The Harsh Realities of Dog and Cat Dumping

Hello Dear Readers! Welcome to the jungle!

Howdy to the new folks, pull up a tree stump and the sheep will happily nibble on your fingers if you dip them in salt!

It’s still raining here, another 3/4” of an inch over the past week, and more coming in this weekend, including some predicted severe storms, ugh. It has also brought a swarm of ginormous blood sucking evil nasty mosquitos. The cattle guard at the end of my driveway is now a breeding station for these horrible critters. There are several toads that live in the guard so I won’t put anything into the water to kill the skeeto’s that will hurt the toads. The bug zappers are out and doing their part.

And the yard is a jungle because of it. Areas of knee-high grass are taking over. And, lo and behold, the lawnmower has decided that starting is not an option. I’m sure my Rob is quite disappointed in me because of this. He always took pride in having a well-cut lawn. I’ve been tinkering with it, but I have yet to figure out why it won’t go. I’m hoping a friend of mine can stop by and give me a hand this week. Fingers crossed. I hate disappointing my Rob.

And here’s is the chicken from last weeks post all done! Psst it’s for sale!

I wanted to talk about what happens when people dump dogs and cats out in rural areas.

People seem to have the misguided idea that dropping off their unwanted pet at some unsuspecting farmer or rancher’s place, that the animal will live a long and happy life, romping around in green pastures and have wonderful meals every day. Sounds great doesn’t it?

I mean, who wouldn’t want comfy hay lofts to sleep in, warm barns with cuddly horses to snuggle with, all the mice you could ever want to play with, unlimited bowls of dog or cat chow, and a kind loving new owner to pet their heads or ride in trucks with?

The reality is that rarely happens.

I’ve had to deal with this issue for over 20 years, ever since I first moved to a rural area. And it’s not pretty. I have chased down people I catch dumping animals and turn their license plate into the police. Yeah, this pisses me off to no end.

Only one cat that was dumped at our place ever stayed with us. That was our kitty Socks. He was dumped off the bridge by our driveway, wrapped in twine, and almost drowned. He managed to climb out and was saved by us. He was only about 6 weeks old, and we have no idea how he got out of the water. He lived a long happy life on the farm before passing away from old age. He was the bestest boy.

I’m sure there are a thousand reasons why people engage in this disgusting practice. Inability to feed them, too old and can’t afford the necessary vet care, animal is vicious towards other pets or people, vindictiveness against a spouse or child that loves that pet, no time to deal with them, and that’s that just off the top of my head.

Not every farmer or rancher is able to take on more animals, most of us are teetering on the knife edge financially, and one more mouth to feed can be one mouth too many. Personally speaking, I wish I could take them all in and love them but it’s not a possibility for me to do so.

When a dog or cat is dumped, the best case for that animal is that it is able to be caught and taken to a no kill shelter. Right now, in my area, the shelters are desperate to find homes and are currently pack to the gills with abandoned pets.

Now for what usually happens.

1. The animal is hit by a vehicle and killed, either instantly, or slowly due to injuries.

2. The animal messes with a porcupine, gets stuck badly, and develops a massive infection and dies.

3. The animal comes up against a predator and is killed

4. The animal becomes what is called a nuisance animal due to harassing livestock and gets killed.

5. The animal is dumped in an area with livestock guardian dogs and gets killed.

6. The animal slowly starves to death.

7. The animal runs into and fights with a wild animal carrying rabies and becomes sick and dies.

None of this sounds very nice, does it? I had a stray cat here a few months ago, it hung around for about 3 days, fighting with my cat in the middle of the night over the food bowl, then disappeared. I suspect it met with the local coyote pack or bobcat and became dinner.

There are so many other ways to deal with a pet you no longer want. Rehome it, but please be careful it doesn’t go to a dog fighter. Take it to your local shelter or Humane Society. Ask your local vet if they know of anybody looking to take on a new baby. Contact a local rescue group, they are all over facebook if you chose to look. If your pet is old and sick, do the right thing and have it put to sleep, knowing that it is still loved.

Sadly, this is not just limited to dogs and cats. While living in Colorado, there were a bunch of horses dumped into the local national grasslands. People could not afford to feed them, so they decided to just turn them loose into an area where they don’t know the terrain, where to find water, and have to contend with the wild horses already there. Many of these horses were old and they suffered horribly before they died. It was truly a horrific thing for those poor animals.

No animal deserves this fate.

There is a special place in hell for people that abandoned animals this way. And I hope they rot there.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Blessed Be

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