KC DOG BLOG

Ideas I Love: Community Cat Photo Project

I saw this article this morning and I'm just captivated by the idea. 

Jason and Elizabeth Putsche have begun a photo project to help raise awareness for community and feral cats -- taking beautiful pictures of the cats in their natural environment ith the goal of changing perceptions toward feral cats and how they can be a symbiotic part of our world.

While sometimes we think of outdoor cats as having tough lives and being full of disease and harm, the reality is, most live very good lives, are well fed, and well groomed.

My own neighborhood has dozens of community cats and I quite enjoy watching them chase squirrels and socialize with each other. Some are shy, but not completey scared of the humans in our neighborhood.  And often, because people don't recognize cats as outdoor animals, it often leads to bad animal control policies that target outdoor cats.

As Putche notes in the article: "Many people think that all cats belong inside, and as a result, when they see a cat outdoors they think, 'that must be someone's pet that go out, or that cat needs help or needs a home.' In this manner, many people feel obligated to call animal control and report the stray animal. They think they are helping the cat by getting it to a shelter where they can be adopted -- when really millions of cats have never spent a minute inside a house, nor would they want to. 

"Additionally, by reporting the cat and turning them into a shelter, they may be endangering the pet's life. Depending on the area, the cat could be taken to a high-kill shelter and ultimately put down, despite the fact that it was perfectly healthy and able to survive".

I absolutley love this project. Go click on this link to learn more about the project -- and feel free to check out their facebook page as well.

 

Photos via Jason Putsche.

Very Good Sentences - on Fear

Last week, after nearly a year of review, the city of Reynoldsburg, OH decided to keep its ban on "pit bulls" -- even though police records note that the city has never enforced the ban until residents asks for a repeal.

The Columbus Dispatch notes that the decision flies in the face of scientific research, and recommentdations from the AVmA, CDC, US Department of Justice, every humane organization in the country and the recommendations of its own commissioned committee.

Why'd Reynoldsburg keep the ban?

 "It's cheaper and takes far less effort than providing community programs for bite prevention and educating citizens about the real circumstances that contribute to dog aggression. Breed bans are a fear Band-Aid......Fear extracts a price and we all pay it."

That price so far has been nearly 50 well-behaved dogs being removed from their families based on how they looked. 

Nice editorial by the Columbus Dispatch.