angels 4 Animals:
Angels4Animals, a non-profit organization and a program of Inner Voice Community Services, has a mission to serve as the guardian angel of animals whose caretakers find themselves in difficult financial situations. This organization prefers to charge your credit card on a monthly basis for long-term sustainability.

The Brown Dog Foundation:
Bridging the gap between the cost of medical care and saving the family pet, in memory of a special Chocolate Lab, like Sunbear was, named Chocolate Chip. The Donate link takes you to PayPal.

Cats in Crisis:
Cats in Crisis Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping cats and kittens with special medical needs receive the veterinary treatment they need to live happy, healthy lives. Their donation page provides a good variety of options.

Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program:
We are a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Charity Organization that provides emergency financial assistance to cat and kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save their companion when life-threatening illness or injury strikes. Their “Please Help Us” page provides both PayPal and ChipIn options.

Help-A-Pet:
Established in 1999, HELP-A-PET is a nonprofit organization with a single purpose: to provide financial assistance nationwide for the medical care of pets whose owners are unable to afford the expense. Both online and mail options for giving are available.

In Memory of Magic:
Since 1998, IMOM has funded non-routine veterinary care for more than 1800 companion animals. They have a a strong desire and determination to help people help pets, founded in memory of Magic, a special black cat. See the handy ChipIn widget that makes giving easy on the home page.

The Pet Fund:
The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c) 3 nonprofit association that provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need veterinary care. This group provides many ideas for giving on their web site.

RedRover Relief Fund (Formerly UAN Lifeline Grants):
The RedRover Relief program provides funding to Good Samaritans, animal rescuers and pet owners to help them care for animals in life-threatening situations. The donation page is slow to open but is secure.

The needs are so great just now. Please do pick a fund to support and share this post with others with means to do the same. Even small gifts matter to the lives of those animals and families being helped; you can imagine how uplifting it feels to know that faraway animal lovers care and understand how desperately they want to help their pet to live.

Shoppers, start here, if you don’t find compassionate products locally:

• Leaping Bunny portal access to companies that are cruelty-free
• PETA’s Caring Consumer Program list of cruelty free-companies  (PDF)
• “In Defense of Animals” Cruelty-free Companies (International) Listing 

None of these lists is all-inclusive. Each has different participation criteria. A company may choose not to sign the required statements or agreements required to participate in a listing.

What is animal testing?

Personal care products, cosmetics, and household cleaning products are tested on animals in laboratories, but USA laws do not require it. Large consumer product manufacturers typically contract with animal testing laboratories. Rats, mice, rabbits, dogs, cats, monkeys, and other animals are kept in small cages and kennels throughout their short lifetimes. They are forced to swallow or inhale test substances, and in one common test, up to 50% of them are expected to die. Caustic chemicals are applied to sensitive eyes (or applied to fur and skin). (Medical testing is a related subject not addressed here but very serious concerns exist.)

Yet test results are often unreliable, inconclusive or inapplicable to humans, many believe. The tested products are often included in consumer products, even if test results indicate some level of toxicity. If you are concerned about household or personal care products being safe for your family, you should also the question that animal testing used to justify that professed safety. And for animal lovers who believe animals suffer pain and deserve compassionate treatment, you should boycott products and companies that do not align with your values.

More information about testing:

• LA Times article about recent advances in animal testing
• About.com Environmental Issues: Animal Testing
• Wikipedia: Animal Testing
• Wikipedia: Alternatives to Animal Testing

Be aware that some types of products, including pharmaceuticals and some chemicals, require animal testing by law.

Five Simple Things You Can Do to be Compassionate to Animals

Learn to recognize signs of pain in dogs and cats so that you can take appropriate action and prevent extreme suffering. Cats typically mask pain and many dogs do as well. The signs may be subtle but you can recognize them if you are prepared. As you travel through your daily life, be ready to help an animal in distress. You may save a life.

All animals experience pain and deserve treatment to relieve their suffering

You certainly believe that but be aware that many people do not; they will ignore suffering in their animals. For centuries prevailing wisdom advised that the lesser animals did not feel pain like people do, possibly because people didn’t understand how to read the subtle symptoms of pain. Maybe they were taught to discount what signs they did observe. Remember, veterinary science is a recent innovation.

Cat pain or illness symptoms are particularly difficult to discern and a cat might be critically ill by the time the signs are evident. This sadly happened to our dear adopted cat Lucinda a few weeks ago and this post is dedicated to her memory. By the time she quit eating a day before Christmas Eve, she was already terminally ill, but she didn’t act sick. She slept more over the next two days; sleeping and refusing food were the only signs that she didn’t feel good. We took her to the vet the day after Christmas Day; she seemed weak.  She was diagnosed with severe non-regenerative anemia, cause unknown; her hemoglobin reading was the lowest the vet had seen in all his years of practice. We had to say goodbye. The suddenness of her decline and death was stupifying. We were horrified that we hadn’t provided treatment sooner.

