Loyalty

Loyalty - a strong feeling of support or allegiance

A few months ago I was asked to speak to a group of elementary school-aged kids on the topic of "loyalty".  I cringed a little at the request because when I've heard dogs being described as being loyal I'm never quite sure what that means. 

Dogs are a bit fickle in their allegiance, which is as it should be because they are dogs and see the world quite differently than us humans.  While my dogs love me and enjoy my company, I don't see them as being "loyal" to me in the sense that I would ascribe that same characteristic to a human friend. Certainly if my dogs had to choose between walking slowly (from their perspective) by my side on a walk or running off to chase squirrels they'd choose the squirrels.  And unless they've been well trained they wouldn't come back to me until they'd finished their pursuit no matter how loud I called or what kind of treats I happened to have in my pocket. 

On the other hand, if I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend and she took off on me in the middle of a sentence to do something more appealing I'd be very hurt, while when my dogs do the same thing I see it as them behaving like dogs.  

But that request got me to thinking about loyalty and our relationship with dogs, and it struck me that we shouldn't be describing dogs as being loyal to their humans, but should be talking about how we (the species with the bigger brain and opposable thumbs) should be loyal to our dogs (or other pets). 

Without a doubt when we choose to have pets we take on the responsibility for their care and well-being.  This includes such basics as ensuring that our pets have appropriate food, access to water, exercise, veterinary care and humane treatment. 

But I think that being loyal to our pets takes it a step farther. Being loyal means learning their species' communication signals so that we have a better understanding of their emotional states, and what they're trying to tell us. It means looking out for their emotional well-being.  We should be standing up for them by saying "no" when we know they are stressed or frightened and people want to pet or engage with them.  We should be training them in a manner which is fun and not stressful.  Being loyal means learning about and providing an outlet for their natural instincts and behaviors. Being loyal means being an advocate for our pets and speaking for them since they cannot speak for themselves. 

I try very hard to show my loyalty to my dogs by ensuring they have all their needs met and act as their protector for any danger, real or (from their perspective) imagined.  I don't expect loyalty from my dogs, but I'm sure going to give it to them.

Critter Club to the Rescue!

The first night of our Critter Club program for kids in 6^th through 9^th grades was earlier this month.  We let the kids do some animal socialization.  Lucy and Mia took a dog for a walk and when they returned they were very excited and concerned about a cat they’d seen “in the bushes”.  One of the girls had even taken a tight photo of its face peeking out from the leaves.  

I had one of the girls take the dog back to his kennel and asked the other to show me where the cat was.  Originally, I thought they’d meant the cat was in our landscaping in the parking lot, so I was a bit surprised when she led me to our dog walking trail.  

Sure enough, a cat saw us and scampered back into the long grass.  Knowing that frightened cats generally don’t allow themselves to get close enough for capture, I resigned myself to going back to the shelter and asking one of the kennel staff to set a live-trap for it.  But to my surprise a few seconds later the cat came out of the brush and started to meow and tentatively approach.  

Both of us sat down and remained quiet, and within a minute the cat came strolling up to Mia, sniffed her, and then started to rub up against her hands.  I told Mia to pick him up and in no time we were headed back to HAWS.  

Hawkley, as our staff has dubbed him, hasn’t been claimed by his owner.  Our best guess is that someone brought him to HAWS when we were closed, and rather than come back during our open hours to surrender him, just dumped him in our parking lot.

But even more outstanding is the concern our Critter Club members showed for this guy.  Their love for animals is why they’ve been involved in HAWS education programs, and that night they were able to make a difference for an abandoned cat trying to survive on his own. 

Things I learned at Camp

Oh, no.  Michael (name has been changed) is coming back to camp the next two weeks. 

Michael is one of those kids that is disruptive, disrespectful, and needy of attention.  He makes running camp activities more difficult and causes the counselors more work because they have to constantly monitor and address his behavior issues.  And there is always at least one of "those" kids in every camp session. 

