A Dog Blog Post

Global Warming, Industrialization, and Deadly Spiders: No Big Deal

I'm going to tackle my two weeks of blog silence with a short blog post relating to this article. It's about the brown recluse, a very dangerous and sometimes deadly spider, migrating across the U.S. due to climate change. Now, to be honest, I hate spiders. I am allergic to spider bites and have been since I was a child, so I have an irrational fear of the spiders themselves. I am not excited for their impending migration, but I don't think that's the important part.

What this article doesn't cover is what climate change in conjunction with the destruction of natural habitats is doing to our planet. While seemingly inconsequential, in the last week, I've seen two woodpeckers, an owl, several rabbits, and three raccoons. No big deal, right? Except that I live right in the middle of Chicago, and while these animals are close neighbors and very plentiful in the suburbs, it is not common for them to make camp in the middle of large cities.

I enjoy technology. I have an iPod; my television allows me to watch HD; and I am currently writing this blog on my MacBook from the comfort of my couch. However, it's becoming increasingly obvious what human consumption and the evolution of knowledge, technology, and capitalism are doing to this planet. I recently watched several documentaries about the planet, and it's hard to hear that the clean water supply is dwindling, that the poles are melting at alarming speeds, and that agriculture growth is down. These fears, along with the brown recluse migrating to Wisconsin from the southeast, are merely symptoms of a larger problem.
 
I'm not sure what else to say, other than we need to change our way of living.

Cat Corner

What it Means to Declaw Your Cat

By Gianina Scalise

Throughout most of Europe, declawing a cat is considered unnecessary and cruel. It is an illegal procedure to perform, and those who do are charged with animal cruelty. However, in America, the surgery is very common and is performed regularly at veterinarian offices without fear. What is the discrepancy?

Many cat owners that consider declawing their cat(s) are unaware of what the surgery actually entails. They know that their cat is plucking at the fabric of their very expensive couch or ruining their leather, and to cohabitate more peacefully, declawing is laid out as an option. Those who go ahead with the surgery do not want to harm their cat, either; they love their pet and merely want to make things a bit easier. However innocent this mindset may seem, it is also a very selfish one.

To understand why, the surgery itself as well as the possible complications need to be laid out.

First and foremost, many owners think of a cat's claws in the same way they think of their toe nails. However, this is not the case. A cat's claw is not adhered to the skin, like our nails, but instead is adhered directly to the bone of the toe. To remove the claw, the last joint of each toe is sawed off.

It is, very bluntly, an amputation.

The surgery itself is painful, and the recovery period is difficult. Most cats cannot remain sedentary. They are active animals, and it is in their nature to run, jump, claw, and climb. Unlike a human who undergoes surgery on their feet, a cat is not given the luxury of a wheelchair or bed-rest. They must still stand to eat; they must dig in their litter box; and they must jump up to their favorite perch.

And like most animals, cats can be deceptive. While they may be in pain, they will try not to show it because in the wild, showing pain is akin to showing weakness. Cats may be domesticated, but their instincts are still intact. Veterinarian Christianne Schelling points this out on her website dedicated to educating the public about declawing: "No cat lover would doubt that cats--whose senses are much keener than ours--suffer pain. They may, however, hide it better. Not only are they proud, they instinctively know that they are at risk when in a weakened position, and by nature will attempt to hide it. But make no mistake. This is not a surgery to be taken lightly."

Dr. Schelling also notes that a cat's physiology is sacrificed: "Your cat's body is perfectly designed to give it the grace, agility and beauty that is unique to felines. Its claws are an important part of this design. Amputating the important part of their anatomy that contains the claws drastically alters the conformation of their feet." A cat's grace and agility are not the only characteristics that are compromised by declawing, though. By taking away their means of defense, cats are left unable to defend themselves from predators if the need ever arises. For this reason, you should never consider declawing if your cat is an indoor-outdoor cat.

What can you do instead of declawing? There are a few options, and though they take a little more time and upkeep, they are much humane and safer for your cat:

• Offer several scratching posts to keep their attention 
• Trim your cat's nails weekly
• Use nail caps! Nail caps are made of vinyl and adhere to the nails with feline-safe glue. They last for about a month and come in different colors
• If your cat begins to kneed or scratch at the furniture, a stern "no" along with a mist of water from a squirt bottle should dissuade him or her

If you are still considering declawing after doing your research, be sure to discuss the procedure in depth with your veterinarian. It is an expensive, radical surgery, and the decision should not be made on a whim without proper consideration. However, keep in mind that there are other, more humane options and that your cat deserves the best.

A Dog Blog Post

The Fight Against Puppy Mills

Before I began working in a Chicago dog shelter, I was pretty clueless regarding puppy mills. I liked to go into pet stores and snuggle fluffy pups. And then I began working at the Chicago Canine Rescue (CCR). CCR is a dog rescue that specifically focuses on the neediest dogs-- those in need of medical treatment and socialization because they have been neglected or abused. Because of CCR's mission, I saw more sadness and devastation than I ever wanted to. Part of it involved puppy mill dogs, and it opened my eyes to the issue of breeding for profit.

If you don't know much about puppy mills, let me lay out some brief descriptions. Keep in mind, puppy mill operators can be considered breeders, but not all breeders are puppy mill operators. Some breeders treat their dogs wonderfully, and they cannot be lumped into the same category as puppy mills regardless of their business. With that said, puppy mills function as commercial breeding facilities. They are usually overcrowded, and dogs are kept in small cages without clean water or enough food. A lot of the time, they sit in their own feces. The breeder dogs are allowed out only to breed and then are returned to their kennels. These dogs are not socialized, and their health is compromised by disgustingly sub-par conditions.

When these dogs are rescued and adopted out, they suffer emotional trauma, and it's not often that they ever fully recover from their fear and painful past.

The Huffington Post recently posted this article about the Missouri anti-puppy mill law. To sum it up, the law is being overturned. Breeders are complaining about the strict rules they were forced to abide by due to Prop B, but more importantly, the upkeep they must maintain according to these laws is becoming too costly.
Animal welfare, specifically the fight against puppy mills, is facing an ugly fight, and it begins in Missouri.

Puppy mills are not something to be taken lightly. They are ugly, painful, profiteering organizations that should not be allowed to run. When you think of a dog, do you think that they'd be afraid of grass? Of course not. And yet, many puppy mill dogs are fearful of grass because haven't been exposed to nature. Vet care is withheld and they are shut into horrible conditions, so many of them suffer from heartworm disease, disease and illness related to over-breeding, malnutrition, and debilitating emotional trauma.  When they are no longer able to produce viable offspring, they are usually euthanized-- and not in a humane fashion, either.

With Prop B being overturned, the horrible treatment we see in these facilities is being allowed to run rampant without anything to hold it back. It's a huge blow to a cause that is not taken seriously enough in the first place.

Do some research on puppy mills, and then visit ASPCA.org and see what you can do to help. For more information, you can also visit WAGSShelter.org. WAGS Shelter was founded by some wonderful friends of mine, and their mission was inspired by their rescue dog, a little, sassy Shih Tzu named Tally, who was a breeder at a puppy mill for eleven years before she was rescued. After suffering from horrible periodontal disease, heartworm disease, breast cancer, and pulmonary hypertension-- all related to her life as a breeder dog-- she is still staying strong, and I hope her story can help push you into action.