Pets that are not confined or restrained or that do not receive preventive health care can cause a great deal of damage to people, other animals and property. For the pet owner, these types of issues may come at the cost of legal, medical and emotional expense.
For the most part, pet problems can be avoided by practicing responsible ownership. Responsible pet ownership includes providing appropriate confinement and restraint, preventive health care, pet socialization, training, and basic needs.
Is This Pet Right for You?
Protecting yourself as a pet owner begins before you purchase or adopt an animal. When considering a new pet, you should make sure that it is the right pet for you and how you live.
You should have suitable housing for your pet, an area for exercise and bathroom needs, a way to safely transport your pet, enough money for food and medical costs, and the ability to physically control and restrain your pet.
Observe and interact with a new pet several times before making a final decision. Be sure to find out if there is a return policy and its conditions. Try to avoid spur-of-the-moment decisions. Such decisions are made without thorough consideration and preparation. They are decisions usually regretted, and cause needless suffering and heart-ache for you, your family, and the pet. This happens all too often, especially on special occasions and holidays.
If You Cannot Keep an Animal
There may be time where you need to return or give up a pet. Whether it is because of a poor decision or unexpected changes in life circumstances, this can be a difficult time for you and your pet.
If you do make a poor choice, try to return the animal where you got it. Remember, it is wise to ask about the return policy before purchase or adoption.
If you purchased or adopted a pet you can no longer care for, there are animal control services are usually available through county or city government. There are also no-kill shelters, humane associations, and rescue groups often available to help. Family and friends may also provide a safe home for your pet.
If you have found a stray you cannot care for, animal control services are usually available through county or city government. No-kill shelters, humane associations and rescue groups are often available locally to help.
Releasing or abandoning any pet into the general community and environment is not an option and may carry significant legal consequences. No matter what, never release a domestic animal to ‘the wild’.
Stray dogs and cats in some communities present an enormous health problem for pets and can be dangerous to livestock. Exotic pets, such as iguanas and the Burmese python, that have been released in Florida are multiplying and pose a significant threat to indigenes wildlife population. [4] [16]
Similarly, fish, reptiles and other similar pets can have a very bad impact on the environment. For example, the lion fish from tropical aquariums released in Atlantic waters now pose a threat to native fish[5].
Remember, if you cannot keep a pet or find a stray, find an individual or group who can take responsibility for it. Veterinary offices can also help you find resources in your area and you can look online.
Learn Local Pet Ordinances and Laws
Local laws vary a good deal with respect to pets, livestock and exotic animals. Before acquiring any pet, it is wise to find out any ordinances that might apply to your situation. Some cities and counties require dog licensing; some may have rules specific to what they deem ‘dangerous’ breeds; some may restrict ‘nuisance’ behaviors such as barking from kennels. Leash laws governing restraint of your pet are important to know. Government web sites, animal control offices and veterinary clinics are good places to find out more about the regulations where you live.
When You Must Leave Your Pet
When you go out of town or must leave your pet unsupervised for extended periods, there are usually several pet care options available. Boarding kennels (including many veterinary clinics) can keep a pet away from home, and most are equipped for common pet animals.
For in-home care, you may have a friend who can take care of your pet or you might try a licensed pet-sitting service. If you have someone take care of your pet at home, make sure this person can properly restrain and control the animal. You are still responsible for it. Plan ahead when you can, and do not leave pet care until the last minute.
Your veterinarian can help you choose and locate the right option for your situation. It is very risky to leave a pet unattended for very long.
When Your Pet’s Life Is Coming to an End
Pet ownership is a lifelong commitment to providing a pet’s needs. There may come a time when you have to make some final decisions for your pet because ailing health or physical disability has severely impacted its quality of life.
If you decide to have your pet ‘put to sleep’, your veterinarian can provide humane euthanasia. It is your responsibility to properly dispose of the body. Private companies offer pet cremations and burials. Your veterinarian can usually provide several options and advice. Check your local laws and ordinances if you intend to bury a pet on your property.
Animal Cruelty
Every state has some animal anti-cruelty law. The legal definition of “animal cruelty” will vary from state to state, but each law seeks to prevent the unnecessary harm to pets and animals.
Generally, “animal cruelty” is defined as an act of violence or neglect committed against an animal. Some of these acts are intentional while others are can be caused by neglecting or otherwise inadequately caring for the animal. Check your local laws to determine how your jurisdiction defines animal cruelty.
As discussed on the Criminal Law Module, most States have detailed Cruelty to Animal laws that encompass a wide range of actions. While each State defines “cruelty” differently, each State’s Cruelty to Animal laws generally focuses on the ill treatment, mistreatment, or maltreatment of animals.