I too was dismayed about Michael coming back to camp so many times this summer, but the funny thing is over time the kid has come to grow on me.  He is still a difficult child and everything I described in the second paragraph still holds true.  But he also has shown a side of sensitivity, humor and on occasion kindness. 

The first time I saw him as other than that "difficult kid" was when the campers noticed a spider in our camp room.  The counselor was called upon to take action, and when she started to move toward the spider Michael said, "Please don't kill it!".  And of course she scooped up the spider and released it outside. 

There's something about any child having empathy and concern for other living things, even spiders, that makes you see them as having good character and gives you hope for their futures. 

So although our campers are learning a lot about animals this summer, I'm reminded not to judge a child by their behavior. 

Crafts for Cats

Coming into an animal shelter is very stressful if you're an animal.  Being in an unfamiliar place with different smells, new people constantly interacting with you, loud noises and being confined are all things that make it difficult for a shelter animal to feel comfortable and secure.

HAWS does everything we can to try and make animals feel more relaxed.  We have volunteers take them out of cages for snuggle time and exercise, we ensure that all animals have toys, and we try to make sure that they have a comfortable place to sleep.

Frequently I get calls from kids groups wanting to make items that HAWS can use for our animals.  We have a whole list of projects ranging from super easy to requiring a lot of time and skill.  But one of our most appreciated crafts are no-sew blankets which are fantastic for our feline guests to cuddle in.

HAWS Critter Club Members and the blankets they made.

 No-sew blankets are made from fleece, which means the fabric can be cut and won't fray.  Additonally fleece is very soft and comfortable.  By cutting strips on the edges of two pieces of of fleece laid back to back, and then tying those strips together, you can create a double thickness blanket with fringes around the edges.

HAWS loves these blankets because they are a great size to fit into our cat cages, and because they are easy to launder.  The cats love these blankets because they are soft and comfortable.

Our Critter Club members just made some blankets for our cats.  As we start heading into our busy season for feline intake those blankets will get a lot of use!

A Failure to Communicate

One of the questions I ask when taking about HAWS to groups of children is what reason a pet owner might have for no longer being able to keep their pet.  Generally the kids answer with the usual reasons:  can't afford, moving, ruining stuff, not good with kids.  Last week I had an 8 year old girl give me an answer I've never ever had anyone phrase in quite this way.  She said, "The owners and the animal can't communicate well enough."

I was struck by how perceptive this little girl was, and how much truth there was in her statement.  The majority of the reasons for people to give up their pet involves some kind of a communication problem if you think about it.

The fact is that people have certain expectations about their pets, and when the pet doesn't meet those them it's either because the expectations are unreasonable, or the owner isn't being effective in their communication with the pet.

While it would be really nice to say, "Hey Fluffy -- I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't use my couch as a scratching post", the reality is that because our pets don't speak our language it makes effective communication even more difficult.

We (arguably the more intelligent species) might have to learn some of their language, because after all even if pets don't speak verbally they do have their own way to communicate and can tell us a lot if we would just learn how to listen to them.  And knowing what normal species specific behaviors are, and how to provide opportunities for our pets to perform them will go a long way towards resolving conflict.

Additionally, just as in any good relationship, we may have to compromise.  While we might not get everything we want, our pets may also not get everything they want.  You may want the walk to be moving as quickly as possible on your route for exercise purposes and your dog wants to stop and sniff each and every tree, light post and clump of grass.  So maybe you stop occasionally and allow your dog to sniff, because after all they are scent machines on legs and the world is full of wonderful and meaningful scents.  But on the other hand you don't stop as often as your dog would like.

Trying to understand our pets will make the relationship that much more richer.  And if your are struggling to communicate effectively and make the relationship work you can always seek a relationship expert to help you.  Many people call those professionals behaviorists and trainers. 