Cats hide pain or illness instinctively. They are unlikely to vocalize when experiencing distress, but some will as pain advances. Know your cat’s routines and habits; be aware of changes. Symptoms of pain or ill health in cats include:

• Change in routine, personality or activity levels
• Loss of energy/more sleeping  OR  anxiety/agitation/aggression
• Sitting on all four paws tucked under body, hunched posture, withdrawn
• Loss of appetite
• Rapid breathing or panting, inward expression
• Favoring of a certain body part; tenderness; licking of sore spot
• Fur looks unkempt

Read the Colorado State University’s “Feline Acute Pain Scale” to learn more about identifying signs of pain in cats.

Dogs are more variable in their expression of pain. Some dogs and breeds (notably the bully breeds) are stoic while some other individuals will provide many clear evidences of discomfort.

• Whining or whimpering
• Panting, rapid breathing, shivering, inward expression
• Change in routine, personality or activity levels
• Loss of energy/more sleeping  OR  anxiety/agitation/aggression
• Loss of appetite
• Favoring or presentation of a certain body part; tenderness; licking of sore spot

This is the dog version of the Colorado State University’s pain scale.

The most important advice is to know the behavior and habits of your own animals; be watchful and curious. If you are observing possible pain-related behavior of a neighbor’s pet or a stray, advocate for them. Contact your neighbor and describe your observances. Even in a note taped to an entrance works. See the Sunbear Squad “Pocket Poster” you can download and post at your neighbor’s. We have a Spanish language version available too.

If you find a stray that appears to be in pain or ill, take the animal to a vet if you live in an area served by a shelter or pound that you do not trust to uphold humane standards of care. If your area is served by a compassionate organization, contact them.

Be aware that expecting families may be under emotional pressure from family and friends to give away their dogs and cats for safety reasons. This is a very frequent cause of animals entering shelters and pounds. After a few days of stress, confusion and depression, many will sadly lose their lives. With terrible irony, the new human life sometimes results in death to the once-loved family pet.

Advise expecting families that they don’t have to give up their pets

As young families prepare for the most exciting event of their lives, new birth, they are typically deluged with well-meaning advice from every direction. One common piece of advise is to rid the home of dogs and/or cats. Some are concerned that cats will cause health problems with pregnancy. Others are concerned that dogs will attack babies. Still others believe that a new family will not have time or money for pets any longer. If the pet isn’t fully housetrained, that causes clear concern for basic hygiene for everyone but especially for a crawling baby.

Sometimes the expecting families have a change of heart about keeping pets. At the shelter where I volunteer frequently, a pregnant woman callously remarked to staff that “babies and dog hair don’t mix” as she filled out her paperwork to surrender an clearly worried little Corgi mix.  The woman had no empathy for her dog’s feelings of confusion. If only she knew how animals suffer when separated from their family and when they suddenly find themselves trapped in wire cages enveloped by strange noises and smells.

You might be able to offer a different perspective as an animal lover. Our farming heritage provides one such point. Many generations of farmers and herders around the world have managed to raise healthy children surrounded by various animals large and small. While keeping animals is not without risk, adult knowledge and common sense prevails to keep youngsters safe. Young veterinarians provide another perspective; they typically don’t give up their pets when pregnant, yet they are more aware of the risks due to their profession. Remind them that children learn responsibility at a young age by helping to care for family pets; they learn compassion and empathy if guided appropriately by parents and older siblings. They experience the deep joy of connecting with a special animal.

Provide resources to expecting families

If you are close to the expecting family with a pet or pets, think about offering some support. You might be able to walk the dog on a schedule or offer extra help when introducing the pets to the newly arrived baby. You might offer help with housetraining if needed. You might offer to regularly clean the cat box (to prevent exposure to toxoplasmosis), if another family member isn’t available.

See these resources online and share with expecting families:

• “Pet Meets Baby” PDF by the American Humane Association
• “Introducing Pets to New Babies” by Victoria Stilwell of “It’s Me or the Dog” television series
• “Top 10 Tips for Dogs and Babies” by Victoria Stilwell
• “The Safety Guide to Children and Dogs” by Victoria Stilwell
• “Pets and other animals during pregnancy” by the March of Dimes
• “Pets and A New Baby” by Sherry Woodard of Best Friends
• ” Preventing Dog Bites on Children” by Sherry Woodard
• “Pregnant Women And Toxoplasmosis” by the National Center for Infectious Diseases

Weekly Watch Tip for week of Dec. 25:

Watch and listen for stray pets who panic when holiday fireworks detonate—they may bolt through traffic or get lost. They might eat live or spent fireworks casings left on the ground. Be alert for violent cruelty to animals during this holiday in particular, when some troubled people become overexcited or aggressive!

Holidays are always high-risk for pets. Be vigilant.