The ill treatment, mistreatment, or maltreatment of animals can come in many forms. Traditionally, we think cruelty occurs when a person directly and purposefully inflicts unnecessary pain, suffering, and injury to an animal or pet. While inflicting such pain, suffering, and injury to an animal or pet is cruelty, it is not the only way animal cruelty occurs. Animal cruelty can occur in different ways including, but not limited to, such things as dog fighting, cockfighting, operating puppy mills, and hoarding.
Dog Fighting is Animal Cruelty
Dog fighting is a felony offense throughout the United States, but dog fighting still occurs. It also occurs around the world. Many breeds of dogs are used for fighting, but the frequent fighting dog of choice in the United States is the American Pit Bull. Dog fighting, and the shadow breeding and training industry that surrounds it, is simply a brutal way for people to gamble.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, training a fighting dog begins with it being raised in isolation; denying proper socialization. The dogs are frequently given a variety of legal and illegal drugs, including anabolic steroids. Dog are often physically altered by cutting ears low and tails cut close their body. The dogs are also subjected to beatings, harsh living conditions, starvation, and other multiple forms of torturous conduct supposedly used to trigger an animal’s extreme survival instincts and aggressiveness.
Fights typically occur in a pit with raised walls that prevent the dogs from running. The fights last as long it takes for one dog to win. During the fight, each dog suffers significant, and often fatal, injuries. These injuries include bite puncture wounds, lacerations, blood loss, crushed bodies and broken bones. Losing dogs, if they survive the fight, are often discarded, tortured and killed, or simply left with their injuries untreated. Dog Fighting is Animal Cruelty. (12)
Cockfighting is Animal Cruelty
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals defines cockfighting as a “blood sport in which two roosters a place into a small ring and encouraged to fight to the death.” Like dog fighting, illegal cockfighting, and the accompanying illegal gambling, persists across the county.
Cockfighting uses roosters that are breed and trained to maximize the animal’s naturally occurring aggressiveness. Selective breeding, feeding, fight training, practice fights, and use of vitamins and steroids are among some of the common methods employed to raise fighting roosters.
Just before a fight, the rooster’s feathers are often plucked and the combs under their beaks are cut off. The fights take place in various places, but usually involve a ring or a pit that serve to contain the fighting animals. It is also common secure a blade to the rooster’s legs in order maximize the injuries it can inflict. Death of rooster, while not necessary for a win, often results from the significant injuries inflicted. Cockfighting is Animal Cruelty. (13)
Puppy Mills are Animal Cruelty
There is not an official definition of a “puppy mill.” However, a puppy mill is essentially a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation designed to produce dogs for large scale sales.
Puppy mills, per the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, usually house dogs in overcrowded conditions. The young dogs are often kept in cages with injury causing wire flooring and walls. These cages are often stacked in columns which can result in hazardous and unsanitary environmental conditions. The puppies are frequently without proper veterinary care until they reach the end purchaser. The animals are also often without adequate food, water or socialization, and often suffer from fear, anxiety, and developmental behavior problems. Rapid breeding takes place with bred with little attention to genetic quality and oversight. Female dogs are bred with little-to-no recovery time between litters to maximize the number of puppies for sale. Females are frequently killed when the can no longer physically produce a litter. There are many responsible breeders that humanely produce litters and screen buyers to insure the pets are going to suitable homes. Puppy Mills are Animal Cruelty. (14).
Animal Hoarding is Animal Cruelty
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals defines animal hoarding as an environment where individual houses and keeps more animals than he or she can adequately care for even within the minimal acceptable standards. While not everyone who has multiple animals is a hoarder, there are some common signs that someone is an animal hoarder. Hoarding may be occurring when a person exhibits some of the following:
- Does not know the number of animals in his or her care;
- The person’s home is significantly deteriorated and has extreme clutter;
- There is a strong smell of ammonia throughout the home;
- The floors are covered with dried feces, urine, vomit, etc.;
- The animals in an around the home are emaciated, lethargic and not well-socialized.
- Fleas and vermin are present;
- The owner is isolated from the community, family, and friends, and appears to neglect him or herself, or
- When questioned, the individual insists that all their animals are happy and healthy despite the clear signs of distress and illness.
Animal hoarding may be the by-product of developing or existing mental illness. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cautions that animal hoarders may be emotionally troubled rather than criminally inclined. Nonetheless, the animals involved suffer, often dramatically. While animal hoarding is animal cruelty, the solution may lie in contacting local law enforcement agencies as well as mental health and welfare departments and practitioners. (15)
In conclusion, taking care of your pet is an important responsibility, and you should reserve pet ownership for times in your life when you can fulfill the obligations. To avoid negative consequences of owning an animal, remember to practice the principles of responsible and safe pet ownership:
- Always provide for your pet’s basic needs,
- Always provide appropriate confinement, and be able to restrain your pet,
- Always maintain preventive health care, and socialize your pet.
In the long run, these will save you legal and medical expenses and give you a peace of mind, allowing pet ownership to be one of your most fulfilling experiences.