Fayette County Animal Control

To add news which you, your school, your organization, or community has done or is doing in Fayette County for the betterment of our animal friends, please send an email with details pertaining to FCACC

PRODUCT TESTING - IT'S IN YOUR HANDS!

Do you know that when your purchase cosmetics, personal care, or household products, you are making a choice? Use your dollars to exercise your consumer choice...buy products not tested on animals. When you purchase a product you send this message to the manufacturer: "I support your products and your policies!" When you are shopping, use your dollars to send a strong message that animal testing is outdated and unnecessary! Look for the "leaping bunny" logo, to assure that the product you are purchasing meets the Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals. The choice is in your hands! CHOOSE WISELY.

Courtesy of the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics.

ONE ANIMAL EUTHANIZED EVERY 9 SECONDS...

In 2004, 6-8 million lost and unwated dogs and cats entered animal shelters throughout the US. Only half made it out alive: the other 3-4 million were euthanized. That's nearly a quarter million animals a month, 405 every hour, one every nine seconds. In human terms, this is proportional to losing the entire human population of Los Angeles every year. We know it doesn't have to be this way. The problems that cause animals to end up in animal shelters are preventable and the solutions are in our hands. Everyone, in the decisions they make and the actions they take, can have an impact on this issue...

LOST CAT BEHAVIOR

Outdoor-Access Cats: Cats are territorial. When an outdoor-access cat suddenly vanishes, it mean that something has happened to that cat to interrupt its normal behavior of returning home. The disappearance could mean that the cat is injured, trapped, or deceased within its territory. It could also mean that the cat was transported out of the area -- either intentionally (by an irate neighbor who trapped the cat) or unintentionally (by the cat climbing into an opened parked van). It could also mean that the cat was displaced into unfamiliar territory -- something as simple as being chased by a dog causing that cat to hide under a deck a block from home. When this happens, the temperment of the cat will influence how it behaves. When displaced into unfamiliar territory, some cats will be so panicked and afraid they will remain in the same hiding place for weeks and they will never return home while others will break cover within hours and return home. The investigative question to solve when an outdoor-access cat disappears is: What happened to the cat?

Indoor-Only Cats: The territory for an indoor-only cat is the inside of the home where it lives. When an indoor-only cat escapes outdoor, it is "displaced" into unfamiliar territory. Usually they will look for the first place that will offer concealment and protection. Their instinctive response is to HIDE IN SILENCE because that is their primary protection from predators. How long they remain in that hiding place and what they do from there is dependent upon their temperament. Using baited humane traps as a recovery tool is a highly effective method for recovering displaced, panicked cats that are hiding. The investigative question to solve when an indoor-only cat escapes outdoors is: Where is the cat hiding?

LOST DOG BEHAVIOR

Dogs are much more difficult to recover than lost cats because they travel farther and they are picked up by rescuers who determine their fate. There are six major factors that influence the distances that lost dogs travel: Temperament, Circumstances, Weather, Terrain, Appearance, and Population Density. The circumstances that surround the disappearance of a dog that digs out from a yard to explore a scent will tend to travel a shorter distance before it is found -- meandering and doubling back as it explores a scent. On the other hand, a dog that bolts in panic due to fireworks or thunder will take off at a blind run and can run for several miles. A dog that escapes in Manhattan will travel a shorter distance than will a dog that escapes in the Rocky Mountains or in rural farmland. When dogs escape into areas with a high number of people, their chances of being found close to the escape point are increased. But in areas with an extremely low number of people, they tend to travel further and their chances of being found close to the escape point are decreased. A dog that escapes in the middle of the night will travel farther before being seen than a dog that escapes during rush hour traffic.

ACT ON ANTIFREEZE

Antifreeze tastes good -- and thats why thousands of children and pets are poisoned each year.

When children and pets come across antifreeze in the garage, on a shelf, or from a leaky engine, they are too often tempted to take a sip. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine estimates more than 700 children under the age of 6, and nearly 10,000 dogs and cats were exposed to its poisonous ingredients.

Because antifreeze contains ethylene glycol, it has a sugary sweet taste. The Senate is considering a bill, the Engine Coolant and Antifreeze Bittering Agent Act of 2005, that requires manufacturers add a bittering agent to all antifreeze containing more than 10% ethylene glycol. Thus, children and animals are discouraged from ingesting it because of its unpalatable taste.

Bittering agents are widely available and cost effective. One of the bitterest substances, denatonium benzoate, is already used safely in many other household products. It is also extremely cheap, and would increase the cost of antifreeze by only a couple of pennies per gallon. On a $7 bottle of antifreeze, this would be less than a half percent to the total price. It's a small price to pay for the safety of kids and pets.

Manufacturers haven't taken adequate steps to protect children and animals -- it's time for us to stand together and demand action.