What effects do all holidays have on your household? Holiday event schedules are busy and stressful. Your home might fill up with visitors and special dishes. Entrance doors and gates swing open and shut more often, and with so many distractions, tempting foods may be left out on counters. Spills occur and containers of cleaning supplies appear. New and unfamiliar people visit at odd hours. Interesting (sometimes fragrant) wrapped gifts and packages are sitting out.

Your dogs and cats are very attuned to these changes and they may become anxious or overexcited. They may be unsupervised in all of the hubbub and explore what they shouldn’t. It’s no wonder that accidents happen around holidays, and companion animals are so often involved.

Veterinarians will tell you that clinics are especially busy after any major holiday, and some of the stories are very sad—and almost always, the accidents preventable. Shelters and rescues will tell you that they get more calls to surrender dogs and cats around the holidays as well, often for behavior (lack of training) issues relating to holiday activities. This anxious adolescent puppy (pictured) was dumped on a SW Wisconsin county road just before a holiday. (She was adopted by a more responsible and loving family.)

Please be vigilant in your neighborhood and advocate for those who have no voice during any holiday. Be proactive in your home. If you expect visitors, crate your dogs and keep your cats in a safe room.

Remember, holidays are not celebrated for companion animals. They actually don’t mix well at all!

When you look into the sweet, earnest faces of a rescue cat or dog, imagine seeing a large choir of human faces surrounding them. Slow your thoughts and see these people come into focus. They are young and old; they are brown- and olive- and white-skinned; they are poor and prosperous; and they are passionate. They share the same goal: save this one you see in front of you right now.

Imagine the rescuer, the foster family, many transporters, walkers and cuddlers, caregivers, veterinary staff that discount for rescue animals. These are the volunteers and low-paid staffers who have already given of themselves to bring this cherished animal to this adoption web site or this event or facility. These unheralded local heroes are critically important to the life of this one furry face looking up at you. They saved this one. Can’t you see them?

You must understand that it has been a devastating couple of years for this choir of rescuers. The harsh economy caused millions more animals to be abandoned or neglected. Rescues and shelters are swelled over-full of hopeful animals; they are forced to say “no” to needy dogs and cats much more often—which is a painful moment each time. The economy caused potential adopters to hesitate and turn away. It caused caring donors to close their checkbooks with a whispered “I’m sorry, I can’t right now.” Some rescues and shelters talk about closing their doors and some have already closed.

The large national organizations did not open any overflow facilities during this economic downturn. They did not divert their substantial income streams to benefit the daily operations of openly-struggling local rescues and shelters. With eloquent fundraising letters, pretty calendars, and heart-rending pictures of sick or injured animals in cages, they talk about their work. Much of their work is extremely helpful—grants for spay-neuter efforts, special teams for rescuing animals in disasters, educational materials, influencing legislation to protect animals. But they never send any checks to your local groups to buy food or pay for routine vet care or support daily caregiver payrolls.

If your local group is named “humane society” or “SPCA” take note: these are just common names that everyone uses, like Kleenex. Some groups are actually changing their names, a big long-term project, because they believe donations will go up, no longer appearing to be supported by a wealthy national organization.

These are desperate times for local, independent animal welfare groups. Can you help your local groups this year? Will you?

Urgent: Extreme cold kills outside tethered dogs and cats, especially those animals without heavy coats, the malnourished, the very young and the elderly. Tethered animals in southern regions are at higher risk for hypothermia because they have not grown heavier coats over time like they would have in cooler climates. Watch for animals that don’t have adequate shelter; speak with owners or call the authorities immediately.

Short-hair pets in the south need hay or straw bedding during cold snaps. Fur is not enough! While all dogs and cats have outer fur and inner fur, the quantity of outer hairs of the fur compared to the inner hairs of the fur (ratio) varies by breed and individual. The texture varies as well. Age matters: it takes six months on average for puppies to grow a complete fur covering of inner and outer fur, if they are healthy. Some breeds can tolerate extreme cold if individuals are healthy and shelter from freezing winds is available.

In addition to breed and health, environment matters too. Individual dogs and cats living outdoors in cooler northern climates will grow longer, fluffier inner fur as daylight shortens that will help hold body heat. But pets in the mid- and far south have not experienced wide swings of seasonal cooling. Their sparse, short inner fur is completely inadequate for sudden winter cold snaps, freezing winds, and snow storms. Short-hair dogs are very vulnerable to hypothermia.

In other words, during a cold snap in Mississippi, that bouncy little Boxer puppy down the street that is tied to a tree 24/7 could be found dead in the morning. Those skinny hunting hounds kept in tiny outdoor pens could suffer from hypothermia and frostbite and the old ones might die. And those skeletal, near-feral pit bulls tied to stakes that sleep in hard hollows dug in the earth? They have never known a kindness. They may be released from their long suffering.

Do you have access to bales of hay or straw? Can you give hay beds to short-hair outside dogs in your neighborhood when a cold snap is on the way? A simple bale of hay can mean the difference between life and death to a dog or cat down south when the cold winds blow. Owners probably will not object. Please help those outside animals.