COMPANION ANIMALS
See also Food & Medicine Animals
Education for Responsible Living with Companion Animals
(generally known as RPO - Responsible Pet Ownership)
We dislike the terms "Pet" and
"Pet Ownership." We do not believe that the individuals that share our lives
should be referred to by the condescending term "Pet." And we do not believe
that one Animal should be "owned" by another - not even by the Human Animal.
It should be regarded as a privilege to have an animal live with us.
We promote the keeping of companion animals as there are many benefits to the animals and
to the humans - but only when there are adequate facilities to ensure a satisfactory
standard of care. The keeping in human homes of wild, undomesticated species is
totally wrong.
The keeping of birds and other animals in
cages is cruel unless the cage size is adequate which it rarely is.
Learning about the
responsibilities of living with other animals should be part of the curriculum
from primary school on (see Humane Education ). In
particular, we need to educate communities on the advantages of spaying and
neutering - not only for the animals living within the house but also for the stray animals in
the neighbourhood (catch, spay and return to the place found - or, as it is more
usually called, "TNR" - Trap, Neuter and
Release).
Groups involved in education:
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong Government Information Centre
Hong Kong SPCA
Animals
Asia Foundation
Society
for Abandoned Animals
Lamma Animal Welfare Centre
International:
International Fund for Animal
Welfare (IFAW)
World Society for the
Protection of Animals (WSPA)
RSPCA (Chinese)
Dumb Friends League
National
Canine Defence League
HSUS
Animal Sheltering Online
Cat Information -
Australia
Pigs as Pets
Fate of a dog in an Atlanta
animal shelter
Companion
Animal Population Control
We must continue to campaign
against the indiscriminate and unplanned breeding of cats and dogs.
We believe that the "No Kill City" concept promoted by the San Francisco SPCA
could work in Hong Kong. And there is scope for spreading this concept to China
and the rest of Asia.
The concept has now been officially
adopted by the Hong Kong SPCA and negotiations are under way with the Hong Kong
Government to make "Hong Kong No Kill City" a reality.
Hong Kong SPCA took the first step towards
No Kill on August 1st 2002 by ceasing to perform convenience "euthanasia" on
owner surrender dogs. Further progress requires the cooperation of the Public
and the Government of Hong Kong.
A coalition of interested parties has been formed to push for the required
policy changes - see No Kill City Forum
May_2004_Caribbean_Animal_Welfare_Conference
Companion
Animal Welfare Establishments - Standards
The concept of Pet Fairs is a frightening development. Please read our Report on Pet Fair Asia
'97.
And the Pet Fairs have become bigger and bigger and more widespread each year.
Hong Kong is not the only country with
problems -
Taiwan (PETA)
Taipei Abandoned Animal Rescue
Foundation
Singapore & ilpsc
Korea
Japanese Companion Animals and Japan
India.
Indonesia
Sri Lanka
Canada
The problem of "Hoarders", previously
known as "Collectors"
See:
HSUS
For Photographs of Taiwan Dog Pounds, click
here.
For Photographs of Taiwan Dog Shelters, click here.
What should you feed your companion? Click the
paw: 
Would you like to
keep/wear/eat a rabbit? Click this one first:
CHINCHILLAS
Click the picture:
REASONS TO NEUTER YOUR FRIEND!!!
From ANIMAL ER (5820 West Interstate 20 Dallas, TX - 817
483-8762,
fax: 817-478-3692)
By Cindi Welch D.V.M
A large percentage of our emergency practice deals with totally preventable
diseases. If I could give one single bit of advice to pet owners by which
they could prevent half of their visits to an emergency practice, it would
be summed up in one word: PREVENTION!
One of the greatest favors you could ever do for your pet is to have them
neutered! Don't even get me started on all the other reasons - pet
overpopulation, overcrowded animal shelters, abuse and neglect of unwanted
pets - I can think of plenty of reasons to neuter your pet that will
directly benefit YOUR PET!
Every pet should be spayed or castrated before they are six months of age,
unless they are valuable breeding animals. Because of our new safer
anesthetics and careful monitoring procedures before, during and after
surgery, we can perform this procedure safely at about three months of age.
If your primary purpose is to have a healthy, happy pet, then even purebred
animals should be neutered unless careful consideration is given to the
process of breeding them.
Bottom line - neutered pets are happier and healthier. Leave the breeding
to the few professionals who know what they are doing.
The following are some poor excuses to breed your pet:
1) I want to make some extra money selling puppies/kittens. There are many
costs associated with breeding. If done correctly with the health &
well-being of the animals in mind. Do you know that prior to breeding, dogs
& cats should be current on all vaccinations and on heartworm preventative?
