Human's best friend...

Wags, thanks for letting us all know about the ASPCA's efforts to help homeless pets. It was quite the coincidence to read that you (in Chicago) were thinking about homelessness at just about the same time as was I (in London).

People walking along the rush hour crowded Piccadilly Street near Green Park in London last week may have seen two very sweet dogs within the confines of two blocks. It would have been hard to miss them, especially for the dog lovers among us. Unfortunately, in focusing on the dogs, they may have missed noticing the human companions.

The large German shepherd with the nearly blond face and the small black and white terrier mix with some brown spots and a yellow bandana were all the more visible because they were with their human companions who appeared to be homeless and destitute. Or, was it the other way around...were the homeless people more noticeable in the throng of people only because they had a pet? In either event, it was obvious that the futures of the people and the dogs were inextricably linked together.

The German shepherd lay completely on its side on the ground between a man and a woman who seemed to have various of their few furnishings surrounding and under them to make the ground warmer on such a cold day. The dog didn’t move as the heels of shoes clipped close by his face but looked up with mournful (or were they faint?) eyes. The terrier looked alert, sitting on the lap of a man seated in a chair with a cup in his hand and his head held limply over his chest. The man’s face being hidden, the doggie was, in essence, his face, his plea. Clearly, his job was to look cute and attract some donations for the cup. Hundreds of people were passing by each minute. Thousands by the hour. The vast majority not reacting to the human plea.

How many people care more about dogs than people? Let’s face it -- many of us pet owners spend a lot of time focused on rescuing dogs, and far less or none about rescuing people. Many will rescue a dog from a shelter and then spend countless dollars on him or her, giving the dog shelter, meals, health care, and toys, but they wouldn’t write out a check for nearly the same amount to help a needy person, if at all.

It needn’t be an all or nothing issue – some balance can be achieved. Consider that many homeless people have dogs or would benefit from a relationship with them. Like more fortunate people, the homeless love their dogs and are sometimes faced with the sad reality that they have to give them up or take them into a highly unpredicatable and dangerous life. As our economy worsens, there will be more homeless persons. We should expect to see more dogs in need of rescue as our human friends lose their shelters.

Many human shelters will not allow their overnight guests to enter with their dogs. For love of the dog, the humans may sleep on the street with them in spite of the impact on weather to themselves or their pet. Sadly, they may have to abandon their dog to the streets. Consider the people who love their dogs but who are losing their homes to foreclosures or their jobs to the economy.

Perhaps there will be less dogs in shelters if we start by helping our fellow humans.

Back in the U.S., and according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, in 2005, 13.3% of the U.S. population, or 38,231,521 million people, lived in poverty. And that number is only rising.

In 1996, a New York Times report (“Fancy Shelter for Dogs Is Deemed Fit for Homeless Humans”) covered the opening of Maddie's Pet Adoption Center. This is a $7 million shelter opened by the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Seems that Maddie’s had a controversial proposal – they wanted to work with agencies to offer homeless adults nightly shelter in ''dog apartments.'' The president of the SPCA chapter was quoted as saying ''It would give our dogs a chance to know what it would be like to have an overnight roommate...For the homeless people it's an offer to get them off the street and give them shelter with a dog buddy who will be their best friend overnight.'' For the obvious reasons, this idea met with significant opposition and I wonder what happened with this proposal. I didn’t see any mention of it in the SPCA’s website but you may wish to take a look at Maddie’s Pet Adoption Center where dogs have apartments with windows and skylights, with toys and TVs. A lovely environment, really.

Just think about it. $7 million in contributions for a dog shelter perhaps more worthy of humans.

I’d like to explore more about what happens to the homeless and their dogs, and to find out what we can do to help them both. Meanwhile, think about achieving balance in your financial contributions. Make sure that we respect and help our own species and by doing so we can also help our doggie friends. I hope the homeless of Piccadilly Street, London, or Anystreet, USA, found food, friends, family and warm shelter, with their pets, for the evening. I wish the same for all of us.

Dog shows redux and the commercialization of dogs

Since the previous post positions me as a dog show fan, I think it only appropriate to remind our Chicagoland readers that this weekend the International Kennel Club of Chicago will host its annual dog show at McCormick Place.

While I haven't thought of this for a very long time, I now recall that the last time I went to a dog show was as a teenager when our church youth group was somehow volunteered for 'pooper scooper' duty at the local dog show. Can you imagine anything crazier than relying on teenagers to be responsible for picking up poop throughout a dog show venue? Anyway, I have a vague recollection that while avoiding my pooper scooper responsibilities, I wandered around the venue and was very drawn to the beagles. At the time, we had a dog, Bruce, who was allegedly a terrier beagle mix. Later I had a beagle (and he probably had a little something else mixed in as well), so I have a history with and great fondness for the breed. Just a bit of context for my delight over Uno's Westminster victory.

Anyway, the reason I enjoy watching the Westminster dog show is because I get a real kick out of observing the personalities of the dogs. Some of them, when they get in the ring, just strut their stuff in such a confident manner that you can tell who is going to attract the judge's attention. It's as if they know they're hot, they're studly, and they are saying to the judge, 'check me out.' This is why I like watching the show. I also like learning about the breeds. I think the announcers do a very good job of reminding the audience that not all dogs are the same and you have to seriously consider your lifestyle before choosing say a border collie or a Newfoundland.

The previous post also highlights an apparent inconsistency between my enjoyment of watching the WKC show and my strong advocacy of adopting a rescue dog over purchasing a purebred. I have to say that one of the things I don't like about dog shows is that they are a critical part of the commercialization of dogs. Dogs have been bred for specific traits and purposes since man began to domesticate them and breeding purebreds is just an extension of this practice. I just feel that as far as an animal companion goes, there are so many dogs that have been abandoned and are in need of homes that it isn't necessary to encourage the production of specific breeds or other trendy 'new' breeds (don't even get me started on 'labradoodles', etc.... which are, without the trendy marketing, high priced mutts after all) as status symbols. I can't imagine why anyone would choose to spend upwards of $500 (and that would be cheap) for a specific breed of dog when there are other worthy hounds out there, of all shapes, sizes and temperaments, who whould make just as good family pets, maybe even better ones.

Unfortunately, it may also be the case that the 'adopt a needy abandoned/rescue dog' movement has attracted some unscrupulous characters and organizations that present what are actually puppy mill dogs as 'rescue' dogs. This is a hideous and grossly deceptive practice. It is cruel to the dogs and often times results in kind hearted souls adopting what amounts to a 'special needs' dog. It also suggests that the animal adoption industry might benefit from some oversight, whether within the industry itself or from the government.