Mandatory Spay Neuter

If you're into rescue and shelters and animals and all of that, I'm sure you've heard plenty of strong opinions when it comes to Spaying/Neutering pets - specifically dogs and cats. More and more, I hear about people wanting MANDATORY Spay/Neuter. Honestly, it doesn't sound like a terrible idea. It would certainly cut dog and cat populations down, but would this really HELP dogs and cats? How big of a risk are we taking with this? Do we even realize the risks involved with this?

Set aside, for a moment, any places that may do a botched job on the actual surgery itself. That's a WHOLE 'nother issue on being qualified and actually caring about animals. Also, set aside any general, given, risks of ANY surgery in itself.

I'm not 100% sure how I'd feel about Mandatory Spay/Neuter. In theory, it sounds pretty nice. There are SO MANY dogs and cats in shelters and on the streets in the United States ALONE. It's really one of the ONLY animal-overpopulation situations I actually agree with being overpopulated and not just a matter of too many people in this world.

Ferrets. Ferrets, for some time now, have been Mandatory Spay/Neuter - They're also illegal in some areas because they're SO VICIOUS and KILL BABIES and every single one of them that is outside has RABIES!! ...Fear mongers... But look at ferrets NOW compared to only about 15 years ago! Sure, we're in no immediate danger of losing the domestic ferret to extinction; they're readily available at plenty of pet stores. But, already, ferrets have an average lifespan several years shorter than only just about 15 years ago. They're now NOTORIOUS for getting sick with illnesses such as Insulinoma, and are mostly bred by ferret farms such as Marshall Farms (It's said about 80% of the East Coast's pet ferrets come from Marshall Farms. They also breed beagles. BOTH are readily sold to laboratories for all kinds of invasive testing). Would this happen with dogs as well? In a way it already does through Puppy Mills.

I think, just like breeding, Mandatory Spay/Neuter is ALSO playing "God" with things we as a human race really don't know that much about, and MANY of us really have NO INTEREST in figuring it out either. Often, puppies and kittens are just bred as dollar signs. But then if we take every new puppy and kitten we can, and spay/neuter them... It would certainly cut down on the number of the new generation's litters. And certainly not EVERY puppy and kitten would possibly be caught and spayed/neutered. But THIS snowball effect could ALSO just as easily tumble out of control, and suddenly dogs and cats are a rarity - We've sterilized 80% of the new generation and now most cannot make a next generation. Again, for a while, it's a pretty nice and simple solution if people take responsibility and make the effort to get every puppy and kitten spayed/neutered. But it's still not the natural order of things.

Now that we've got the puppy and kitten populations down and under control, who is left breeding? Puppy Mills? Backyard Breeders? Dog fighters? Hoarders? The breeder that just wants to make a buck and will forge papers and lie to make a sale? Mandatory Spay/Neuter may help population control, but what about the population? How sick will the average dog and cat be? - Not that almost ALL breeds aren't ALREADY known for certain illnesses (my girlfriend calls new puppies by their typical illness name). - What dog breeds (again, none are really perfect and they're all mutts at some point in the past) would be wiped out due to Mandatory Spay/Neuter? Maybe too much of this "positive direction" would be a bad thing.

The average dog and cat don't need to be breeding. The prosperity of these two species doesn't depend on the average person breeding them. But, again, who do we decide SHOULD continue to breed them? HOW should they be bred? Do we wipe out half of the new designer dogs? Maybe some of the breeds as well? Personally, I know, in theory, ideally we should let dogs and cats decide who's best to mate with whom, and allow them to lead a more natural life in the world, instead of always dealing with our human intervention, and mistakes. But I also view Great Danes as a SPECIFIC TYPE of dog. I would SO miss the Great Dane if they were no longer in existence. It would feel like the extinction of a species to me. But even the Great Dane isn't real. Even the Great Dane was made by people.

I think a large majority of dogs and cats could be, and probably should be, spayed/neutered. But I also still think it's ANOTHER step in a very risky direction of human intervention we should have no business being involved in. We certainly broke it. And if we think we're going to fix it, we need to do so responsibly and with caution.

Cam's Sanctuary

Cam gets his nails done. - June 2010

Cam IS Pets Alive
Cam has lived at Pets Alive for some time now. From their highs and lows to their rebirth, Cam has been witness to it all.

Everything that Pets Alive stands for can be found through Cam. Any other shelter would have either killed him, or rejected him. Cam has fear aggression, doesn't do well in a kennel environment and was fed through a funnel for a while. Yeah... Oh, and he's one of those short, meaty and muscular dogs that gets a bad wrap just for their looks in the first place.

Cam's Special
The way to Cam's heart is definitely through his stomach. Cam LOVES treats! Slow introductions from the right people, a bottomless pit of treats, some common sense about dogs and fear and all that good stuff...and eventually you've just made the best, and most loyal, friend you'll ever have in life. Cam would do anything for his most special of friends. My girlfriend has the good fortune to have Cam's complete, and total, trust and loyalty. She's dressed him up in several tutus, made him a pumpkin, a fairy, a Camzilla...and has painted his nails several times. He does it all for her.

