Shed-free, waiting for a home (Photo by Katerina Makris)
New presidential pooch Bo has already become a national hero, in a way. He has brought the issue of animal welfare into the public eye, and has set the pet rescue community abuzz with debate over whether or not he is a bona fide rescue, whether or not the Obamas should have adopted a dog from a shelter (as per their earlier statements), and what we can all do to improve the prospects for unwanted animals.
Dialogue is good. It carries the seeds of ideas, which often bear the fruit of progress.
This morning I received emails from a friend regarding my post on this page yesterday. The post was about possible ways for President Obama to brighten his dulled image in the animal rescue world. This friend volunteered heavily for Obama’s presidential campaign. I’m fairly sure he single-handedly secured his state for the candidate.
THE FRIEND’S COMMENTS ABOUT MY POST:
"I thought it was pretty critical, especially the title. ['Obama’s dog might not have been rescued but Obama’s image can be']]
"I suspect that, if it [Obama’s new dog] is a Kennedy gift, he was put in the proverbial rock and a hard place circumstance and had to smile and say 'thank you very much.'
"He does have a few other fish to fry these days and I believe the Kennedys put him in a no-win situation. Can you imagine the flack if it got out that they "turned down" a gift puppy from the grand man of the Demo. party, and one who came out early to support him?!
"Agree with all you say. You don't have to sell me on this topic. I just don't think it necessitates a salvaging of his image!"
MY WINDBAG REPLY (edited liberally for early-morning groggy grammar):
You are to be commended for loyalty to the President. I, too, bristle at unwarranted criticism of a man who appears to be trying so hard.
But he seems like the kind of guy who wants to be enlightened, and on this issue he's stumbling in the dark.
The problem is that our president had made remarks about wanting to adopt a “mutt like me” from a shelter, but instead brought home a purposely-bred pooch who may or may not be considered a rescue. That, unfortunately, did tarnish his image among many animal rescuers, no matter how or why he got the pup.
Of course the leader of the free world does have bigger fish to fry, and it’s exciting to have him in the kitchen. But please consider the following.
What would American streets look like if thousands of chumps like me weren't going around plucking stray dogs off of them? Not to mention digging newborn puppies out of garbage dumpsters, freeing dogfight “bait” victims who live chained--broken and bloody--to posts, and nursing the physical and emotional wounds of dogs whose eyes have been gouged with screwdrivers, skin has been branded with cigarettes, and legs have been shot out from under them.
Most folks have no clue as to how widespread pet neglect, abandonment, and abuse really are, and no concept of how many haggard saps are out here exhausting ourselves and our feeble bank accounts caring for way too many unwanted former “pets.”
If there weren't people frantically rescuing dogs, and paying, mainly out of our own pockets, to get them spayed/neutered, properly nourished, vaccinated, and advertised into new homes, our government, including the Commander in Chief, would be forced to spend a lot more money and take much quicker action. Homeless pooches would be causing traffic accidents, menacing children, and pooping everywhere, depressing everyone who cares the slightest bit about animals, and making the United States of America look embarrassingly Third World.
Public animal shelters carry the heaviest burden, but they can't handle the massive influx. It's only because of a joint effort between public shelters, private rescue groups, and countless suckers like me that you don't see packs of sick, starving dogs every time you leave your house.
If this doesn't sound plausible, visit almost any country that does not enjoy the benefit of this triple-layered, ad hoc rescue system. If you don’t find sizable populations of roaming dogs there, it's probably because they've been rounded up and poisoned, bludgeoned, or electrocuted to death.
It's agreed that pet overpopulation is not as important as, say, nuclear proliferation, but I submit that it would suddenly seem far more important than it does now, if all of us rabid rescuers stopped doing what we do.
When our hip young president displayed the good grace to say his family wanted to save a dog's life and adopt, our bleeding little hearts thumped like mad. We were delirious over the great example he could set.
The Obamas’ puppy Bo might be considered a rescue of sorts, if he was indeed returned to his breeder by a family who couldn’t keep him, as various media outlets report. (My attempts to confirm this information with the White House and with Senator Kennedy’s office remain unsuccessful.)
Whether or not Bo is a “breeder return,” and whether or not the President was cajoled by Sen. Kennedy into accepting a purchased pet, Obama missed a golden opportunity. By adopting a genuinely down-and-out dog, he would have given a small but oh-so-longed-for nod of recognition to the broad community of professionals and volunteers who perform the unsung public service of cleaning up after America's addiction to animal abandonment and abuse.
