Very good sentences -- and thoughts on poverty, and animals

If you haven't seen this blog post (which I posted on Facebook yesterday), please go and read it now. 

The post is written by Lori Weise of Downtown Dog Rescue -- an organization that does outreach in one of the toughest, poorest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The post is really insightful, and gives a look at poverty in America, of what urban animals shelters see regularly, and the constant struggle of "us" (the animal welfare community) against "them" -- define that however you want but in this case, it's those who live in poverty.

From Lori's post:

"This is not a "pet problem", this is a poverty problem. Lack of jobs, lack of secure and affordable housing, lack of services. When services are available, they are often difficult to access. Other services require people to live in a target zip code or prove how little money they make to qualify. Even reclaiming a pet at the shelter can be a challenge since it requires identification that matches the address where the people live -- a challenge for people in transition."

It gets better. With stories of successes, and 'failures', in the 'revolving door' at the shelter.

For several years, I spent a couple of evenings per week working with a group of inner-city youth in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Kansas City. I learned a lot over that 4 year stretch.

I learned that ethics can be situational -- and things like not paying your utility bill and then starting up new utilities under a different name is commonplace. And while it sounds obviously wrong, if the alternative is to have it shut off and your family be without heat in winter, or pay it, and your family go without food for the week, then it's a choice that sometimes gets made. 

I learned that sometimes dropping out of school to get a job at a fast food restaurant to help mom pay the electric bill is sometimes the preferred alternative.

I learned the language of asking "where are you staying" instead of "where do you live?" -- because kids moving from family member to family member's home looking for a stable home life was so commonplace. 

When discussing dating and relationships, I had a 13 year old boy tell me that he thought marriage was "something only white people did" because there were so few role models of married families in their community to draw from.

In the United States, the poverty level is set at $23,050 annual income. For a family of four. If you're living alone, the poverty rate is $11,170, $15,130 if you're a couple. 

 Think about that for a minute.

That's VERY little. Now consider that in the US, roughly 16% of the population, and 20% of children live BELOW that number. And that doesn't even account count the people making slightly more than those figures that are still struggling to get by. When you're living in this type of situation, sometimes ethics are situational.

From Lori's post: 

 "I know that many of you might say that you would be homeless, living in your car, before you would surrender your cat or dog. But think about it: Would you really? Could you survive living in a violent area, constant noise, graffiti, trash, gangs controlling the streets, controlling the times that you can go out after dark?" 

Unfortunately, I think too many have removed themselves so far from the problems, that they don't even realize what they're saying. When I was volunteering with the inner-city youth, every year some volunteers would drop out. That's to be expected. But one of the common reasons why people quit was that they felt that the volunteer sight was TOO FAR AWAY FROM THEIR HOMES. And I think it tells an interesting story -- I think most Americans have moved themselves so far away from the problems (for fear, safety, whatever) that they no longer even realize it's a problem. The areas simply become statistics, or the location of the latest tragedy being covered on the 10:00 news.

The impact of the poverty impacts virtually all aspects of living...including their dogs.

From Lori:

"Third, add the higher rate of violent crime like home invasions, assaults, robbery, carjacking and streets being controlled by gangs. It's no wonder that residents of the community often have dogs to protect their homes. They tend to have large breed dogs, who are often very much part of the family, but their main function is to keep the home protected."

It's a lot to think about. But I think as you read Lori's post you start to get a clearer picture of the needs. As she wisely states, "This is not a pet problem, this is a poverty problem". 

And impacts the desire for people to own dogs. It impacts the types of dogs that people choose to own. It impacts the types of dogs that end up at the shelter, and the types that end up making newspaper headlines.  

And if you happen to own a dog in one of these neighborhoods, good luck finding vet care. Unless someone has decided to open up a free/low cost clinic in the area, there are no vet services available. And given that many don't have cars, and public transportation doesn't allow dogs, good luck getting your pet to a veterinarian even if you did have money to pay for the services. 

The problem isn't the dogs. It's society.

Understanding the problem, and having human empathy, is the first step toward repairing it. 

Comments

[Jen Brighton]

Awesome post, Brent. It's very easy for those of us who are more fortunate to judge those who aren't. Until you've walked in their shoes or worked in that environment like Lori has, you don't know what you would do under the same circumstances. I've often wondered if I lived in a high crime, poverty stricken area would I think differently about many things, such as assuming all pit bulls are vicious. Environment has a huge impact on how we perceive the world, same as environment has a huge impact on how dogs perceive the world.

[Brent]

Thanks Jen. Couldn't agree more.

[Tegan]

Thank-you!

[Sheri]

I remember years ago when we moved to Omaha we were looking for a house to live in and when we told one landlord that we had a large dog he said that was good we would want one in that neighborhood. We decided to look in another area. We ended up having to rehome him because he was going stir crazy in boarding since it took so long to find a place. As far as being too far away fron a vet I walked miles to a vet with two toddlers to take a stray to the vet in the snow. That distance thing is not a good excuse if it is something you want to do.

[Connie]

I do not have an answer for this.

But I will say I was taught growing up that if you could not afford something, you did not get it and if you could not afford to keep something you let it go.

