While August brings the Awareness Observance of Clear the Shelters Month, today, August 17th is “Clear the Shelters Day”. Although it sounds positive, clearing the shelter is a very controversial subject in many dog-rescuing circles. The intent is good; it has been relayed that if only 6 % of the population would adopt their next pet we could end, or limit, the euthanising of shelter animals due to overcrowding.
The problem some have with Clear the Shelter Month/Day is that in the attempt to clear, animals may end up in negligent, or abusive situations if the adopters are not carefully vetted in the accelerated process of clearing. Poorly conducted adoptions can cause dogs to be returned, or worse.
Everyone loves to see those victorious photos of a shelter staff cheering that all animals have “left the building” that circulate on Social Media sites and the evening news. But what you don’t see in the following days is the new influx of animals that fill those shelter cages once again…and so it goes. Remember, the only way to reduce the population of shelter pets is to Spay and Neuter and improve the shelter experience for those animals already here so they may find suitable homes more quickly.
I spend some time each day on sites created to help the widowed and one thing I know for sure is just how much our cats and dogs are our lifeline to navigating a new path forward. For me personally, this peaceful location in Central Florida is not only a haven for me, but for my pack.
Quint, my blind Malti-poo was rescued from a family that was fostering him, and his momma and littermates, in San Diego, CA, an adoption coordinated by Joy Manley’s R & R Sanctuary in Wisconsin. Just seven weeks after the passing of my husband, I flew out of Jacksonville, FL, to fetch Quint out on the West Coast.
Jackson, a local hound-mix, was acquired when I took a tour of ARK, a local shelter in Crescent City, FL, and was captivated by a litter of nine energetic black and white puppies wrestling and running about. At 8 months he already weighs in at 55 pounds. He’s a big sweetheart and a live-wire and really adds energy and humor to life around here.
I write and post frequently about the power of the canine-human bond for the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA), the Animal Welfare League of Putnam Co. (FL) and of course my beloved topic, National Dog Week. As I’m now mid-way through a draft of my Memoir about my widowed experience and the dogs in my life, I will be launching a substack e-mail newsletter under the heading “Ruff” Around the Sedges – The Adventures of a Widowed Dog-writer and Her Pack.
If you’d like to be on that newsletter list where I will share my writing process and on occasion, a painting in progress, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with “Add to Mail List” in Header. Please note, I will not be hounding you with excessive mailings!
I leave you with some out takes from life among the sedges where things can get real ruff!
Here are some sites you might “LIKE”! Have a good weekend.
