I'm a big fan of the "five year plan" - a medium-range strategy to solve a seemingly insurmountable problem. I believe that by taking the right steps, getting everyone involved and by setting sensible deadlines, with the right commitment, any problem, including the problem of animal homelessness, can be solved. (I'm a bit "Crazy Eddie" too.)
And I believe that if everyone who has anything to do with animals works together, concentrating on just three areas of the problem, we could end animal homelessness in just five years. Here's how:
1) A Moratorium on Breeding
If all breeders - official "proper" AKC members, puppy mills and backyard breeders - would stop letting their animals reproduce, even every other "cycle", the number of available animals would drop dramatically. People looking for a new puppy or kitten could be encouraged to turn to shelters or breed rescue groups, adopting older animals in need of a good home.
Good breeders don't create litters to make money - they often loose money - their major concern is creating good puppies and maintaining good bloodlines. While I'm not a huge fan of purebred dogs, having spoken with breeders, I can understand their point of view. I can also believe they would be valuable allies in this effort, if approached correctly.
- The Problem:
Backyard breeders, puppy mills and irresponsible owners all need to be convinced that what they are doing is no longer economically or legally viable.
- The Solution:
Education, taxation and fines are the only way these people will be convinced - AND if potential owners stop buying or taking the puppies and kittens produced. The AKC and breed clubs must take an active role too, by not giving carte blanche registration to anyone breeding dogs with papers - only genetically sound animals should be registered and given proper papers and registration. The creation of new unofficial breeds like cocka-poos and labra-doodles should be discouraged as well.
2) EVERY Pet Spayed or Neutered
If everyone responsible for an cat or dog had their animal spayed or neutered (apart from proper AKC/breed club registered breeders), unwanted litters would soon be a thing of the past. In most areas, a spayed or neutered animal's yearly license is less expensive but this is only a start. More education and more incentive is going to be necessary.
- The Problem:
Many people love their animals, but think they can't afford or they won't take the time to have their pets fixed. In many areas "that's just how we do it" - unloading their yearly litter of kittens on whoever stops by is the social norm, and this way of rural (and urban) life needs to stop. Even with the best will in the world, accidents happen and litters of puppies and kittens are the result.
- The Solution:
Low-cost/no-cost clinics need to be setup, using students and graduates who have benefited from government subsidized loans to complete their veterinary medicine degrees. Companies that benefit from using animals in their advertising could donate money and products to support the effort.
Other incentives could be offered too - coupons for discounts on food products, kitty litter or flea control products, would encourage people to have their animals "fixed".
Homes and farms where the yearly 'free kittens' sign appears could be targeted by mobile spay/neuter clinics, using live traps to capture feral animals.
3) Placing Homeless Animals
Finally, if everyone who wanted a pet adopted a stray from a shelter or rescue, rather than adopting a puppy or kitten from a breeder, I believe that within five years there would be so few strays, our shelters and rescue groups would be almost out of work.
- The Problem:
First, puppies and kittens are just too cute. Second, older animals often come with problems that may need expert help to resolve - and finding help isn't always easy. Neither is working out the issues.
- The Solution:
First, by heavily, actively publicizing the five-year-plan, people considering pet adoption may seriously start to consider adopting an older animal, rather than buying a puppy from a breeder or a puppy mill - especially when fewer young animals are available. Reducing the number of easy-access puppies and kittens would help steer people towards rescues too.
Second, help needs to be accessible to anyone willing to take on a rescued animal, for a reasonable cost. Many rescue groups and animal rescue 'heroes' have a wealth of knowledge and experience which could be turned to this purpose. Potential pet-parents need to be willing to ask for help and must be willing to work out the issues. It isn't easy, but turning a troubled animal around is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.
Third, by properly evaluating animals and prospective pet-parents, good matches could be made, to reduce or eliminate "adoption shock". Too often problems are played down in the hopes of finding any home, and that isn't the best option - proper evaluation and placement is the solution to finding "forever homes".
This 'five year plan' is dependent on EVERYONE in the animal rescue world working together towards the same goal, eliminating the infighting between the various rescue groups and concentrating on the longer-term solutions, stressing education and owner responsibility. Breeders, trainers, vets, rescue groups, animal activists, foster parents, behaviorists, Animal Control, legislators and companies that produce pet products, as well as potential pet parents need to set aside their differences, preconceived notions and monetary concerns for this to work.
And the five-year-plan can work.
The problem of unwanted animals isn't going to be solved in a day, a week or a year. It isn't going to be a hundred-percent solution, but it will be better than the current tactics of a handful of people trying to save thousands and thousands of unwanted, badly bred and genetically unsound animals every year.
But maybe if ALL of us who love animals, if all of us who earn our money from animals work together, we can reduce the problem of unwanted animals from a crisis of epic proportion, to a manageable, minor irritation in as little as five years.
It's worth a try, isn't it?
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