The Active Activist
By Michelle Rivera -
[email protected]
Do dogs and cats deserve the same rights as do the
whales, wolves and elephants? Some in the animal rights community would
have you believe that they do not. But as one of the keynote speakers
said during the Animal Rights 2002 conference, let�s not forget about
the dogs and cats in shelters around town. They have rights too. And
what better way to get active than to help out with your local rescue
groups?
First, just accept that there is going to be an enormous
chasm between your philosophy and that of the people at the shelter or
rescue group. They are probably outraged at the local news about an
animal cruelty case and express it with vehemence and passion over their
Kentucky Fried Chicken lunch. Get over it and try to concentrate on the
things you have in common. (But be sure to make faces at the people
actually eating and hold your nose in disgust while gingerly reaching
across the table to give them the latest PeTA offering about how the C
in KFC stands for Cruelty!)
Think of it this way -- taking a shelter dog for a walk
or to the local PetsMart on a Saturday afternoon so that he can get
adopted is a rewarding experience for you and a life-altering experience
for a lonely canine or feline who is counting down the days until
someone comes along and places a big black X on their cage card. Helping
out at your local shelter by walking dogs is one way to get active.
There are so many more.
Fundraisers - offer to organize a fundraiser for your
local shelter or rescue group. Don�t just call them with great ideas for
fundraisers (we really hate when people do that), but actually put one
on for them. It�s fun and easy and will bring you into contact with lots
of other animal people so that you can form alliances and build support
groups. That way, when you have the Great American Meat Out in your home
town, you will already have a mailing list! (More on the Great American
Meat out in this column next month). A fundraiser can be anything from
throwing a party and charging a fee to organizing a rummage sale, bake
sale or car wash. The money raised could be earmarked for spay/neuter
efforts, humane education or a fund for animals needing medical care.
Press releases are a cinch to write and send out and get the media
involved. Go to www.peta.org or
www.hsus.org and look at their press
releases to see how they are written.
Breed Rescue - Find the local breed rescue groups in
your state and offer to help with fostering, transport or adoption.
Breed rescue groups are usually comprised of dog breeders so you need to
steel yourself for the inevitable differences of opinion; but again,
concentrate on the common ground. We like breed rescue groups because it
keeps people out of pet stores and that helps cut down on the puppy mill
profits. We like that idea a lot! Some people want certain breeds and no
matter how much we educate people as to the value and wonder of
mixed-breed dogs, only a purebred will do. We don�t want to send them to
breeders and we certainly don�t want to send them to petstores and the
purebred dogs in shelters (about 33% of all the shelter dogs) usually
have insurmountable problems because they came from a puppy mill in the
first place. Breed rescue is a viable alternative and one that we can
all live with. Do you have an affinity for Afghans? A passion for
poodles or can�t live another day without a Bichon Frise? There is
someone nearby who likes them too and wants to help them find homes. If
you are the local �animal lover� and people are always asking you where
they can get a specific breed, it would be helpful if you know ahead of
time who in your community is working with Breed Rescue. And there are
national organizations that need your help too.
A year ago I started
helping to transport Siamese cats from shelters to foster homes or
adoptive homes. Some Siamese cats needed to make their way from Florida
to Virginia or places west. Not wanting to trust these little beauties
to an airline (for good reason), a group called Siamese Rescue out of
Virginia started a little effort called the Meezer Express (Siameeezers).
They recruited foster homes all over the country and now have a great
little effort going on to help Siamese cats find new homes. The older
ones that are so much harder to place go to Meezer Geezer homes. I also
foster for Siamese Rescue and my first foster cat, Tristan, found a
loving home with one of my in-laws who is properly spoiling him! I have
made lots of wonderful friends through my efforts to help Siamese cats
in memory of my sweet, sweet Sable, a lovely Siamese that I adopted from
a shelter in Germany and who lived for over twenty years. (For
information or to volunteer to help Siamese Rescue go to
www.SiameseRescue.org). If you want to get involved with one of the
canine breed rescue groups, just use the keyword for your special breed
to find one that does rescue.
Foster/Transport - Some rescue groups, especially the
ones that have no facility, are in need of volunteers to help get
animals to the vet, the groomer or from the shelter or pound to a foster
home. There is a group in my town called the Animal Rescue Force that
raised money to buy themselves an R.V. Now, they pick up the animals
that are scheduled for euthanasia at the county pound and they bring
them to shopping centers around the county where they try to adopt them
out to good homes. There is an application and references are checked
and a donation is required. The animals not adopted usually go home with
a volunteer for a week for a second chance. If you have an extra bedroom
or can accommodate another critter for a short time, consider offering
your services as a foster parent.
Neonatal care - The jury is still out on whether it is a
good idea to attempt to raise puppies and kittens who become orphaned.
Some vets feel that because they lack their parents they cannot become
well socialized and suffer from immune disorders. My own cat was
orphaned at two days old when his mom was killed by a dog. But I raised
him with KMR (kitten milk replacement) and he survived. Now, at age
five, he is THE CAT FROM HELL and suffers from a variety of expensive
and painful autoimmune disorders. I probably won�t do THAT again. But if
you believe in giving all living things a second chance and that the
vets are not always right, you may want to offer your services as a
neonatal caregiver. Call your local shelter and let them know you are
willing to take in a puppy or kitten and feed him or her for about eight
weeks until he or she is healthy enough to be put up for adoption. If
you are really adventurous, get connected with a local wildlife
rehabilitator and help out with injured or orphaned wild animals too.
There is not much controversy over their care because they are not
supposed to be socialized anyway.
Education - If you like to speak out for animals you may
want to offer your services as a public speaker, humane educator or
newsletter writer for your local rescue group. A lot of humane societies
or rescue groups are always looking for people to help with website
services. If you have some animal-related expertise -- share! This could
be as simple as visiting the PeTA website and ordering a free copy of
the Share the World video and asking teachers if you can show it during
after-school programs or even during study periods.
Wildlife Rehabilitation - The world is full of people
who STILL believe that if you touch a baby bird you will get human
cooties on it and the mom won�t raise it. Newsflash! Birds cannot smell!
Not very well at least. If you have a wildlife rehabber nearby and like
to walk on the wild side, go volunteer to educate the public about
wildlife issues, stay on top of pending wildlife legislation and help
out in the clinic or driving the van once in a while. Be sure that you
are helping an actual sanctuary and not a roadside zoo or entertainment
enterprise (but if you do get involved with one of those accidentally, PeTA will be happy to hook you up with a video camera and be your new
best friend!)
Get active! There�s so much work to be done and the
rewards are endless. I get e-mails and phone calls from people all the
time who complain that they feel lonely because all they do is send
money to the big nationals but they never get to actually DO anything.
This column is dedicated to all of you lonely people out there that want
to help animals. You can do it. We can help.
Go on to Macy's Reply
To My Little Experiment By Kimberly Locke
Return to 26 January 2003 Issue
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