Given the enormous number of canines in need, odds are that with a little more time and patience, the Obamas could have found a perfect, shed-free fit for their family from among those pitiable pooches.
I wish I could stop my whining--just quit rescuing and even quit writing about animal rescue issues--and try to regain for myself and my husband some semblance of normal lives. But I believe there are workable solutions at hand, and I think that there's no better time than now to find them.
Along those lines, please read on to my proposal for a President’s Council on Companion Animal Welfare. Do you think it would be possible or useful?
Since those emails, my Obama-defending friend and others have replied to say they think the proposal for a new President's Council might receive a White House thumbs-up.
Or at least a tail wag from Bo.
PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON COMPANION ANIMAL WELFARE
Description:
A think tank and task force comprised of the most active minds and workers in the field, including academics, government leaders, veterinarians, in-the-trenches rescue volunteers, professional breeders, and other concerned citizens.
Goals:
a) Assemble relevant data, including an analysis of the public and private cost of dealing with unwanted pets
b) Accept and review public comment
c) Deliver reports to inform and enlighten the President and his staff on companion animal-related issues
d) Develop an innovative plan to reduce pet neglect, abuse, abandonment, and euthanasia, to be implemented during the President’s current term of office
What do you think of this idea? Please make comments on this page or send them to me at youradopteddog@yahoo.com. (Your email address remains confidential.)
A lifelong dog addict and rescuer, Katerina (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) wrote Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press, 2007) with coauthor Shelley Frost. Katerina's other credits include seventeen novels, numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and a CBS teleplay.
Email Katerina at youradopteddog@yahoo.com, and visit her and Shelley at www.youradopteddog.com
Find your new best friend at these and other San Diego area rescue organizations:
Helen Woodward Animal Center
Tel. (858) 756-4117
www.animalcenter.org/
North County Animal Shelter
Tel. (760) 438-2312
San Diego Humane Society and SPCA
Tel. (619) 299-7012
www.sdhumane.org
Friends of County Animal Shelters (FOCAS)
Tel. (619) 685-3536
www.focas-sandiego.org/adopt
Baja Animal Sanctuary
Tel. (619) 955-7423
www.BajaAnimalSanctuary.org
Comments
Yes we can!! I'll add my woofs of this wonderful idea and post this idea on my column at SF Dogs Examiner. Maybe we could inspire other Pets Examiners to do the same?
An absolutely fantastic idea. Your entire article is well-written and thoughtful. A definite must-read. I've posted it to my facebook profile.
I think you're idea is great, unfortunately I think Obama fooled us all and doesn't care about suffering animals one bit. I find his decision extremely painful and feel like he kicked all the people who have worked so hard in the stomach. Obama and Biden are a complete let-down.
Obama originally made this promise to Dr. Jana Kohl, the author of “A Rare Breed of Love” — a book about a three-legged rescue dog and puppy mill survivor named Baby-to adopt a shelter dog. And the promise is not just a figureto those who really care about animals: an estimated 30 million dogs and cats killed in pounds every year in the USA, every dog purchased by a breeder is a death sentence for those in these pounds.
I really don't think OBAMA cares about animals. Obama decided to get a breeder dog despite his knowledge of homeless and shelter animals, and reneged on his promise to get a shelter dog. This means he really doesn't care about animals and was merely a ploy to get elected. Honeymoon's over-we know he really does NOT care about animals so he's as bad as Sarah Palin
At least with Palin we know where she's at-no deception. This Osama person, he exploited us animal activists just to get votes. And at the expense of of homeless animals. How many of us have donated to this phoney Obama when we should have been donating to our local animal shelters?
HERE is my letter to senator kennedy:
DEAR SENATOR KENNEDY:
Bo is a pure bred Portuguese water dog, a relatively rare breed, whose breeder, Martha Stern, said is not a "rescue". She explained dogs that don't work out are returned to her and she will sell them to someone else. There is no chance a dog like this would ever have needed rescuing.
If OBAMA cannot even honor a SIMPLE promise to adopt a shelter dog-what makes you think he will honor more important key issues? This tells you a lot about him: It's no longer about a dog, but it's the inability to keep an easy promise.
Now word is spreading fast about Obama's inability to make good even with a simple promise. This dog thing is deeper than you think.
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