Ranting about stupid dog ownership

[Cataboo]

Ok, I looked at all three links. NONE of them show a scientific study and NONE of them cite their sources. I'm sorry, but I'm a trained scientist and these articles might as well be pulling numbers out of their rear-ends as far as I'm concerned. And I'm not convinced they are independent (I'm inclined to think they are all "quoting" Kress and not giving him credit, but I could be wrong of course.)

The link to Steve Kress' article in the Audubon magazine is the most credible being that he does have a PhD in Environmental Studies (I had to go dig for that info). But, he should know better. There's no mention of how he came to the number of deaths from cats (but he did say how he got to the number of cats in the US and how he got to the number of window/glass deaths...). I'd loose my job and get kicked out of grad school if I tried to pass off something like that as scientific (and honestly he probably wasn't trying to, but he should cite or link to the scientific work as well). The info would never get through a peer reviewed journal like that, but unfortunately he's a scientist so it's automatically credible to the public even when it's not credible. IMO, that's an abuse of the trust put into scientists and it makes me ill. (I'll resend that last statement if he in fact has published a peer reviewed scientific work with his data on this).

In the end I'm not arguing that cats do not contribute at all. And in fact I agree with you that the vast majority of cats should be kept indoors and confined when outdoors.

In fact here's a scientific article that actually agrees with your point, ranking cats as potentially equal to glass strikes in deaths (however, they still don't cite or explain the data behind cat deaths (at least in the intro where it is mentioned)...so I still don't "trust" the information, though I'm more inclined to believe it's plausible):
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/biol...ent%202004.pdf

Since I was loo lazy to look up actual primary references way back when, and I just ran across this article reading the news today:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal.../400563a0.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/sc...nted=1&_r=1&em

[crazycanuck]

We've just started searching for a new friend for our lovely doggie & am heartbroken each time i visit a few of the dog refuge websites. I want to bring all of the doggies home but we don't have a big enough house/yard.

I really do wish humans would treat thier animals much better than they do . There was one good woman mentioned on one of the sites-she had the heart to give her fluffy friend to a refuge as it was being beaten by her partner .

[tulip]

Last week, when I was walking my dog, I noticed a couple of teenage girls walking a pitbull puppy. I didn't take much notice because there are lots of people who walk dogs in my neighborhood.

A few hours later, I heard this sad howling out back in the alley. I thought that my neighbors across the alley had gotten a puppy or something. I went out to take a peek, and that same pitbull puppy was tied up to my back fence. The girls had left her there. I like to think they figured I was a good bet to take care of the dog.

She was mangey and skinny and very hungry. And very sweet and cute. A friend down the street and I got it to a PB rescue org. She'll be adopted in no time, they said, because she's sweet and a puppy.

[sfa]

When we were in NYC last weekend, DD and I saw a ghost bike on the street and I explained to her what it was and why it was there.

This morning she came up to me and told me she wanted to start a "ghost dog collar" program to memorialize dogs who are hit by cars, to remind people to take good care of their pets.

[Norse]

A friend down the street and I got it to a PB rescue org. She'll be adopted in no time, they said, because she's sweet and a puppy.

Good for you tulip! Our humane society doggy rescue is a black lab/border collie mix. We got her when she was 2 and the agency said she had been dropped off in the middle of the night by a family. My thought is that family just wanted cute, adorable puppy and had no clue what to do with a full grown 55 lb. dog. Some people should not be allowed to have pets any more than they should be allowed to have children.

[Trek420]

Last week, when I was walking my dog, I noticed a couple of teenage girls walking a pitbull puppy. I didn't take much notice because there are lots of people who walk dogs in my neighborhood.

A few hours later, I heard this sad howling out back in the alley. I thought that my neighbors across the alley had gotten a puppy or something. I went out to take a peek, and that same pitbull puppy was tied up to my back fence. The girls had left her there. I like to think they figured I was a good bet to take care of the dog.

She was mangey and skinny and very hungry. And very sweet and cute. A friend down the street and I got it to a PB rescue org. She'll be adopted in no time, they said, because she's sweet and a puppy.

Good for you! You seem to be right there when a doggie needs rescue.

[MartianDestiny]

Since I was loo lazy to look up actual primary references way back when, and I just ran across this article reading the news today:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal.../400563a0.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/sc...nted=1&_r=1&em

Those articles state that cats are a problem, which I don't doubt, I still doubt the initial assertion that their damage is greater than all other sources combined.

The NYTimes article is of course not peer reviewed and contains outright falsehoods and ridiculous emotional arguments to boot. At least they link to a real paper; of course the problem with "Letters to Nature" is you really can't accurately describe your research in a mere 2 pages, though the short articles do have some usefulness.

[Biciclista]

Martian destiny, we're back to human hubris again. How dare we blame cats after all the damage we HUMANS do? we've ruined entire migratory patterns because of the light pollution of our cities!
but this is not the thread for this, this was about someone who dumped a dog.

PS Despite what the articles say; my hunting cat DOES kill rats; close to a dozen this year alone.

[bmccasland]

Front page of today's paper is of a police officer cuddling an 8 week old kitten, one of two that was tossed out of the back of a van on the Causeway - a 24 mile long bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. The one kitty survived, and the paper stated has already been adopted. Cute little bugger. They haven't found the other kitty. And they're looking for the van's driver, will file felony criminal charges.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/09/post_9.html

[smilingcat]

Martian destiny, we're back to human hubris again. How dare we blame cats after all the damage we HUMANS do? we've ruined entire migratory patterns because of the light pollution of our cities!
but this is not the thread for this, this was about someone who dumped a dog.

