By David F. Rooney
It’s a sad fact of life that many cats and dogs are not just neglected but are regarded as mere disposable commodities to be abandoned in a ditch or on the side of the road even if they are helpless infant kittens and puppies.
That kind of disregard for the rights of animals and simple ethical behaviour is appalling and there has been too much of it in our community, say members of the Revelstoke and District Humane Society.
In the past couple of weeks the volunteer-run animal shelter has been hard pressed to save the lives of a dozen kittens abandoned by their human owners. Four were left in a box outside the veterinary clinic, five were found in a ditch along Highway 23S and three were found near Peaks Lodge, said Lisa Feuze and Llewanda Halldorson.
The surge in kitten numbers is completely unnecessary.
“There are a lot of people in town who can afford to spay or neuter their pets and just won’t do it,” Halldorson said in an interview on Thursday. “This is what happens — these animals start reproducing and their owners don’t want to take responsibility for them.”
Some advertise them on the Stoke List and others? They’re inconvenient so
they’re tossed away like trash.
Feuz says she “can’t understand the mentality of someone who would look at these helpless little babies and then throw them out of a car window.”
Of course, one owner eased his or her conscience by leaving four infant animals outside the veterinary clinic. But that’s a kind of moral fig leaf. By abandoning the animals and not even leaving a dime to help for them, the owner is abdicating all responsibility for them. Who gets to care for them? Lisa Feuz, Llewanda Halldorson and their friends who volunteer with the Humane Society, that’s who.
And it’s not like the RDHS is financially well off. It’s not. It struggles for every dollar and it has to pay for things like the animals vaccinations, eventual spaying and neutering, food and all the other things animals need. Infant kittens need extra care and attention. Foster famiies have to be found who can and will care for the animals properly. The RDHS was lucky that Ian and Otti Brown and their kids stepped up to help with the five left on the side the road, but who will look after the others?