The Zen of Turtle

One of the least difficult programs I do is my weekly Friday visit to Saratoga STEM Academy during Connect - the hour in the middle of the day where the middle school students eat during the first half, and find something to do the second half.  For the animal lovers the visit from HAWS is one of their favorite things, and I get steady stream of kids stopping by to find out what the animal of the week is.

It's an easy program because I really don't have to do anything other than supervise the kids with the animals, answer questions they have about HAWS and the animal I brought, and listen to them talk about their own animals.  While there isn't a specific lesson being given my hope is that the exposure and opportunity to listen and be listened to will have a positive influence on them.

Typically the hour is very noisy and very chaotic.  Students are coming and going, talking to each other loudly, yelling out the door to a friend who is passing by, and off in a corner carrying on conversations having nothing to do with me or the animal.

A few Fridays ago I brought Hulk, our Red-earred slider that is currently residing at HAWS and looking for a home.  As turtles go Hulk is a bit on the shy side.  He doesn't like loud noises and, while tolerant of handling, takes a while to come out of his shell -- literally.

As beautiful of a shell as Hulk has, the kids really wanted to see the rest of him.  And when I explained that he didn't like a noisy environment they all shushed each other, formed a ring around Hulk and waited.  It was a long wait.  Kids still were coming and going, but as they came in they were instructed by their fellow students to keep quiet.  And as they were going they carefully tip toed out of the room. 

I thought for sure the kids would get sick of the wait after a few minutes and go back to being their typical rowdy lunch-time selves.  But they really surprised me in that they kept very quiet for over 10 minutes, and as Hulk very slowly cautiously moved his head out they whispered in excitement that he was doing so.  And after a few minutes when he moved his legs out they maintained their silence respectfully.

Animals have a wonderful effect on people - even turtles on middle schoolers.

5 Freedoms

I'm known about the 5 Freedoms for quite some time now, and we've even incorporated some 5 Freedom activities into our summer camp program.  Lately, however, I've become a bit obsessed with finding ways to incorporate the 5 Freedoms into many of HAWS education programs on a regular basis.

The 5 Freedoms were developed by the United Kingdom Farm Animal Welfare Council as a way to keep livestock in a humane manner.  The 5 Freedoms have since been adopted by many organizations and professionals that care for animals, including animal shelters/humane societies.

The 5 Freedoms are as follows:

1. Freedom from hunger or thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigor
2. Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area
3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
4. Freedom to express (most) normal behavior by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind
5. Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering

What I love about the 5 Freedoms is that they so clearly define the majority of what we are trying to do in our education programs.  These are definitions that show what a responsible pet owner provides to the pets in his or her care, and also helps facilitate empathy towards animals.  It shows that we can change an animal's emotional health just by making an effort to provide the 5 Freedoms.

What I also love about the 5 Freedoms is that in order to meet the criteria of all five a person needs to know what the needs of a specific species are, and requires that a pet owner do some research so that they can provide them.

As I go through the school year working with the kids in our clubs, after-school programs and other programs I'll be looking at ways to introduce the students I work with to the 5 Freedoms.  Hopefully it will make them think about how they can make life better for their own pets.  

Gone to the Dogs

Camp Gone to the Dogs is the most popular summer camp held at HAWS each year.  The camp is geared towards kids ages 10-14 years of age and limited to 15 campers.  Campers are placed in groups of three, and each group gets a shelter dog to work with and care for the week.  This summer the campers got to take care of puppies! And caring for puppies, while a lot of fun, brings with it special challenges and responsibilities other than frequent clean-up.

Puppies under 3 months of age benefit greatly from socialization to people, other animals and new things in their environment as long as it isn't overwhelming or scary, and they are allowed a choice as to whether they want to engage with whatever it is they are being exposed to. 

Our campers therefore had a great opportunity to help our adoptable puppies with socialization.  The fact that they spent all week with kids over 10 years who were playing, feeding and walking them allowed them to be socialized to older kids.  But our campers went beyond that!

