The Truth About Cats and Dogs

I live in a city that unfortunately has a high stray rate and and even higher ignorance for spay and neutering education. Although I normally get angry and long winded about this, I have decided that I would rather channel that energy into something positive. For now I am volunteering on Sunday mornings at the Memphis and Shelby County Humane Society (aka MSHS). But, I would like to start helping educate those in the Mid-South about the importance of spaying and neutering your pets. The below information floored me and really made me want to help out the community. I think one person can make a difference in how others see, feel and act. Hopefully it will be contagious and catch on like wildfire. "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." - William James

• 3 to 4 million animals are euthanized in shelters every year
• recently in Memphis, a stat of 50 to 75 animals a day are put down- thats almost 22,000 a year in Memphis alone
• there is no set time a shelter has to keep an animal, it can be put down as soon as it is brought in
• puppy mills account for hundreds of thousands of bred dogs each year- this is the same number of dogs that can be found at nearby shelters
• most (puppy mill) breeders keep their animals in shockingly poor conditions
• many of these dogs never come in contact with humans except to be breed
• many of these dogs are never brought in for veterinary care
• once these animals are "used up", they are killed
• Michael Vick spent 23 months in prison-the dog fighting ring he was a part of had been operating for 6 years
• Vick was let out early for good behavior - thousands of dogs were abused, tortured and killed
• cats are most likely to be abused by small children and teenagers
• cat abuse is hard to track because of their small stature and ability to dispose of remains

Through education we can teach future generations that it is not okay to hurt animals, that it is humane to spay and neuter your pet for the purpose of animal control and that they should speak out against cruelty to animals.

I hope you will enjoy my blog. It will include factoids about dogs I walk at the MSHS, some of the fun cats I play with, experiences I have with my own to mutts and my life in general with animals. If you have some suggestions don't hesitate to throw them my way. As for now, keep your 4 legged friends safe.