Should they be saved?

[redhawker]

Just a question to the assembled masses here. I know you’ve probably all seen them, or at least seen post about them on Facebook or various other web sites. I’m talking about the poor little puppy or kitten that’s running around with one of those animal “wheel chairs” attached to their hind end. The little critter was born deformed and whatever shelter ends up with them pours hundreds, if not thousands of dollars into their care and outfitting them with a critter “wheel chair” and then rolls out the pictures or video on the internet to show how caring and compassionate they are for saving said little mutant.

The question is do you think this should be done? I mean, first of all, is the animal enjoying any real quality of life? It has to be daily hooked up to that wheeled contraption and, I’m sure, if it is paralyzed in the lower half of the body it requires assistance when it craps and pees (more expense having a vet tech or shelter worker handling that). In a time where most animal shelters, both private and public, euthanize many good “normal” dogs and cats for lack of room and lack of funds why should both room and money be spent to keep a critter that nature obviously did not intend to survive. How many good “normal” dogs and/or cats are sacrificed so these shelters can showcase one little physically deformed critter to show how kind and compassionate they are?

Now, I can understand an individual private person maybe going the doggie “wheel chair” route for their own aging pet, that they’ve owned for many years, and doing it at their own expense, but the use of shelter resources, especially public shelter resources, saving something that should not have survived, to the determent of other “regular” critters, is what I really have a problem with.

…Or am I just an uncaring, unfeeling bad guy for thinking this way? What do ya’all think?

 

[m657]

"What do ya’all think?"
I don't get it either. And while perhaps understand the celebration of 'rescue' of the dog-meat farms in Asia in the recent news, don't understand importing those animals either.

 

[sfhogman]

I'm not one to second guess anyone else's loving relationship with their animal.

The best dog I every owned was a little daschshund mix named Fidget. He seemed to know when his people - especially the kids when they were little - needed comforting. When his little daschshund back finally gave out, I gave it some hard thought and then put him down. I thought it was best for him, and, I admit, myself as well. Doggie wheelchairs just were not Fidget's style...the wife and daughter still tear up when they think of the little guy.


We know that we did the right thing...and it wasn't too hard to find another critter who desperately needed a home when the time came.

Jeff

 

[toysoldier]

Don't expect anything rational from these people. I was watching an episode of Houston SPCA, and they had 152 rescued possums that were going to be returned to the wild.

 

[GunnyGene]

Don't expect anything rational from these people. I was watching an episode of Houston SPCA, and they had 152 rescued possums that were going to be returned to the wild.

You mean returned to high traffic areas, right? :wink:

 

[Kevin]

I think when you asked if the dog is enjoying a good quality of life you nailed it. No, the dog doesn't have a good quality of life being strapped to a wheel chair. I say this but there are three legged dogs who get around just fine. Our neighbors have one and he hops along just fine on three legs. But there is no wheelchair.

Our own Blizzard has fast become a member of the family but I wouldn't prolong his life in exchange for a loss of quality of life.

 

[volshooter]

Just plain stupid to try to save every animal, except unborn humans. Those folks are out of touch and not worth the effort.
Yes I do know we are not animals, in you want to pick that out then you might be "one of them".

 

[Xsales]

Certainly many different thoughts on this and to each his own

Pets that become part of the family and having to putt one down IS a very hard thing to do
(we have done it)

The quality of life is a major factor in deciding and sometimes keeping pets alive, in wheelchairs, etc... makes the person feel better but not the pet

Also does one spend thousands of dollars on animals when their own family can use that money, groceries, trip etc...

One must decide wisely

Personally, NO wheelchair for my pet

 

[5of7]

It's their money and their cat... 8)

 

[vito]

I used to have a neighbor couple who were quite wealthy, their children were grown and gone, and they were totally devoted to their little toy dog. The dog jumped off a couch in their suite while visiting Las Vegas and broke his back. They chartered a plane, flew the dog to L.A. to find a veterinary neuro surgeon who saved the dog's life. The dog lived on a little sulky like device (similar to the small carriage pulled in harness racing) and seemed to do just fine. When I asked this neighbor how the dog "did his business" because he was paralyzed from the mid-section down, the owner said, yes, that was a challenge. He would take the dog to the backyard and squeeze him gently. While I would never go to this extreme for any pet, it showed me just how devoted a pet owner can be. The time, money and effort needed for this little dog was, to me, beyond belief, but in all fairness, as I stated before the dog seemed to have a good quality of life "running" around their house and yard with the little two-wheeled carriage supporting the back half of his body.

I've had dogs all of my life. Usually large or mid sized dogs, but in the past we have had a few pugs as well. My current dog is now 2 years old and is the pet that I have bonded with more closely than any in my life. She is a little 12 pound Coton, and I am not sure that I would not go further than I have ever imagined or done in the past to take care of her almost regardless of cost and effort. Don't underestimate the devotion a pet owner will show to their beloved pet.

 

[wunbe]

My wife once got suckered into taking a car-hit skunk! -- yes, a skunk -- to a vet. A soppy friend of hers went into hiterics after hitting it and intimidated my bride into driving her. The vet threw them out of course. The skunk prompmptly expired but the funeral was well attended.

The other strain of pathological animal love is when folks keep an aged dog/cat/lizard alive way past the point of any quality of life --often at great expense and usually with increased suffering for the animal.

wunbe

 

[eveled]

No, they should not be saved. Talking about the ones in the shelter the OP was talking about. They should be using their money more wisely.

The owners who chose to go through the expense for a loved one is another thing. It is their money to do with as they please. This sometimes falls into the category of "A fool and his money being parted".

