All in a Days Work at HAWS

As much as I love my job as a Humane Educator, I sometimes miss out on some of the more exciting things that other HAWS staff members get to experience. We have staff who are trained for road calls -- rescuing wild or domestic animals. They come back with all sorts of interesting stories.

HAWS staff are always encouraged to take a lot of photographs of things that go on from day to day at HAWS. It helps our public relations department promote the many things HAWS does for Waukesha County -- photos really help bring stories to life.

Yesterday our Operations Director -- Mark Hess, asked if I had some time to accompany him on a road call to save a cat. Mark thought it might be a great photo-op, but knew he wouldn't be able to take photos while he worked to get the cat. Since I had a bit of extra time I was thrilled to have an opportunity to go out on an adventure to rescue an animal in distress.

The cat was trapped on an over-hang a few stories up on the municipal parking lot in the City of Waukesha County. The way the roof was designed it appeared that the cat jumped down from the parking lot, but wasn't able to get back up. Reports indicated that it had been on the room for at least 3 days, and the concern was that the cat was out in cold weather without access to food or water.

Mark wasn't sure what he'd need since it wasn't known if the cat was some one's lost pet, or a feral kitty. Either way -- it was sure to be frighted, and most likely wouldn't be amenable to someone walking up to him. Mark was prepared to use a tranquilizer dart if needed, but decided to start with a net.

I shot a steady stream of photos as Mark used a ladder to get onto the same level of the roof as the cat. The cat ran past Mark several times, but Mark's been doing this for many years, and knows his way around using a net to scoop up a running, frightened animal. Mark anticipated where the cat would go next, and lowered the net right in front of the cat's path easily scooping him up.

The cat was brought back to HAWS and scanned for a micro-chip -- which he did have. The owner was contacted and came right away to pick up her missing buddy. A better ending couldn't have been expected!

While this story isn't as thrilling as many shown on TV, it's an example of activities that HAWS staff engage in on a daily basis. And it's a great testament to the power of micro-chipping pets -- the micro-chip allowed HAWS to figure out who the owner was and prevent the cat from being further traumatized with a stay in a cage in the shelter.

Pet Myth: Stray Animals

"He was too friendly to have been a stray."

"Stray animals are pets that don't have a home."

I've heard both these statements when people refer to stray animals. A lot of people think that the word "stray" is equivalent to "feral" - which refers to a domesticated animal that has reverted to wild behavior and is not tame to people. (The difference between "tame" and "domestic" is a whole other blog post!)

Many people don't understand that the word "stray" is used to define an animal that is "wandering at large without an owner" (per dictionary.com). It could be that the animal was abandoned by an owner who no longer wanted it. It could be that the animal never had a home - an example would be kittens born to a feral mother. But many strays are simply pets that got lost and have owners looking for them.

By Wisconsin State Law stray animals have to be held for 7 days and an effort to search for the owner is required. HAWS takes lost reports from owners of lost pets and keep them on file. It's amazing how many animals are taken in as strays and never reported missing -- It's about 40% for dogs, and 80% for cats!

We also check for ID tags and make an effort to follow through on the contact information. Unfortunately we sometimes take in animals that don't have current information -- if the number has been disconnected we have no way to track the owner.

We also check for a microchip -- which is a tiny computer chip about the size of a grain of rice that's been implanted in the back of the animal between the shoulder blades. An animal with a microchip can be scanned and the number can lead us back to the owner. Again - the registry needs current contact information in order for this to be useful.

If we can't find the owner and 7 days has passed without hearing for the owner the animal legally belongs to HAWS. Most animals who are healthy and non-aggressive go up for adoption. And most strays that we take in have obviously been in a home in their past since they are friendly to people, and some have been spayed or neutered.

Don't assume that "stray" means feral - many times it just means that the animal is a wonderful pet that just -- for whatever reason -- never found it's way home. One of my dogs was originally found as a stray -- I adopted Belle 14 years ago and couldn't ask for a sweeter girl.

Help Me Take the Duck Out!

Not something that the average person hears at work, and not really common here around HAWS either. But when you work at a place where you take in animals of all kinds, it is likelier than if you work in an office building!

This unnamed duck was picked up as a stray. After being kept in isolation to see if she (he?) would be claimed he was finally given a reprieve and allowed to enjoy some time outside in sun soaking in a pool.

And yes, I did help take the duck out.

Animal Safety

I'm full swing for education this time of year. April and May are when all of the scouts want to schedule tours, when schools hold their "High Interest Day" or "Try It Day", and when teachers ask me to come in and do presentations for their students.

One of the presentations I do annually for the first graders of Lake Country Elementary School in Hartland is an animal safety program. This is actually a timely program to do at the end of the school year -- Waukesha County Humane Officers tell me that the incidence of dog bites goes up when summer vacation first begins. Dogs are used to the peace and quiet they get most days when the kids are in school, and the tend to be less tolerant when the kids are home more (the parents tell me they feel the same way!)

When I first took the job of Humane Educator 5 years ago I did research and did my presentations based on the animal safety material that is out there. The trend seems to be based on two things -- "May I Please Pet Your Dog" in which children are instructed to ask before they pet someone else's dog, and "Be a Tree" -- which instructs children to stay still, look away from the dog, and be quiet in case they encounter a stray dog.

I do use "May I Please Pet Your Dog". Kids are many times not aware that some dogs will be less than thrilled by their love, and it's another way of instilling polite behavior.

However, over a period of years I started to question the "Be a Tree" portion of the program. According to the website Dog Bite Law run by attorney Kenneth Phillips who is widely recognized as the nation's leading authority on dog bite law, "the vast majority of biting dogs (77%) belong to the victim's family or a friend."

Additionally, I started to notice when talking to kids who had been bitten by a dog that none of them had ever been bitten by a stray dog. The dog was almost always their own dog, or a dog that belonged to someone they knew.

As an educator I know that there is only a small amount of information that will be retained after I'm gone. I decided to focus on the information that was more relevant to keeping kids safe with dogs that they know.

My current presentation includes information about signals that animals give when they want to be left alone, times when children should leave animals alone (when eating, sleeping, chewing on a toy, etc.), and having respect for an animal who is running away from you - animals like their space too!

I also emphasize that dogs DO NOT like to be hugged. This is something that most adults don't know, and something that is very natural for children to do when they are feeling affectionate. Many children get bit in the fact when they go to hug a dog who really doesn't understand it's a friendly gesture. (For more information about this and other canine emotions read Patricia McConnell's book "For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend".) When one dog places his paw over the back of another dog it's actually a status seeking behavior -- and so some dogs may not appreciate a child seeking higher status. Many dogs also do not like to be restrained -- and that's what's going on during a hug!

Mystic an I had fun the last two days at Lake Country Elementary School. The teachers were amazed at how well behaved and calm he was in the school -- especially in the hallway as most of the children were on their way to lunch. And the kids just loved him -- as you can see by the photos.