We need your help making antifreeze safer: go to http://go.care2.com/31451 sign the petition to vote "YES" on the Engine Coolant and Antifreeze Bittering Agent Act of 2005.

FACE UP TO PET OVERPOPULATION

There are more than 73 million cats and 68 million dogs living in more than 63 million households across the United States. The irresponsibility of some pet owners has resulted in animals running loose and unsupervised, causing a threat to public health and safety. Indiscriminate breeding allowed by irresponsible pet owners who have not had their companion animals spayed or neutered has contributed to pet overpopulation.

Animal shelter employees, like police officers and emergency medical personnel, must respond to these community problems and crises. Animal shelters act as safe havens for homeless and abused animals, providing them with comfort and care. Animal shelters help both animals and people in many ways: by returning lost pets to their owners, enforcing animal control laws, rescuing injured animals, educating the public, and matching up families with new animal companions. The work of animal shelters and the important services they provide often go unnoticed and underappreciated by the citizens.

Therefore become part of the resolution and recognize the Fayette County Animal Control Center in their efforts for providing lifesaving services to animals and people in our community. Spay and Neuter your pet!

Approximately 30,000 Dogs/Cats Euthanized Daily

Failure to spay or neuter household pets is the primary cause of animal overpopulation in the United States. Each day, some 70,000 puppies and kittens are born in the U.S. compared to 10,000 people.

Approximately 30,000 dogs and cats are euthanized -- put down by lethal injection -- daily in the U.S. As much as 70% of dogs and cats tha twind up an animal shelters across the nation eventually are put down.

* One cat (and its subsequent litter) can produce 420,000 or more offspring in a six - year period.

* A dog (and it offspring) can produce 67,000 pups or more in six years.

Spaying or neutering is a simple veterinary procedure done on both male and female reproductive organs. A vet can perform the surgery when the animals are 6 months old.

Spaying and neutering eliminates an animal's ability to reproduce. It also prevents some negative health issues as pets get older. Once an animal is spayed or neutered, it becomes a better-behaved pet.

"Most people don't look toward animal shelters when they want a pet beacuse they prefer a purebred dog. Purebred dogs comprise 20% - 25% of animal shelter populations. But while purebred dogs might cost hundreds of dollars, the fee for obtaining a shelter animal is minimal. Mixed-breed dogs are just as loving and provide the same degree of companionship as a purebred dog."

"Neuter and Spay - The Kindest Way"

In every pound or animal shelter, the animals KNOW when death is taking place close by. This is a hard fact of life. The country's thousands of pounds and shelters are forced to kill literally MILLIONS of animals every year. They pour in, a never-ceasing, always increasing, inundating flood. Consequently, EVERY DAY, the pounds and animal shelters are compelled to kill and kill and kill, in order to make room for the ones that will flood them that day: all the result of thoughtless pet owners. Animals turned in to the pounds and shelters to be killed are the lucky ones - most are abandoned to be tortured, starved, frozen, injured and infected. A thousand pet owners have a thousand excuses for letting their pets breed, and so they add thousands - hundred of thousands - millions - of puppies and kittens to the mounting flood of the unloved and unwanted.

"Don't YOU contribute to the misery: "Neuter and Spay - the Kindest Way"

"I ask for the privilege of not being born ... not to be born until you can assure me of a home and a master to protect me, and a right to live as long as I am physically able fo enjoy life ... not to be born until my body is precious and men have ceased to exploit it because it is cheap and plentiful." -author unknown

Can We Afford the Human Cost of Humane Euthanasia?

In the U.S., euthanasia is the accepted method of disposing of unwanted companion animals. In all, 5 to 6 million healthy companion animals are killed in our nation's shelters and animal control facilities every year.

Animal adovocates and rescue groups who are working to bring these numbers down focus on saving animals' lives. But there is another aspect of massive euthanasia that remains largely hidden from public view. It is the disturbing psychological toll that killing so many hearthy animals takes on teh shelter and agency personnel who must perform the deed.

Although the public knows very little about the issue, the harmful effect of euthanasia-related work has been observed for at least 30 years. Shelter workers generally take their jobs because they love and want to help animals, and they often experience considerable emotional anguish from participating in animal euthanasias. The study focused on how shelter workers learned to copy with their reactions to killing. Learning to cope is the standard theme in studies on this subject, "constant exposure to, or participation in, euthanasia procedures can cause a psychologic state characterized by a strong sense of work dissatisfaction or alienation." This study asserts that "thousands of people charged with performing animal euthanasia...are an at-risk population...at risk for a variety of psychological, emotional, and physical ailments such as high blood pressure, elcers, unresolved grief, depression, substance abuse, and suicide." These people were categorized as "suvivors".

*Clarification: Ther term "euthanasia" has been adopted by the shelter and animal control community to describe the killing not only of untreatable sick or injured animals, but also of those deemed to be in excess or unadoptable.