PS Despite what the articles say; my hunting cat DOES kill rats; close to a dozen this year alone.

+1 and don't forget about habitat destruction from draining wetlands to turning fields into farm lands... Some so called protected wetlands are so polluted with heavy metal e.g. cadmium, selenium, birds are being pisoned to death and reproduction is severely compromised. Wetlands along the migratory path are destroyed because well, its not used for roosting. So how are birds supposed to go between summer nesting grounds and winter grounds??

Yes, cats left outdoor will kill suprisingly large number of birds. If the birds are endangered, it can be very devastating. Don't blame the cats. They are doing what comes natural to them. If you introduce a ferral specie into an environment, YOU need to make sure it doesn't cause a problem. Be it Python, African Bull frogs, ferral pigs, goats...

I've heard of stories where a developer has brought in a falconer to erradicate a flock of threatened bird species off the land he wanted to develop. Since falcons are considered "wild" the developer used a loophole in wild life protection.

------------------

I work very closely with a cat rescue group.

1. YES. We will screen you very carefully.
2. YES. We will do a home check and occasional suprise visit.
3. YES we do take adoptions very seriously. If you are not serious about FOREVER pet, don't even think about adopting. They are others who are very commited to having a FOREVER pet.

4. YES we get jaded at people. We see large segment of population who see pets as accessory to their lifestyle, another pair of shoe... Adopt out a dog, cat as puppies and kittens and dump it off at shelter 6 month later or worse dump them off at a local park thinking that the animals will do alright. They don't. Many of them starve to death because they can't compete with the true ferrals. And yes, we do work with animal control.

Don't blame the cats, dogs, parrots, hamsters... snakes. Blame the irresponsible owners.
Oh more threatening species are:

lion fish in the carribean (4 escaped from a private collection after hurricane Andrew was it) NOAA report
Zebra mussels in the great lake region.
Lamprey also in great lake region.
Carp in Mississippi eco system...
Bullfrogs (african native) all across US
Pythons in the Florida everglades.
Ferral pigs, goats around the world.

And don't forget the EARTHWORM in places like Wisconsin, Minn. (When the glacier came down, it scraped the landscape clean and when they receeded, the ground was free of earthworms. They are feral specie. and causing havoc with the local fauna.Minn. Dept of Natural Resource PLEASE READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE!!

If you see a bullfrog. Please kill it humanely. They are extremly destructive with no predators in North America.

[sfa]

Very interesting information, smilingcat--I had no idea that something as friendly as an earthworm could be invasive in Minnesota! Of course it makes sense, but I never would have considered it.

Your information about bullfrogs is wrong, though. They ARE native to the eastern US and are only an invasive species in the western US. Please, please don't kill a bullfrog (humanely or otherwise) in my neck of the woods!

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/a...bullfrog.shtml

http://www.savethefrogs.com/threats/...e-species.html

[Biciclista]

Very interesting information, smilingcat--I had no idea that something as friendly as an earthworm could be invasive in Minnesota! Of course it makes sense, but I never would have considered it.

Your information about bullfrogs is wrong, though. They ARE native to the eastern US and are only an invasive species in the western US. Please, please don't kill a bullfrog (humanely or otherwise) in my neck of the woods!

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/a...bullfrog.shtml

http://www.savethefrogs.com/threats/...e-species.html

thanks, SFA, I was thinking they were native back east.

[smilingcat]

An acquaintance was talking to a ranger in Yosemite NP. There, my acquaintace was capturing the bullfrogs. As he put it, removing the problem. The ranger had to radio in to make sure my acquaintance was correct. Removing of native species in national park is very illegal.

The acquaintance was cleared to keep on collecting the bullfrogs for curiosity and for removal from the eco-system. What he told me was about the african variety and not the north american variety. Just did a google search and really didn't come up with any.
North American specie is Rana while the African specie is Pyxicephalus.

I think I need to call him and get a more detailed info...

Regardless, whether its Rana or Pyxicephalus bullfrogs, neither belongs in western US (especially here in california).Rana's are native to the east coast.

I do owe an apology to those on the east coast though...

The lowly earthworm is a shocker... Who could have imagined. When I first read it it was I was taught earthworm, good for the soil.

And thank you for keeping me honest.
smilingcat

[badger]

I thought it apt to put my thoughts in this thread as it already addresses stupid dog ownership.

Between yesterday and today, I saw two people who mistreat their dogs. I was sickened by what I saw yesterday. A woman with an energetic pit bull was at a crosswalk. He was obviously ball-obsessed and was trying to get at the ball in her hand. It dropped out of her hand and he reached for it just as a truck went by.

She violently yanked his leash, smacked him in the hind end, forced him to sit down with her hand and when that didn't produce the result she wanted (the dog was visibly cowering at this point), she kicked him down!

I was in my car watching all this and I had to hold everything within me from getting out and kicking her.

Granted pit bulls sometimes need a firm hand, but this was outright abuse and it sickened me.

Then today, just as I was walking my cat through the courtyard of my building, I hear a "wait. wait. WAIT!". A man with a small dog (maltese-ish) yanked on the leash and waved his fist at the dog. Again, this dog was cowering.

Why do these morons own dogs? They'll wonder why their dog is not behaving properly so they abuse them. They get worse and the morons surrender them to shelters because, in their minds, there's something wrong with the dog. Grr!!