I am blessed that I have never had it come down to "can I afford a pet" but I have come awful darn close. We had to break a lease once because we could not afford to heat the apartment we were staying in, and breaking the lease cost us our security deposit as well as our last dime. We were fortunate that we had help getting into a different place with better terms, but even still we ended up defaulting on a loan and ended up moving in with family for half a year. One more thing during that time would have probably cost us dearly and while it never came down to heat or food, it all too often did come down to which bill do we have to pay this week to keep it from being shut off.

We had cats during this time, but we had them prior to the "financial collapse" and we were able to make due. I can't fathom bringing a pet into that type of situation - which many poor people do.

There are cases where people have had a serious turn of bad luck or were lied to or misled (like in our case with the cost of heating that apartment) and need help, and can take that help and get back on their feet. But there are other cases where you just know they 'want it all' with out having to pay the piper.. they make excuses, they take advantage, and they ruin it for those people who simply need a hand. Those of us who want to help, don't know where to reach out because there are so many scammers out there. People who say they can't afford this or that to help their pet, while seemingly showing off to the world expensive cars, the newest and greatest cell phones, designer handbags, etc. (yes, there are people who have those things and aren't scammers. don't yell at me if you are poor and have a designer handbag that you got as a gift or found somewhere.. you aren't the people I'm talking about, I'm talking about the people out there that make you look bad)

So, what is the answer? we can't help everyone. heck we can't even provide adequate care in this country for the human population. too much $$ being funded into medicare and medicade which the country doesn't want funded. People complaining about "Obamacare" Government services are being cut all the time leaving kids and humans on the street with nothing.

There should be help out there for those that have a true and utter need.. but figuring out who has a need and who has a want that they are making you believe is a need.. that is the one we can't seem to figure out.

[Jen Brighton]

Connie hits it on the head when she mentions how she "was taught growin up." That has a huge impact on how we treat and deem whether animals are part of the family or disposable.

My husband has often told the story of him and his friend as teens driving in the country and accidentally hitting and killing a kitty on the road. They were so distressed. This friend's father was a veterinarian. They went to the closest house and talked with the farmer who said it probably was his cat but "there are a lot more where that one came from."

Historically farm animals, dogs and barn cats were not thought of as pets, although for many farmers that trend seems to be changing.

[Allie]

Lots of truth in this post ... but lately I'm also seeing a lot of people giving up their dog the minute they hit a rough spot. It makes me think it comes down to a sense of commitment, values and whether you really view your dog as family and what you're willing to give up (or not) as far as your own personal comfort and convenience. (No, I'm not talking about people in poverty whose utilities are getting turned off, though I do bet some find ways to keep their pets if they want to badly enough.)

I do always say I'd live in my car rather than give up my pets ... what I mean is I would do absolutely anything in my power to stay with them even if I hit hard times. It really dismays me to see for how many people the first solution is to "rehome" their pet the minute they hit a glitch. I have no idea how they can do it. I'd rather live in a crappy apartment in a bad part of town with my dogs than a palace without. I also wish we as animal lovers/rescuers would first think "how can I help this person keep their pet" than "here's another pet we have to help 'rehome.'" (Ick, hate that word. They're family members, not socks you change.)

[Cheryl Huerta]

OH my goodness where do I start?

First off what a GREAT blog Brent. As a pit bull advocate I deal with both sides of the equation and I can tell you that MOST people who do shelter or rescue work judge those who would surrender, they call it 'dumping', their dog to a shelter and some of them even feel free to comment in the 'public domain' on Facebook and other social media when they are campaigning to get funds, a foster or a home for a dog. It literally turns my stomach when I see this judgement dealt out day after day after day by people who clearly have a LOT more compassion for the animals they care for than for the people who had to make that often extremely difficult decision to get rid of their family pet or the dog who was their security provider.

It's my personal belief that if more of these judgmental shelter/rescue workers would focus a LOT less energy on hating those who surrender their pets to a shelter and dedicated a lot more energy to providing low or no cost programs to help these people keep their dogs that we'd all be much better off for it as a society. YES it's certainly agreed that there are some people who really don't care what happens to their pets and just wants to get rid of the problem BUT I truly believe that those people are truly the exception and not the rule.

I just posted a HUGE rant on my personal Facebook page a few days ago when a rescue person I know stated that a dog was 'dumped' at the shelter by the human's when I knew for a fact that was NOT the case. In fact the people who surrendered the dog to the shelter, in good faith, actually found the dog as a stray and had taken care of it for several weeks before realizing that this was not a good fit into their own pack. They did what they felt was best not only for their family/pack but for the dog and then they got vilified for it by those they trusted to help. That is so not cool in my book!!!

At any rate thanks for this. I truly hope it will make some people think. I will share it with all of the shelter/rescue workers that I know in the hope that next time they want to vilify someone for surrendering a dog to a shelter they will remember to have some compassion for the human and not devote all of it to the dog/cat.

[Anne berth]

The problem is not the dogs. "It's society"????! "Society" is made up of people. The problem is, and always has been, the uncaring people.

[Brent]

Anne, no doubt that society is made up of people. And yes, people who are both unaware, and uncaring about poverty, crime and conditions that unfortunately a significant number of Americans live in are certainly a big part of the problem. Although unfortunately, I know that isn't what you're referring to...