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.

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!

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. 

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. 

The Power of Ignorance

The SuperBowl ad pulled by GoDaddy was widely criticized by animal lovers.  The ad profiled a puppy that fell out of a pickup truck and braved wilderness, train tracks, bridges and a rainstorm to make it home.  The puppy's owner was overjoyed to see him and then stated that she'd just sold him off the website she'd created through GoDaddy.  You can see ABC News' reporting of it here. 

The outrage the ad created was due to the fact that websites selling puppies are typically through puppy mill operations.  These commercial breeders raise puppies for profit without concern for the genetic health of the parents, typically house their dogs in small caging without toys or beds in unsanitary conditions.  Many times the breeding dogs aren't groomed, given veterinary care, and suffer from neglect.  Breeding females are breed with every heat cycle until they are too old to produce.

I think it's amazing that the magic of the internet and social networking worked so fast as to get GoDaddy to pull the ad before it ever made it to the Super Bowl, something that had never happened before.  In this age we have the ability to communicate instantaneously and make changes almost as fast. 

While I agree that the ad was horrible and absolutely promoted the wrong message, I do think it's a symptom of a different problem.  I have a hard time believing that anyone would knowingly create a commercial promoting such an abhorrent practice as mass commercial breeding of puppies.  It makes more sense to me that the commercial was created out of pure ignorance.  And when you think about how many people had to have been involved in it's production, it's a tremendous number of ignorant people who didn't see anything wrong with the ad. 

Those of us involved in animal welfare are immersed in what we know, and it's easy to forget that others don't have the same knowledge that we do.  Education is the key to making changes, and we have to keep in mind that many times ignorance is the cause of problems and we have it within our power to enlighten others. 

Cats, Cats and More Cats

Two fridays a month I spend time with some of the kids in the after-school program at Blair Elementary School in Waukesha. I'm known as "The Humane Society Lady" who sets up fun games for the kids to play and brings all sorts of cool animals for them to meet.

The games are always animal related, and usually have a lesson. This week we did an activity that was meant to teach the kids what can happen when a cat isn't spayed. You can see in the photo that there are sheets of paper with photos attached. Each sheet represents one offspring or descendent of the original cat, and their offspring within a 15 month period of time.

Of course this week I brought a cat for the children to meet. Tony was recommended by the staff as being outgoing and probably a good choice to take to the school. But as so often happens when working with children, and when working with animals things don't always go as planned.

I had the kids sit in a circle and put Tony the cat in the middle. He jumped out. I went and retrieved him and put him back in the circle. He jumped out again -- this time hiding under a book cart.

I decided to make the best out of a disappointing situation by asking the kids why they thought Tony kept leaving the circle. The kids came up with some very thoughtful answers; he was afraid of the kids, the kids were being too noisy and frightening him, it was a new environment and he wanted to explore and he wanted to go over and look out the window (which he did the first time he left).

Ultimately I committed kitty torture by holding Tony in my arms and allowing each of the kids to spend a few seconds petting him. It certainly wasn't the experience I was looking for - a calm cat walking around the circle and reveling in the joy of the kids petting him. But in many ways it turned out better than I could have hoped; Tony gave me an opportunity to get the kids to think about his feelings.

Humane Education

When I first tell people that I am a Humane Educator at HAWS, many don't really understand what it is I do. I believe some of them initially think I care for animals; cleaning cages, feeding, etc. Because I'm also a Certified Pet Dog Trainer some people think I work with the dogs in that capacity. In reality I do neither of those things as part of my job description, although there have been times where I have done both of those things as a part of my job.

To confuse the issue more is the fact that there really isn't a definitive role that all Humane Educators play. Most Humane Educators work at animal shelters, and I believe that most of their focus is on the education of children. Because animal shelters have limited funding and tight budgets many Humane Educators are volunteers, or do education as a part-time job, or in addition to other duties.

Humane Education, as far as I'm concerned, is about helping people find a connection with the animals we share the world with. If we can find empathy, understanding and a relationship with animals, we are more likely to treat them humanely and responsibly. HAWS ultimate goal is to help people make better choices before they bring their pets home, and give them knowledge and a relationship so that they are likely to keep their pets. This translates in fewer animals being surrendered to our shelter -- our goal is actually to educate ourselves out of jobs.

When I first took this job almost 5 years ago the focus was on the education of children. While I still do a lot of interactions with kids, we have also transitioned to the education adults. Some of the programs that I run here (with the help of fantastic education committee members, volunteers and fellow staff!) are summer and winter camps for kids, tours for scout troops, visits to schools and daycare centers, adult education seminars and speeches on a variety of topics at businesses or organizations. (For more information about our education department visit our Humane Education page)

My job is at times a lot of work. Most of the time it's a lot of fun. I get to spend time with animals, and share my passion with my fellow humans of all ages. What could be better? My hope is that this blog will allow me to share the experiences I have and some of the wonderful people I get to meet when I'm doing my job.