One of the things we did was have "Crazy Dress Up Day".  Dogs can sometimes become very
frightened of people wearing clothing or costumes outside of what they've experienced.  We told the kids to come with winter clothing (summer puppies sometimes freak out when they are adolescents and people start wearing heavy jackets, scarves and hats), different hats, sunglasses, Halloween costumes, and anything else they could think of.  The kids put on their crazy clothing and spent time playing with and giving treats to the puppies. 

Another thing we did was a few days of environmental socialization.  We placed as many different types of things on the floor as we could think of; exercise pens laid flat, a tire, crinkly plastic - anything the puppies could safely explore walking on, over and into the objects.  The campers were instructed not to force the puppies to do anything.  An important part of socialization is allowing the puppy to make a choice and encourage him to be brave without pressuring him to do something he isn't comfortable with.  And of course lots of cookies were given for being brave and trying new things. 

HAWS camp is finished for the summer; in a few days the kids will start school, and the puppies have already gone to their new homes.  But we hope the kids who attended our Camp Gone to the Dogs learned something about how to properly socialize puppies.  And we know that the efforts they made  during camp have created a lifetime of benefits for the puppies they worked with. 

Campers Helping Cats

Camp season is in full swing at HAWS.  Each year I look for new things to do with the campers.  Many of the kids are repeat campers from previous years, and we have quite a few that attend multiple sessions.  New activities are important so that these children have opportunities to experience and learn something new. 

Over the years we've seen that some of the cats in our adoption ward are stressed or even afraid of the environment while in their cages.  In an effort to help these cats our staff and volunteers will frequently drape blankets over a shelf to provide a tent where these kitties can hide. 

And now that we have our shelter cat Toby I noticed that he adores sleeping in boxes, and I've learned that this is common with cats in general. 

One of the Five Freedoms of providing for humane treatment of an animal is the freedom to express normal behavior.  Cats love to hide in general, and stressed cats need to hide to feel better.  Giving a cat a choice about whether he will hide our come out will make a cat secure, and many times stressed cats will take a break in their hiding spot and then make a choice to come out once they feel better. 

Given this information I decided that making hide boxes for the cats would be a good camp activity.  Boxes are pre-cut and handed out to the campers to decorate.  They're given magazines, construction paper, and drawing material and told to get creative.

The kids love this activity and we found that they needed more time than originally anticipated to finish up.  The boxes are adorable -- the campers really outdo themselves. And best of all it seems that the HAWS cats are loving the boxes too - many times we'll see them snoozing in their cozy boxes. 

Blogger Dog, Brito!

My passion is my dogs and part of that passion and the way I connect with my furry family members is through training.  Training a dog shouldn't be looked at as a chore.  Training can be fun and if done properly becomes one big game for the dog.  It's a lot like the way we like to run our education programs here at HAWS; the kids do some fun activities and learn something along the way!

Because of how I want to train my dogs I've become a big fan of dog trainer Denise Fenzi whose training philosophy matches my own, and who has an amazing way of building relationships with dogs.  I've learned a tremendous amount since I've started reading her blog and books.

Recently Denise published a book for children called "Blogger Dog, Brito!".  The book is written from her dog Brito's point of view in a blog format and he writes about being adopted from a rescue, his introduction to his new family, learning new things, and playing fun games.  We get to see how dogs express themselves through body language, and how they can thrive when someone understands them and allows them to have choices.  It's the perfect book for HAWS humane education program. 

Since our camp started this week, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce the book to our campers.  We read the children a few of the chapters, talked about Brito and how he felt during the situations he described, and then we had the kids do an activity.  The kids could choose to either write a blog from the viewpoint of one of the adoptable animals at HAWS, or they could comment on Brito's blog post from the viewpoint of another animal and draw a picture.  Here are some of the results. 

Kitten Season

We're coming up on what is commonly known as "kitten season".  That time of year when kittens start streaming in from people who have found them under their porches, on their farms, or in an old shed.  They come in for the most part without a mother, some too young to eat on their own, and others a bit older and showing signs of becoming feral. 

