Another day, another stray

This afternoon we had yet another stray brought to us.  This time it was a dog.  A good samaritan found him running around on Quivira at 75th Street.  Anyone who is familiar with that intersection will be amazed that he was not hit by a car.  Unfortunately, he had no collar.  Shawnee Animal Control came and picked him up and took him to Animal Haven where hopefully he will quickly be found by his family.  Fortunately, dogs have a 75% chance of being reunited with the owner so treatment for an injured dog may be authorized by Animal Control in the city where the dog is found.  The bad news is that cats only have a 10% chance of being reclaimed by the owner.  What this means for cats who are found injured and with no ID is that they are often euthanized without any treatment being authorized or done by Animal Control.  Any animal that is severely, or even in some cases moderately, injured and without ID may be given the chance to be held and stabilized for 24 hours but without an owner to consent to and accept responsibility for payment for treatment that animal may be euthanized.  If your pet is lost, immediately report your pet's status to Animal Control in your city and in surrounding cities so Animal Control will have the pet on their list to check if a stray is found.  Find out what shelter(s) cities use for strays and also contact those facilities.  And above all else, make sure your pet has ID at all times.  With a collar with ID a pet can often be returned to you directly but, because collars can be lost or removed, having your pet microchipped provides permanent ID (but only if you keep your contact info current at all times).
Jan Hueben, RVT

Thank you JL

Last Friday one of our clients was horrified when she ran over a cat while she and her son were headed to the park.  She stopped and picked up the cat and brought him to us.  She is herself a cat owner.  Despite the fact that she felt both the front and the back wheels of her car run over him, the cat suffered no apparent injuries.  We treated him with pain medication, medication to prevent shock and gave him fluids until Animal Control could respond to our call.  We ended up keeping him overnight.  We were delighted Saturday morning when we came in and he had been eating and drinking overnight and was ready to go on about his life.  Unfortunately, he had no ID so we could not reunite him with his owner.  He is obviously someone's pet and one of the sweetest cats I have ever met.  Despite being run over by a car, picked up be a stranger, being poked and prodded by us, he was purring and rubbing on us the whole time and was thrilled every time we could stop and give him some attention.  He definitely used up a life or two last Friday.  We hope that his owners are reunited with him or that someone will quickly adopt him from the shelter.  He is a strong reminder of how hazardous the world is to a cat running loose and, with no ID, the animal control officers often have no choice but to authorize euthanasia for cats that are injured that they consider strays.  Please keep your cats inside but, if they must go outside, make sure they have a collar with tags and a microchip so you can be reunited and your cat is not needlessly euthanized.  And, a huge thank you to JL for the caring and kindness and compassion you showed this cat in a situation where many people would have just kept moving.
Jan Hueben, RVT

Pets and our hearts suffer

I wish there was a way to tattoo the foreheads of people who should not be allowed to have pets - something like an international symbol with a slash through the word "pet".  It is so hard to be the ones who have to clean up after these people.  The person who tells us that this is the fourth dog he has owned that has been hit by a car as we prepare the body to send for cremation.   The people who refused to buy heartworm prevention for several years and, then, when their dog tested positive for heartworm infection, thought we should find a new home for the dog because they no longer wanted him. The person who had a two year old beagle he wanted euthanized because he was moving and did not want to deal with the hassle - needless to say we would not do as he wished no matter how much he yelled at us that it was his dog and he could do what he wanted with him.  The person who abandoned the sweet, unspayed female cat that a good samaritan brought in - she was pregnant and Feline Leukemia positive. Today, it was emotionally devastating holding and comforting her as we euthanized her and her unborn litter.  Plus, the cats owned by the good samaritan have now been exposed to Feline Leukemia.  I will never be able to understand how people can treat pets as disposable things.  On these days, I can't wait to get home and give my boys, Boris and Melvin - themselves part of a feral litter that got lucky by being in my yard - big hugs whether they want them or not.

Jan Hueben, RVT