Do you know that some breeds of dogs need hip x-rays prior to breeding to
check for congenital hip problems? Do you know that blood tests for
brucellosis, a sexually transmitted bacterial disease that causes
infertility and abortion in dogs, should be done in both the male and female
prior to breeding? Are you prepared financially if complications develop
during pregnancy? What if your pet requires a c-section, which can cost
hundreds of dollars? Are you prepared to take over care of the litter if
for some reason the mother will not or cannot nurse them? Are you prepared to
provide adequate veterinary care for the litter, including regular
vaccinations and deworming. Can you find good homes for all the babies?
2) My children should experience the miracle of birth. More important by
far would be to teach your children about responsible pet ownership, which
includes having your pet neutered. Why not take your children on a tour of
the local humane society and teach them about the problems of pet
overpopulation? The children's section of your local bookstore or library
will have many good books on the subject of birth. This would be preferable
to the many complications of a litter of kittens or puppies.
3) I just can't do that to my pet. Your pet does not long to experience
motherhood. Animals do not hear the "tick" of their "biological
clock".
Your male dog or cat will not feel less masculine if missing various
portions of their anatomy. Your pet will be happier, healthier, and better
behaved if they are neutered - period. There is absolutely NO advantage to
having an intact pet. Of course animals will eagerly reproduce. Some
people say, "Oh, that's OK. I never plan to breed him. Your pet will still
be subjected to these hormonally driven urges and all the behavior that goes
along with it; and you will be forced to deal with it as well., If you have
ever spent a sleepless night listening to the howls of a female cat in heat,
you understand this.
4) Age factor - too old or too young. It is much better to perform
elective surgery on a relatively healthy ten or twelve year old pet than to
wait until they are fourteen and in need of emergency surgery. Potential
risks to your pet and associated costs are greater if surgery is delayed.
We routinely perform surgery on pets in their teens (actual years, not dog
years). It is a minor hassle to tote your pet to the vet to get them
neutered. If you don't take the time, though,, you will likely end up with
a surprise litter, since dogs & cats can become pregnant at about five or
six months of age.
5) He/She's too small: Current anesthetics are safe for all size pets.
Surgery on smaller patients, in fact, is often easier than in larger ones.
We perform surgery on one hundred gram hamsters and on two hundred pound
mastiffs. We do take extra precautions with smaller patients, especially
making sure that they stay warm during and after surgery. I don't know a
single vet who would not prefer to spay a four pound Pomeranian rather than
a one hundred pound Labrador Retriever. I know this for a fact because I
spayed my own overweight Lab and was wishing she were a four pound
Pomeranian the entire time!
6) He/She Will Get Fat. A neutered pet may be a little more likely to
become overweight than an intact one. But in common sense, diet and
exercise can all be used to correct this problem if it occurs. The
benefits of neutering far outweigh the risks of a manageable problem such as
weight gain, as long as the weight gain is managed and not allowed to get
out of control, since then we enter a whole new realm of health problems.
7) I'm not planning on breeding my pet. A common misconception is that the
only reason you need to neuter your pets is to prevent unwanted litters.
Just as important to your pets well-being are the numerous healthy benefits
of neutering. Neutering your male dog can prevent cancer, infections or
enlargement of the prostate gland, certain types of hernias, testicular
cancer and other cancers. Spaying your female dog will prevent potentially
fatal uterine infections and cancers of the uterus, ovaries and mammary
glands. Not only do preventable illnesses increase in pets that have not
been neutered, but also so do things like trauma and behavior problems. I
don't know how many times I have sewed up five pound un-neutered male dogs
that decided they were going to whip up on a one hundred pound Rottweiler
next door. For some reason, having testicles makes them think that they are
invincible. Often the lapse in judgment proves fatal. Neutered pets are
not nearly so likely to go looking for love and ending up run over by a car
or shot or poisoned or chewed up or some other awful thing. Cats are
exposed to some nasty and fatal diseases that are spread by bite wounds and
they are more likely to fight if they are not neutered. Neutering will
never make your dog a "weenie" - they will still be just as protective of
their home and family as they were before. As a matter of fact they will be
more focused than ever on that task.
If your pet every has an emergency in the middle of the night, I-20 Animal
Medical Center is always there. But for you and your pet's sake we would
rather keep them healthy and out of the emergency room if possible!
Dr. Cinci Welch, DVM
Some photos of dogs in China at:
Xichang
Yibin
Zigong
Fuzhou
Chengdu
Guilin
Petshops
And in other countries.
Pawprint article on animal welfare in china.pdf
Hong Kong Housing Department:
See: http://www.hkcgp.org/
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On to Experiment Animals
(Vivisection).
Last revised:
15 December 2007
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