Cam loves basketballs. The first time I gave Cam a basketball...OH MY GOD! He was more excited than I had EVER seen him before! He was SO HAPPY! Basketballs are love for Cam! He even got into his doggy pool to get to his basketball once!

Cam's Sanctuary
People who know Cam and his story, and have the fortune of being friends with him, naturally get protective of him and really, truly care about him. Personally, I can't think of any place safer for Cam than Pets Alive. He is such a wonderful dog and such a loyal companion... I wonder what would happen to him if he were adopted and got into a stressful and fearful situation. It's not about Cam being a dangerous dog. It's about the world being dangerous to Cam. He needs protection. He needs love, support and loyalty. And we get protective of him.

Cam's Homeless
For quite some time, whenever somebody would say "Cam needs to get adopted", I would always think "Cam has a home. Pets Alive is his home. He doesn't feel like he's at a shelter. It's his home." But I wonder lately if maybe Cam IS homeless. With as wonderful and incredible as Pets Alive is, especially for Cam, it's still not that warm bed which only home has. I don't know. Maybe Cam is homeless after all. I don't know.

I wonder what would be best for Cam - The safety, love and protection that his sanctuary of Pets Alive will always provide him with his whole life? Or a chance to live life in the outside world and have a home, new experiences, a warm bed at night that will always be his...but not that definite buffer from the world to protect him?

Cam's Silent Nights
I don't know what's best for Cam, but at times, especially during the colder weather, I sometimes picture Cam just laying there at night, the people have gone, the show is over and the day is done, there is nothing left but Cam, his barn, a couple of beds, a small heater and the quiet of the cold weather outside. How does Cam feel at those times? Is he still "Air Cam!"? Is he still happy? Does he get lonely? Does he get sad?

When the day is done, none of us is the warm bed Cam so deserves to call his home.

Oreo's FLaw

Middletown Stray - November 21, 2010

A very, very brief background on this whole Oreo situation:

Just over a year ago, there was a dog named "Oreo". Her owner abused the hell out of her and one of the financially largest shelters out there took her in, stirred up a ton of media attention about her, provided her with medical attention, then a few months later killed her themselves. Another, highly qualified, shelter begged for Oreo's surrender to them so that she would not be killed. That didn't happen. And since then there has been a fight for Oreo's Law.

This law, based on other "successful" laws, would basically say: Hey, if that animal isn't being killed for a severe medical issue, and another "qualified" organization wishes to take that animal in, then you better turn that animal over to them, or else...

And yes, this sort of thing DOES happen often enough where it actually IS a HUGE nationwide issue. Just because someone works with, or is in charge of, animals, doesn't mean they give two craps about them. There are more people who work with animals that couldn't care less about them than you'd think. Put that into consideration, plus maybe somebody just doesn't care for somebody else...the individual shelter animal isn't always put on top priority.


So anyways, Oreo's FLaw:

Nothing's perfect. People just about never come up with, or find, a perfect absolute ideal fix. There's always going to be something worse, and something better. But with thinking about the colder weather coming in, and a bunch of hours sitting in front of computers logged into Social Networks, I've been wondering more and more...What's the point of Oreo's Law, really?

Colder weather. Some shelters are very fortunate to have access to outside runs mainly for their dogs. If you haven't been to this sort of environment, you're really missing out! It is a BEAUTIFUL thing to be able to go to a shelter and see so many HAPPY dogs being taken care of, enjoying the sun, getting walks, playing fetch... But now, through no fault of any of these shelters, the colder weather is coming in and a lot of places need to cut down on the number of dogs they have because their inside facilities can't hold the capacity of HUGE outside facilities. And show me a responsible shelter that ISN'T running just about always at capacity and I've got some intakes for them! Animal shelters are ALWAYS full - ESPECIALLY during the colder weather.

So now animal shelters have to start turning away animals because they need to cut down on what they already have.

Social Networks. Log on to twitter or Facebook and follow just a couple of the right accounts and I defy you to see even only twelve posts about an animal somebody is trying to place at a no-kill rescue or at least a foster and MAYBE just MAYBE get adopted instead! You'll reach twelve before you're done getting ready for work in the morning. Just because someone is cross-posted on these Social Network sites, doesn't mean they find safety. I've seen plenty of posts later that day, or a day or two later, where that animal didn't find sanctuary.

I know a dog that I personally met about a week ago in this very situation. Some dog picked up off the road that had to be turned in because he was a stray, and no owner has shown up, no fosters have come forward, and animal shelters are already over capacity. This dog dies after tomorrow night. It's not even a matter of someone saying "No! You can't have him!" A law isn't what's needed in order for this wonderful guy to live. He just needs shelter. There's just nowhere for him (maybe this was one of the few cases where he would have been better off left on the streets).

Exactly this, is ANOTHER thing that happens VERY often. I see so many posts EVERYDAY filled with dogs and cats that are just in need of some time and space. And so many of them don't get it.

