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“Be a Better Animal Guardian”

Jennie Taylor Martin
Years ago, my brother bought a puppy for my mom. She had no time and no patience for the poor dog, who was tossed outside into a small, fenced yard. Duke spent his days and nights sitting on the back porch, just waiting for even a bit of attention. I visited him whenever I was at my mother’s. I brought him inside and played with him in the yard, but he still had such a horribly lonely life. He spent four years outside before being adopted by a family who gave him the attention he so desperately needed and deserved. I wish I had either prevented my brother from giving the dog to my mom or found him a better home sooner.

Teri Arnold
When I was 12 or 13, my parents heard of someone giving away a rabbit. They told me if I was willing to take care of her, I could keep her. They would not let me keep her in my bedroom, so she had to stay in our cold, dark basement. I didn’t keep her cage as clean as I should have, or visit her and take her out of her cage very often. Looking back, I realize she lived a really lonely, sad life. After about a year, we gave her away, just like she had been given to us. I still feel really awful about the whole situation and that she suffered under my “care.”

Ingrid Newkirk
I would have noticed that she held her little neck that way not to be cute but because it hurt—she had a spinal problem. I would never have let her be unattended on top of the couch so that she fell. I would never have told her to “be quiet” all the time when everyone else was talking. I would never have rushed her on her precious walks. I would never have eaten food in front of her when she couldn’t get it herself. I would have let her take her own sweet time doing things, instead of hurrying her up.

Rachel Eilenfeld Schroeder
When I was in college, my cat, Merlin, and I moved in with two roommates. I did not know them well or their two large dogs. While the dogs never threatened Merlin while people were around, I didn’t take any chances when I was out of the house. I kept him in my bedroom with the door securely shut. He had everything he needed in there. One day, I got a frantic phone call from my roommate. She told me that Merlin had been attacked “by raccoons.” I came home to find him with puncture wounds on his back legs. Since I never let Merlin outside, I was sure that my roommates’ dogs had attacked him. I felt so guilty and can only imagine how scared and defenseless he must have felt being attacked in his own house. I now know that you can never be too careful with your companion animals’ safety, even in the comfort of your own home.

Lori Kettler
When I was a little girl, my parents bought me a rabbit. His name was Hopper. He lived his whole life by himself in a tiny cage in our backyard. He rarely got any attention and was never taken out of the cage. Hopper’s pitiful “life” still makes me so sad.

Anna West
When I was a kid, I used to take Paws, a dog we adopted from the shelter, for a long walk every day. When she was a puppy, Paws loved going for these walks and would pull me along. As the years went by, she walked much more slowly and would even stop and stand sometimes. I’d think she was being stubborn and just pull hard on her leash. One day, halfway through our walk, she just wouldn’t budge. I had always thought of Paws as a frisky young dog, but I realized that day that she had gotten old and that it hurt her to walk such a long way. I had been pushing her too hard. To this day, I feel so guilty when I think of all the times I tugged at her collar, not realizing that she was too old to keep up.

Alisa Mullins
I was given my first dog, Goldie, as a gift for my fifth birthday. When we first got her, she was allowed in our basement. But we moved to a house without a basement when Goldie was about 7, and she stayed outside all the time after that. We took her for walks, but she developed arthritis when she grew old, and we didn’t notice her suffering because she was outside all of the time. One day, I was grooming her and found maggots crawling in her matted fur. It was absolutely revolting! The last night of her life, she laid out there in the yard all night whimpering. I thought she just wanted inside. I remember lying awake and wishing I could bring her in, but I knew my mom wouldn’t let me. The next morning, when my dad went out to check on her, he discovered that the maggots had gotten inside her and were eating their way out through a gaping hole in her side. They were basically eating her alive. Absolutely horrifying. I’ve since heard of this happening to other elderly “outside dogs.” We learned an important lesson at that poor dog’s expense and haven’t had an “outside dog” since.

Be the Best Guardian You Can Be

Do you put yourself in your animals’ place? Try it. Even if you think you already do everything you can to make your animal companions’ lives enjoyable, there is always more you can do to make them feel better. Spend more time with your cherished companions while you still can. Let your dog stop and sniff the flowers. Make sure your cat’s litterbox is always kept clean and that your companions have plenty of attention, play time with you, toys, warm bedding, fresh water, and the best of everything that you can possibly provide. Never overlook medical problems because you think they are minor or you are too busy or can’t afford to take your companion to the vet. Never yell or punish: Ask yourself, is this happening because I’m doing something different or stressful to them?

Realize that when your dog barks, he or she is trying to communicate something: fear, anger, loneliness, excitement. Think about all the times you tell your “best friend” to “be quiet” even though everyone else is talking. Let him or her talk a little. After all, you wouldn’t like it very much if your dog told you to shut up when you were trying to tell him or her something!

Don’t Do Us Any Favors!
Animals should not be allowed outdoors unsupervised. They are often hit by cars or tortured by cruel “pranksters.” They can get into fights with other animals and/or catch communicable diseases. Many are even stolen by “bunchers”—people who look for loose dogs and cats to sell for use in laboratory experiments.
Dogs and cats can both be trained to walk on a leash, and cats can be perfectly happy indoors if you simply provide toys, a scratching post, and other stimulating activities.

You can improve the lives of dogs and cats suffering from cruelty and neglect.

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