Maybe, a friendly fellow at Happy Tails Rescue in Fridley
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE
When I look at the Animal Humane Society website, I am amazed at the many past social ills that their programs address. Obviously, animal welfare is not ideal, nor is it necessary for a humane society, but 20 to 40 years ago most of these things were not considered problems. When I volunteered for a domestic abuse hotline in the late 1980s, it was learned that if someone leaves an abuser, there is a good chance the abuser will kill the family pet in retaliation. With no alternative, we have nothing to offer the victim other than the weak advice to find somewhere to hide their pet.
Here is a list of some of the things we have today to improve the lives of animals, whether wild or wild animals. In some cases, these are new ideas to improve the relationship between pets and their owners, followed by how to access them.
• Financial assistance for pet owners who lack resources for food, veterinary care, and other needs.
• Alternatives to surrendering a pet due to homelessness, military deployment, domestic violence, etc.
• Pets with behavioral problems, or owners who do not understand their pets’ behavior.
• Better options if pets are surrendered, abandoned or lost.
Dogs on Deployment
• Assist in understanding the special needs of exotic pets.
• New ways to learn about animals or how to interact with animals, including your own pets.
• What to do if you see an orphaned or injured wild animal.
• A new, more humane approach to helping feral cats.
Financial assistance for pet owners
This is an area where much progress has been made. There are now pet food shelves, and many human food shelves include pet food. For example, People and Pets Together, here in the Twin Cities, is a pioneer in this model. Many animal charities offer free or low-cost veterinary care. One such program is hosted at Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church, with services provided by volunteers from the U of M Veterinary School.
Pets for the Elderly provides financial assistance for seniors to adopt pets.
Alternatives to pet surrender
The whole concept of keeping pets has been revolutionary, as it can be used to prevent a person from being permanently separated from their pet. Dogs on Deployment is a service that fosters pets while their owners are in military service. Seniors or disabled people who need to spend time in the hospital can be linked to foster care for their pets through groups such as the Senior LinkAge Line or disability advocacy groups.
In cases of domestic violence (DV), there is now a foster care service to protect pets while their owners implement a plan to get out of a violent situation. An online resource for DV called Day One (run by the hotline I used to volunteer at) refers clients to MNAFAS, which runs a foster service. See tinyurl.com/DKRatSSP-PetSafe for more details. In cases of homelessness, many homeless resources have partnered with animal shelters to help care for pets until they can be reunited with their families. And there’s even a shelter that accepts pets. Avivo Village, in the four years it has been in operation and has served more than 400 people, has also hosted 28 pets – 18 dogs and 10 cats.
People and Pets Together
Pets with ‘behavioral problems’
The Animal Humane Society (AHS) points out that pet behavior is often the result of a misunderstanding on the part of the owner. In addition to offering classes for both humans and animals and a pet behavior helpline, AHS hosts an amazing online pet behavior library. Access it at tinyurl.com/DKRatSSP-AHS-Behave.
Better options
AHS uses a foster program to reduce euthanizing stray, surrendered, or lost animals to almost zero. And there are now many more options for raising the scores of animal rescue organizations in every locality. Even the Minneapolis pound is no longer an automatic death sentence for pets, but is also approaching no-kill status.
Exotic pets
AHS isn’t just for dogs and cats these days. Birds and small mammals also find sanctuary there or in a specialist rescue service. And the accessibility of information on the care of such pets is readily available.
Birthday party at the Animal Humane Society
New ways to interact with animals
Your animal-loving child can celebrate their birthday at AHS and benefit from their programs at the same time. Birthday parties offer a new way for animal shelters to raise money, and party guests can learn things and play with adoptable animals. Happy Tails in Fridley is another place that does this. AHS also offers cool programs like Paint Your Pet and Future Vet Workshops.
Orphaned and injured wild animals
Although AHS does not have a facility to care for stray animals, they still receive calls about them. So they partnered with Wildlife Rehabilitation of Minnesota to save animals’ lives.
Community cats?
AHS no longer calls them wild. But they will spay, neuter and vaccinate the “community cats” and return them to their home territory with as little disruption as possible. This is, to me, one of the most encouraging new developments in our treatment of animals.
