04 | December | 2008 | MUSING BY MOONLIGHT

Picture of Gypsy from family photo album.

Here is our own twice-adopted Gypsy, first by me from the humane society and then by my son and his wife when I could no longer handle her care. Gypsy says, “I love you, ” to Dr. Elaine Salinger of White Ivey Pet Hospital in San Bruno, CA, world’s best vet.

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I think I could turn and live with animals,

they are so placid and self-contained

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Not one is dissatisfied,

Not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another,

Nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Mother’s love is alleged to be unconditional. We all know that frail humans often fall short of that ideal. Not so with our younger brothers and sisters: our animal companions love us no matter what. Our clothes may be beautiful or shabby. Our home decor may be inspired or pedestrian. Our bank accounts may be fat or non-existant. Our IQ may be three-digits or two. None of that matters to our furry and feathered friends. Their devotion is unrelenting and unconditional.

This post is just a reminder that in these times the humane societies/SPCAs are stressed with higher animal census due to home foreclosure and the financial difficulties that some of us find ourselves in. Local organizations need donations of time, money, and supplies. Keep in mind that your donations to national organizations don’t go to the local area.

If you have people in your neighborhood who have pets and who are also losing their homes or getting evicted from their apartments, here are some things you can do to help with pets:

1.) Find out whether or not the families plan to keep their pets.

2.) If they’re not, offer to assist with finding adoptive homes.

3.) Provide information on the local humane society.

4.) Check the area around the house after the move to make sure that no pets have been left behind and stranded.

5.) Often pets are found mourning, dehydrated and starving. Do not feed them food without consulting a vet. Do give them water and watch to see whether or not they drink it. Sometimes they are so weakened that they cannot drink. No matter what condition they are in, get them to a vet or an animal shelter as soon as possible.

6.) Adopt from shelters. If you want a pedigre, you can get them at shelters. Even peidigre dogs and cats are abandoned.

7.) Adopt from your veterinary doctor. Some people abandon their animals at the vet hospital or office. These will have had care and you won’t incur an adoption fee.

A note to seniors: In some areas of the country, animal shelters have programs to facilitate senior pet adoption. Such programs may include waving adoption fees, assistance with pet food, and/or assistance with vet expenses. In other areas, shelters may have days on which adoption fees are waved for specified special populations, which may include seniors. If you live in federal housing, your right to a feline companion is protected by law.

All of this is not to say that the human fall-out resulting from our economic crisis is not as tragic as the animal fall-out. Our helping hands are needed wherever, whenever, and in what ever ways we have the heart and ability to offer them.

Thanks to Barbara Stone for the suggestion to do this post.