Vilified dog breeds, beautiful chickens & shelter cats

Doberman pinschers, Chow Chows, Rottweilers, pit bulls, mastiffs, German shepherds: what comes to your mind when you see this list of dog breeds?

Probably not “cuddlesome,” “lap dogs” or anything like that.   

Mystique

Those breeds are the ones people may be apprehensive about or even assume are dangerous – and the ones that traditionally make their jobs harder for insurance company employees.  Why?  Because they often charge extra or deny policies to homeowners or renters whose pets fall into those breed categories.

But, thanks to a New York law that took effect in January, our neighboring state has joined 3 others (Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan) in requiring “breed-blind” insurance.  And that brought joy to those who have long fought for such legislation, which ignores unfair assumptions about specified breeds.

A big, sad problem in states where assumptions about some breeds keep their owners from getting insurance policies is that too many dogs must then live in shelters instead of loving homes.  Understandably, people shy away from having big, thought-to-be dangerous dogs without insurance.  

More and more, though, dog advocates argue that canine behavior is based on how they’re raised, not their breed.  That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?  All of us probably know at least one perfectly nice pit bull or Rottweiler, and maybe that surprised us at first.  

Rosie

A common argument against certain breeds is that most people are hurt or killed by pit bulls.  Problem is, even if that breed’s numbers are highest, the data are too often anecdotal or biased.  Further, numbers don’t tell the whole story: did the dog act on impulse, was the dog provoked, mistreated or protecting its owner?  The full story can make a big difference, despite the totals.    https://tinyurl.com/26ezyh8

Years ago now, many of the dogs freed from football player-turned fight-dog owner Michael Vick were rehabilitated and adopted out to families all over.  Those dogs were among the first to prove such animals could recover from the horrible lives and training they had experienced.  (Until then, freed fight dogs didn’t get second chances.)

The study mentioned here on May 29 confirmed that breed doesn’t necessarily predict a dog’s behavior.  And The Dodo has reinforced all that: https://tinyurl.com/2p9y4jrv  

 Chickens’ glorious past

Although the history of chickens is debatable, it’s known they started out as colorful, exotic birds of the jungle.  Their long transition may have started in Thailand, where the development of rice and millet could have lured them out of the jungle.

Fossils suggest that after they reached Africa, it could have taken chickens “a full millennium to reach Scandinavia and Scotland.”  Even after spreading all over Europe, chickens still weren’t eaten -- to begin with.  They were treated with reverence long before they were seen as edible.  

At that point, “poultry husbandry" began.  https://tinyurl.com/3samakjw

Bring a shelter cat home

 Hurry up!  June is “adopt a shelter cat month,” according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or Peta.  (“Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.”)

Bernie

And right now, with “kitten season” underway, shelters are fast filling up with winsome fluff balls who are hard to resist.  But shelters also house cats of all ages -- teens, adults and senior cats – and felines in those categories are often overlooked while irresistible kittens flood the market.

Which is why, since cute and cuddly kittens inevitably grow into teens, adults and seniors, it’s a great – and generous – idea to visit a shelter and choose a grown-up cat to adopt.  Often “the older the better” is better, and senior cats deserve to spend their “later-in-life years” in a home, not a facility.

Right now, decide which shelter you’ll visit first!   

#

 

Go to 1moreonce.blogspot.com to comment.