These kittens typically end up on a foster home.  The very young ones will be fed by bottle and pottied by hand.  The older ones will be handled, played with and hopefully learn that living with humans is not such a bad thing after all.  Many times they come out of their shell and become more social. 

When I first started working at HAWS 12 years ago kitten season came rushing in with baskets, boxes and carriers of kittens coming through the doors starting in March and running right through until the end of October -- sometimes even later.  Then most of our cat adoption ward was filled with cages upon cages of 8 week old kittens.  And even though the little ones were adopted quickly, there was a never ending stream to take their place. 

We've noticed a huge change in the last few years.  Kitten season has started with a trickle, and doesn't really get going until the middle of June.  The students in my education programs during the school year repeatedly ask to see kittens, and it's rare that I have any to show them in the spring.  And while our cat adoption ward has many cages of kittens at the height of kitten season, it's not nearly to the level that it was years ago. 

I give credit to HAWS for this transformation.  Our spay and neuter clinic offers free spay/neuter to farms with barn cats, and to residents taking care of community cats; the cats that have no owners. We've also created alliances with other organizations to take cats if we are over-full and they are able. 

HAWS has a goal to create a no-kill community.  Right now we fulfilling that definition with dogs and our small animals.  And we are ever so much closer to that goal with the cats that we take in; we get closer every year.   Spay and neuter to reduce the population works, and HAWS is proof of that. 

Hee Haw!

Where do donkeys go when they've been neglected, mistreated, or no longer wanted?  Luckily there are non-profit rescue organizations that are able to take these animals in and care for them either for life, or until they've been adopted into their own homes. 

Holyland Donkey Haven in Mt. Calvery, WI is one such place, and this semester's group of Critter Club members was lucky enough to be able to visit there last Sunday on our regular semester field trip. 

Donkey Haven founder, Angela Langoski could not have been more welcoming to our group as she explained about how she started rescuing donkeys and created a sanctuary.  

We heard personal stories about some of the donkeys -- both sad stories about their past, and happy stories about how they went to their loving new homes.  

Much like HAWS, Donkey Haven is a private non-profit that relies on donations and volunteers to care for the animals and ensure that they will always have a safe place to live. 

Critter Club members all fell in love with these wonderful animals and were astounded at how affectionate, gentle and playful they could be.  We all laughed to see them rolling around on their backs in the dirt, and moved out of the way when they got a bit frisky.  

There were a lot of requests to take one home, but unfortunately getting one on the school bus would have been a logistical problem.  We reluctantly left the donkeys behind with promises to visit again.   

Thanks!

A few weeks ago I was a presenter at a High Interest Day held at Rose Glen Elementary.  Mystic and I spent a morning teaching three different groups of children about training animals, which is one of my favorite topics.  Part of the presentation was a demonstration of Mystic learning something new, and then showing off all his tricks.

Earlier this week I received a large envelope filled with wonderful letters and drawings thanking me for my visit at the school.  There is nothing better for someone who works with kids than to get letters and drawings of appreciation!

I wish I could post all of them, but there are just too many.  Here are some of my favorites!

It's that time of year!

Things are warming up, we're getting rain instead of snow, buds are forming on trees and grass is getting greener.  In addition to life becoming more enjoyable to us humans, it's also the time of year that HAWS sees a huge increase in the number of wildlife being brought into our shelter.

These animals typically are injured, sick or thought to be orphaned, and will be transferred to a wildlife rehabilitation center until they can be released back into the wild where they belong. I use the term "thought to be orphaned" because many times baby animals are removed when they should not have been.

Baby rabbits and fawns in particular are misunderstood.  A concerned citizen sees them without an adult and assumes that they've been abandoned by their parents.  What many people don't realize is that these prey species absent themselves from their babies deliberately.  Hanging around where your baby is located is a good way to tell a predator where to find an easy meal.  The mother rabbit and deer come back  to feed their babies, and then leave again. 

