I worked for 3 veterinarians, more than 30 years ago, and had the unpleasant experience of assisting in one de-clawing procedure.  Like many, I had assumed that the practice was a simple surgery, and that the cat would awaken in basically the same body, only now unable to shred furniture.

What I witnessed stunned and sickened me.  The vet was a wonderful, compassionate man, who truly believed that this was a justifiable and only alternative to putting the cat to death.  The owners probably didn’t even investigate options, honestly unaware of what their cat was about to live through, and how her life would change forever.  When I realized that a good deal of her paws had to be amputated, I had a hard time assisting with the surgery.  But perhaps the worst part was when she awoke from the anesthetic, sitting up like a frightened raccoon, waving her bandaged paws in the air and howling non-stop.  I had worked at a Children’s Zoo for 5 years, raising and healing all types of injured and orphaned wildlife.  I had never heard such a plaintive cry from any creature.

The cat’s eyes were wide and frightened, and she tried to stay off of her throbbing paws as much as she could, in spite of the lingering effects of the anesthetic.  It was apparent that she was in exquisite pain but also, that she was intensely frightened.

The cat had owners that loved her and no doubt thought they were doing the best thing for all.  They had not researched the long-term effects, nor did they have any idea what type of terror and pain their animal would go through.  Like a circumcised infant boy, had this victim a voice, she would have insisted, loudly and clearly, on her birthright.  Surgery to correct disease or to sterilize animals saves lives and in the process, does not inhibit inherently important behavior.  But surgery that takes away important body parts such as protective ears and tails that express communication in dogs, or claws that are as vital to cats’ lives as fingers are to humans’, needs to addressed. Continue reading “Declawing” »

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A 21-inch codfish was repeatedly caught in a Norwegian Fisher’s net, and each time released.  Initially, the fisher didn’t want the cod, as it was underweight in the extreme.  But as the fish returned to the net more than 40 times, the fisher developed a fondness for it.

The media discovered the story, and consistently documented the homecoming.  Finally, after too often being lifted out of the water to be photographed, it became apparent that the hard-of-seeing animal, now named Balder, was becoming more and more ill.  The public rallied and a cry went out to the local aquarium to save the cod.

For two months staff fed Balder through a stomach tube, trying to help him gain weight.  Finally, all of Norway breathed a collective sigh of relief when Balder was able to eat on his own.

Every day we seem to hear of an animal rescue.  A cow is mired in mud, and a camera crew is there to show us the tireless efforts of its rescuers.  A stray kitten is found at the top of a tall tree.  Suddenly out come the ladders, and the brave people who climb them.  A Rottweiler-cross is discovered, almost dead.  The chain he had been wearing when he ran off his property became entangled in branches and had gouged a large, ugly wound into his neck.  He is rescued, and nursed slowly back to health. Continue reading “A Question of Personality” »

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The plumes of heavy black smoke coil, almost as if revulsion itself drives the path.  Hundreds, thousands of cow, sheep, pig and goat carcasses feed the flame, the naturally flammable lanolin and oils speeding the process.  And the workers stand back, disgusted, and hope that the spead of foot and mouth disease has been halted.

Every day we seem to hear of another country that has discovered cases of the virus, and we know that nowhere, not even North America, is immune.  We are told of the financial devastation, for the farmers and the nations, and occasionally a story comes out about the great sadness that the farmers feel.  Some have even taken their own lives.

But still the executioners don their protective garb, pick up their firearms, wade into the flocks and the herds, and start shooting the terrified mothers and babies.  We don’t hear about what the animals are going through.  The press doesn’t discuss the mothers trying frantically to protect their young as they watch each other being shot, one by one.  No one tells of the sheer horror that they experience as, once again, humankind decides the course of evolution.

Many of the farms involved are not factory farms, and the people who care for the animals do have compassion for them, and in some cases, affection.  This is an intense trauma for the human counterparts as well.  So why are the authorities not spending a little more money to make certain that these animals die within the realm of what we think of as humane?  It would seem that, not only would the creatures be much better off, but perhaps the farmers would have fewer nightmares. Continue reading “Foot and Mouth Disease” »

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