What's good for the individual is not always what's good for the masses. But take away the individual...then does it really matter? Of course it matters in huge ways, but not to that individual anymore. I know I don't want to die while in the way of a cause I don't know about, and without my say in it.

Oreo's Law is supposed to be about saving lives. But, even though THAT individual is just as important as others, we're not in short supply of others who ALSO desperately are in need of being saved and there are people out there BEGGING for these animals to just find some shelter, even if it's only for a day or two. In the end, with finances and space and so many other factors at play, somebody's gonna die, whether it's the animal that a shelter is refusing to surrender, or the one on the cross-post who didn't find new shelter.

So, how important are laws like Oreo's Law to have at this moment in this world where there is no shortage of animals in need of rescue, animals in danger of being killed for no medical reason at all, but there IS HUGE shortage of funding and space? How thrilled wouldn't an organization be to even work with another organization that used this type of law to get an animal from them? What about the next animal in line? Does that one just get bumped up on the list? Who rescues that one? Who's to even say that the shelter would be willing to really show who's on the list in the future? Maybe by force isn't the answer?

I honestly don't know what the solution to all of this mess is. I know it has to start with people caring more and being more responsible, even if they aren't "part of the problem". I know we have to work together and put in real effort to make any sort of better difference in all of this. Huge, responsible movements need to take place to set all of this on the right tracks.

This is one WONDERFUL dog, and it's not someone's refusal to surrender him, or the lack of some law leading him to his death. Like so many others I see posted online everyday, it's lack of positive, forward action and space that will likely end this kissing machine's life after tomorrow night.

Oreo's FLaw is the ones we're already passing by.

Clarence the Companion

Clarence the Companion - November 2010

Clarence is a great companion dog who loves a good walk, as well as just hanging out.

I can TOTALLY picture Clarence out some place enjoying a burger and some fries! I think he'd love a day like that!

Clarence also happens to be up for adoption at Pets Alive in Middletown, Ny! Check him out on their website! You can apply to adopt him, or even just help sponsor him! It all makes a huge difference!

Middletown Stray

Middletown Stray - November 21, 2010

Only a few moments after Toni and I got up to Pets Alive today, THIS beautiful boy arrived!

We know NOTHING about this dog except that two wonderful volunteers found him running along Van Burenville Road near Pets Alive in Middletown, Ny and brought him in to see if something could be done for him.

This lost fella seems to be in pretty good shape from the looks of him - no fresh scars, decent color and fur, teeth seemed pretty nice from a quick glance at them. He does have what appears to be a chronic ear infection, but other than that he's full of energy, VERY affectionate and friendly - he just couldn't stop giving us kisses! Needs a bit of leash training, but hey... and a neutering (Happy Toni?! I said it!).

Middletown (at least I'm calling him that for this moment), was found with PART of a tie out still attached to his collar - so he definitely broke loose while he was outside. I'm thinking that it had JUST happened this morning as well, because he barfed up some pretty recent kibble and what looked like perfectly intact pulls of white turkey meat.

Unfortunately, being a stray, this guy couldn't legally stay at Pets Alive and had to be sent over to the local Animal Control. Animal Control is required to hold strays for six days in case their owner is out looking for them and contacts Animal Control. The unfortunate part about situations like this is that often times dogs under this type of care are killed when their hold time is up.

I hope Middletown's humans are good people. And if they are good people, I hope they are able to find him...and neuter him (Happy Toni?!).

Super Nova!

Super Nova - November 2010

This is Nova, and he is SUPER!

Nova is a FANTASTIC dog who LOVES to play catch with tennis balls!

Beautiful colors, great markings, cheerful attitude... This is one happy and GORGEOUS boy!

Nova is currently up for adoption at Pets Alive! Go check him out!

Celebrity Tweet Challenge: Riley

Tweet Riley - November 2010

We at Heart-Shaped Head are looking for some Celebrity help to spread the word about some great, adoptable dogs! As a "Thank you!" for your help, Heart-Shaped Head will give EACH Celebrity a FREE Anthony Trott Original Portrait of the dog they tweeted!

The dog we'd like to start off with is: Riley

We actually just posted a blog about Riley and would really LOVE to help get her into a good home! She is SUCH a beautiful and sweet dog!

All you have to do is copy and paste the following into twitter:


Please check out @petsalive adoptable dog: Riley http://bit.ly/b04aBd @heartshapedhead


Of course, after that, we'll figure out the best way to contact you, or you contact us, and get that portrait painted and sent over to you! It's just our way of saying "Thanks for helping spread the word!"


* Post as many times as you want! We want these dogs to get adopted to good homes!
* One portrait per dog, per Celebrity.
* Offer valid until the featured dog gets adopted.
* Heart-Shaped Head's Celebrity Tweet Challenge is an independent project (I hope the shelters don't mind it).

** Free Portrait Offer extended only to Celebrities/Famous People participating in this contest.
** It takes about 6 - 8 weeks to get these portraits painted and shipped.
** Portraits currently ship within the continental U.S. only.