If you are convinced that a nest of rabbits has been abandoned you can lightly cover them with grass and check on them the next morning.  If the grass has been removed the mother rabbit has been by for a feeding.

A fawn will only require assistance if it has been crying for more than 3 hours, or if it is obviously injured.  Observe from a distance - getting too close means that you're spreading your scent in the area of the baby deer and your scent may attract predators.

If you want to help a wild animal you should first find out if it actually  needs help and what kind of help it needs.  A great resource is the Wildlife In Need Center in Dousman.  They have a great FAQ section on their website, or you can call during their clinic hours with questions.

How Long?

"How long did it take you to train him?"

That's a question I hear quite often as Mystic and I do our education programs and he shows off the tricks and manners that he knows.  And it's a question that I'm never really sure how to answer because it's a question that has many answers.

Mystic knows a lot of behaviors.  He started learning stuff at the age of 9 weeks when he first came to me.  But I didn't barrage him with learning new things all at once; a lot of the things Mystic knows were introduced over a period of several years.  As a matter of fact I still sometimes teach him new things.  So does that question mean all the behaviors he knows?  If so the answer is 11 years (his age), although that might make him sound as though he isn't very bright, and Mystic is very smart. 

Mystic learns quickly, but like any individual he picks up on some things faster than others.  His "wave" trick was extremely easy for him to learn because he tends to use his paws a lot.  "Say Your Prayers" on the other hand took many, many sessions of training.  So I could ask the person which trick or behavior they are asking about.

Another aspect to training is the different stages an animal goes through.  There's the initial teaching of what it is the trainer wants the animal to do, the training the animal to do it on cue, and then there's training the animal to do it in a variety of situations with a variety of distractions.  So does the question refer to learning the initial behavior, or getting Mystic to do it reliably no matter when I asked him to do it?

But what most people think is that training an animal is like putting siding on the house.  Once the siding is up it's pretty much maintenance free, and they think that once an animal is trained he's trained.  But training is actually more like learning a sport or musical instrument.  There's learning the skill, perfecting the skill, and keeping up on the skill.

Professional football players don't come back from their time off and play their first NFL game without practicing.  Skills get rusty over time if they aren't practiced and it doesn't matter if you're a human or an animal.

So Mystic might know a lot of stuff, but if I don't practice his skills he will noticeably deteriorate in his performance.  So doing training sessions to practice things he already knows helps keep his skills sharp.

So I guess the answer is still 11 years. 

Making Do with What You Have

When I was growing up I wasn't allowed to have a dog, though I dreamed about it and was one of those kids that got excited every time I saw a dog.  We had fish, turtles, at one time I had a garter snake, and then when I was in Junior High I was allowed to have a hamster.  I really wanted a "real pet" that I could do something with.  Something more than just holding it and (in the case of the hamster) petting it.

Now I have dogs and we do a lot together.  And because I really enjoy training dogs and have a vast network of friends (both real life and cyber) who are also training geeks I have access to more training information than I know what to do with. Additionally, when I was growing up we didn't have that wonderful thing called the internet -- which has allowed a great exchange of information and videos.

Some of the most amazing videos I've seen of trained animals haven't been with dogs, but with small pocket type animals.  The same animals that many kids are resigned to having in lieu of having a "real" pet like a cat or a dog. Who know that hamsters, guinea pigs and rats could learn so much and be so much fun?

If you have one of these types of pets watch the videos I've posted below and be inspired.  And if you don't, watch anyways and be in awe.




 

FBI and Animal Crimes

Some exciting changes are happening at the federal level with regards to crimes against animals.  The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) maintained by the FBI is a database. "Law enforcement agencies collect detailed incident level data regarding individual offenses and arrests and submit them using prescribed data elements and data values." (FBI website)

Tracking crimes in detail allows law enforcement and other agencies/organizations to get statistics on specific crimes, the people committing the crimes, as well as statistics on victims and circumstances.  Participating law enforcement agencies report each crime occurence in a specific category with detailed information.