Keeping an animal alive that is suffering is selfish, and could be even animal abuse, let it RIP.

On a side note / rant. Nothing gets me madder than a pet owner who says losing a pet is "Like losing a child". Until you get to watch one your own children, in a coma clinging to life, you won't understand how insulting it is to compare my kid to your dead cat.

 

[redhawker]

No, they should not be saved. Talking about the ones in the shelter the OP was talking about. They should be using their money more wisely.

The owners who chose to go through the expense for a loved one is another thing. It is their money to do with as they please. This sometimes falls into the category of "A fool and his money being parted".

Well, I'm glad someone is paying attention to what I was talking about. If its your own dog or cat then its you time and money, who cares. I'm talking about the puppy and kittens in shelters. No one owns them, no one has owned them, and the shelters are always crying about having to put perfectly healthy animals down for lack of space or funds. Yet, they get one of these little mutants in and spend enough money and time on them that they could save 8 or 10 "regular" dogs or cats. That's the point I'm trying to make.

 

[Poco Oso]

I'm curious about how you can judge the quality of a dog's life without experiencing it. If that's the only life it's known, it doesn't know any different and may be perfectly content. If we can make this decision about a dog why not go ahead and apply it to people. I've known many that don't have, or deserve, the quality of life you gents seem to be talking about. Can we just take them out too? I guess I'm just one of those old fools that thinks more of most dogs, than most people. Sad, I know, but that's my opinion. It's worth what you pay for it. :wink:

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Don't get caught killing a dog or cat or a litter, you could go to jail.

 

[Precision32]

Don't get caught killing a dog or cat or a litter, you could go to jail.

Not here in Florida. Been there, done that, no problems. It's my animal and as long as it is done humanely it's legal.

 

[CGDustDevil]

It's their money and their cat... 8)

That's really the crux of it. If it's a personal situation & self funded, then it's up to the people who are caring for the animal. The animal will NOT know the difference. We know this because we've had handicapped critters for years. One such case is a kitty who was attacked by a bird of prey in 2004 at 1 year old. Spikey suffered the loss of an eye, a fractured skull and crushed sinus area when the bird dive bombed him. He's got neurological issues that will never go away, and we had to hand feed him & do IV fluids for 6 weeks because he couldn't smell food. (No smell, no eat) We had our doubts as to whether or not we had done the right thing, and rehabilitation was very discouraging. (We had to give him physical therapy to straighten out his walking... He could only walk in counter clockwise circles after the attack) We were lucky... Our vet at the time was a great guy and told us it was going to be rough for 2 or 3 months, but that he believed Spikey could live a relatively normal life.

Spikey is 13 this year and has been handicapped for 12 of them. He doesn't know he's not normal. He can run & hunt, although he doesn't see well enough with his one damaged eye to catch much. He loves to try! He occasionally gets 'stuck' in a corner if he can't turn his head a certain way to see how to turn around. But we watch him pretty closely or he'll yowl to us, and we can just walk over to give him a nudge to one side or the other and off he'll go. He's a pretty happy guy in spite of his afflictions and has what I would consider an excellent quality of life.

Where I get cranky is with rescue outfits where they'll pour thousands of charity dollars into a badly injured animal while healthy ones are euthanized in shelters. Those resources should go to pulling healthy pets from the shelters and finding loving homes for them, although I also understand that there is a certain advertising appeal with dramatic success stories that can't be ignored.

It's not a simple equation to be sure...

 

[Mike J]

I have never witnessed it but I have been told all my life that a mother dog will kill a defective pup. With that being the case who am I to argue with nature.

 

[wolfsong]

Don't get caught killing a dog or cat or a litter, you could go to jail.

You don't know any farmers or ranchers, do you? Never slaughtered your own livestock, have you? Never eased a cherished pet's suffering, have you?

There's a whole, big, wide world out there, beyond your Homeowners Association neighborhood.

 

[eveled]

When my time comes I only wish I could go the way my dogs have gone.

 

[CCW]

I'm curious about how you can judge the quality of a dog's life without experiencing it. If that's the only life it's known, it doesn't know any different and may be perfectly content. If we can make this decision about a dog why not go ahead and apply it to people. I've known many that don't have, or deserve, the quality of life you gents seem to be talking about. Can we just take them out too? I guess I'm just one of those old fools that thinks more of most dogs, than most people. Sad, I know, but that's my opinion. It's worth what you pay for it. :wink:

My thoughts exactly -

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Don't get caught killing a dog or cat or a litter, you could go to jail.

You don't know any farmers or ranchers, do you? Never slaughtered your own livestock, have you? Never eased a cherished pet's suffering, have you?

There's a whole, big, wide world out there, beyond your Homeowners Association neighborhood.

I am aware of that but are you aware that many people get charged with animal abuse and spend time in jail when they think they are doing the right thing by getting rid of some animals?

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/stafford/stafford-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-after-euthanizing-dog/article_ab9d2937-a9af-5124-b07c-5150eacebdab.html

 

[wunbe]

We have seven collars on our fireplace from dogs we have lost over the years -- no, decades. (One dog's ashes are waiting to go down with mine ). We have been down that hard road and our choices, thank God have always been clear cut, no hope, decisions w/o reason for second guessing.

Three were lost to fatal illnesses and the other four to old age. But only one of the seven actually passed away on her own. The rest we had "put down" in the end as our responsibility to them to end hopeless medical situations that meant only pain and degradation for them w/o any more enjoyment of or nobility in living.

wunbe