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AMEN brother! Our 7 year old cat has never been outside except in her Kitty Walk Condo. NO way would I want her or our dog out and about, in the big bad world. The way people just let their animals roam here is crazy and dangerous. Cats lives are shortened by over 50% if they are allowed to go outside. Aside from being pests to other people it creates a danger to their on well being.
quote:
Originally posted by MarkP
We have no current policy. Some cats occasionally wind up at the humane society when they finally make themselves enough of a pest that not even city dwellers who have no day to day appreciation for vulnerable wildlife or livestock can tolerate them. A fair number of these prove to be un-adoptable and are destroyed because there is literally nothing else to do with them. To describe what we do now as "catch and kill" is laughable.
I appreciate the companionship of a well socialized cat. Having cradled the dead and dying bodies of two of my brother's beloved pet cats in my arms, I feel fear when one of his present cats gets out and roams the neighborhood. I fear for the welfare of the cat, lest it get hit by a car, attacked by dogs or people, or poisoned in some way. I should feel fear because these are real threats and they are really not avoidable. Here's the nasty part. The correct policy will have been achieved when cat owners feel fear that their wandering cat will get swept up in a dragnet and, if micro-chipped, will show up at their doorway in the arms of a law enforcement officer who will issue them an expensive ticket along with their cat assuming they haven't racked up too many tickets already, or if not micro-chipped, will enter that portion of the system that may lead to euthanasia. If they haven't micro-chipped the cat, euthanasia. If they haven't given the right address in hopes of avoiding the expensive ticket, euthanasia. If they have more cats than they can afford the micro-chipping on, euthanasia. If they have more cats than they really care about, euthanasia. And frankly they will never know whether their cat didn't come home because it was swept up or because it got hit by a car. That is poetic justice. Why blame the system when there is an equal chance Fluffy didn't come home because you let her out and she got hit by a car?
This is why a true catch and kill policy will be hard to implement. Responsible people will have to stand up and say that they are prepared to be the reason Fluffy didn't come home, and pet owners will have to live with a level of concern for their pets that is uncomfortable. It would be nice to say that the Fluffys of the world would always get rescued and returned to their loving owners but there would always be the chance that they would fall through the cracks. That risk should be mitigated to the greatest degree possible but nevertheless will have to be accepted. It is no worse than the risk of getting hit by a car or attacked by a dog but there would be someone to blame besides yourself so blaming others would win out over the usual recourse of denial.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
www.eastbaypotters.com
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
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To add to this discussion:
The CoH Legislative Auditor's Office has an audit report online for:
Independent Evaluation of the Animal Control Program
You can find that audit report here:
http://www.co.hawaii.hi.us/la/reports.html
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Unless, I am reading the report wrong, it is very outdated. The Humane Society has had at least two executive directors since Grayson Hashida left. I believe he was there less than a year!!
There have been many changes since that report!
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I have advocated harsh measures for the control of feral animals and have acknowledged the possibility that stray pets could in rare instances get lost in the system. I also said that every effort should be made to place animals and return stray pets. I still feel this way.
I wanted to say, while the pain is still fresh, that my own dog of 13 years wandered off from my brother's yard when the gate was left open and has now been missing for 2 days. I wonder where she is, whether she is injured or in pain, hungry, or whether she was taken by some person who would hurt her. I feel like I let her down because I let the gate get so rickety that she could get out. She has a microchip but the collar she was wearing had no tag. My fault. How stupid! I have canvassed the neighborhood. A few people think they saw her early on the morning she was lost. My brother's dog got out too but came home on his own.
So. It is really painful not knowing what has happened to her. However, I don't see this as a reason not to support an aggressive animal control policy. The resources lavished on TNR programs could be better spent on caring for animals coming through the system, including adopting them out or returning lost pets.
I have never embraced the philosophy that "there are no atheists in foxholes". I just wanted to make the point that if a policy is right it is right even when your own animal is at risk.
JWFITZ, the link above shows pictures of a couple of the HIHS vehicles. Do any of them look familiar?
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I am sorry to hear about your dog, I know what it's like to lose a pet and not know what has happen to it. What area is she missing in?
The reason I mention KHBC 92.7fm, people call in to the radio station, about lost or found missing pets and they announce it on the air.[
]
What frustrates me, is that many of the so called ferals, were once somebody's pet either lost or deliberately abandoned. Every animal that I have rescued, either was abandoned, abused or semi-wild, but with care, food, vet visits, the trust is back!
http://www.prnewswire.com/news/index_mail.shtml?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-20-2009/0004992163&EDATE=
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I am on Oahu in the Kapolei area.
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I just got my dog back! She was at the end of a cul de sac less than 1/4 mile from my brother's house. She had hunkered down behind some bushes. People on that street fed her and eventually called the humane society, who called me. It is hard to believe that she couldn't find her way home but she is almost 16 years old so maybe she is losing it mentally.
I really appreciate the humane society now. I did before but it is closer to home now.
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That is great news your dog was found [
] Honolulu Humane Society has a good reputation!
Unfortunately, on the Big Island, the Humane Society does not
]
Since the executive director, and most of the Board of Directors are from Kona, all decisions about the Island are made in Kona. Which puts Hilo at a disadvantage, as many of the problems on the East side are entirely different from the West side. There is very little oversight here and many people are very negative about the Puna facility!!
Which leads to more abandonment of pets!