To date crimes against animals have been reported the general category "all other offenses" as class B offenses which collect data on arrests, not on other aspects of the crime.  Class B offenses are those crimes which aren't considered serious enough to track more specifically.

As of January 1, 2016 participating law enforcement agencies will have to report crimes against animals as a Class A offense with animal crimes having their own category.  (Huffington Post article has more information.) Data will be collected on four different subcategories: simple or gross neglect; intentional abuse and torture; organized abuse, including dogfighting and cockfighting; and animal sexual abuse.

This decision is a response to the massive amount of research that shows direct links between animal cruelty and an escalation towards violence towards people.  There is a strong correlation between children who abuse animals continuing to go on to be physically violent as well as other delinquent behavior in adolescence.  Additionally many serial killers and school shooters started practicing by abusing and torturing animals.  And animal abuse is strongly connected to domestic abuse. (See page on Michigan University's website for further information.)

The decision by the FBI to change how animal crimes are tracked does several things.  First of all it offers legitimacy to the idea that crimes against animals need to be taken seriously.   Many times cases involving animals end up being dismissed or the punishment being a very short jail sentence or only probation.  The FBI's decision to track illegal acts against animals sends a message that these crimes are something that society should be concerned about. And the tracking could make it easier to get better sentences and make an impact on juries. 

Furthermore it could potentially be a catalyst for education of the public as to why crimes against animals are so serious, and how offenders could go on to endanger other members of society.  People who are dismissive about animal welfare will care about other human beings.

Lastly the statistics will allow law enforcement to track the progression of these crimes, give information to school counselors and social workers as to what they can look for to identify children at risk of being abused, or who may be future abusers themselves.  Early intervention in the lives of these children could help to prevent future violence. 

Choice equals Respect and Safety

I wrote the following post originally for a HAWS Tattle Tales article.  I would argue that teaching children animal safety should absolutely include this concept. Allowing pets to make choices is a topic I'd like to explore in the future, since I believe that this is the foundation for respect and fundamental to humane education. 

A study with nursing home residents showed that those individuals who were encouraged to make personal choices for themselves were happier and healthier than residents who had all decisions made by staff.  (Langer & Rodin, 1976). 

Lack of control in the workplace is considered to be a huge stressor for an employee.  A study showed that employees in high stress jobs with a lack of control were more stressed than employees in high stress jobs and more control.  (Karasek, 1979) 

Allowing an individual at least some autonomy gives them control over their lives, helps develop confidence, reduces stress, promotes a happy life, and can be an important part of developing a relationship. 

Everything I’ve written so far is in reference to human beings, but is equally applicable to animals.  Indeed zoos make every opportunity to allow their animals to have as many choices as possible.  Just because an animal is on display doesn’t mean you’ll get to see him if he’s decided he wants to hide from you.  A large part of enrichment for zoo animals incorporates the opportunity to make choices and have some control over their environment.      

I would argue that we also need to provide our pets with choices.  So much of our pets lives are dictated by us; we tell them where to eliminate, where they should sleep, control when they eat, dictate what they can and cannot play with, and decide when we are going to provide them with exercise.  While we can’t give our pets full autonomy, we can try and give them the ability to make choices as often as possible.   

Humane Education is all about respecting and displaying compassion for all living things.  What better way to instill these concepts than to teach children about allowing animals to have choices.   Just because you want to pet the kitty doesn’t mean that the kitty wants you to pet her.  Allowing a cat to leave the room and hide is a great way to show respect and acknowledge her rights as an individual to decline an interaction that makes only one of the two of you happy.  

Giving our pets choices about whether they want to be touched or approached by us or others not only gives them autonomy and respect, but is also a safety issue.  Animals that are stressed, anxious or frightened are more likely to feel the need to defend themselves; we know that most bites are caused by animals who are frightened.  

Our jobs as pet owners are not only to care for them, but to protect them and help them thrive in our world.   And what better way is there than finding ways to give our pets some choices about their lives.