Tails: A bird at my doorstep

So, I came down to the kitchen and found our cat, Delilah, on the back porch with a small sparrow in her mouth. Yes, it was dead.

We don’t leave our cat out – she just likes to go for a morning stroll and this time she came back with a prize.

My daughter and I were disgusted and the only good thing about it is that Delilah definitely snapped the bird’s neck so there shouldn’t have been too much pain.

Now, there are many people who would be appalled – even pissed off – that my cat goes outside. I understand that – but, Delilah was a stray her whole life and going outside is what she knows.

She has all of her claws and never goes far from the house. Depriving her of the outside seems cruel to me and I won’t do it.

We have two other cats and they don’t go out. Well, Sampson does go out with the dogs, but he always comes right back in. And, Martha, she is afraid of her own shadow.

There is also the camp who would be pissed that I have bird feeders up and allowed my cat to kill one.

I really didn’t allow my cat to do anything – and the bird feeders have been up for 4 years and this is the first time she ever touched a bird.

Including myself in the mix – animal people are crazy! Seriously. And, the most intriguing thing is that each person belongs to a subgroup within the generalized group of animal welfare.

And, that, quite frankly, is what keeps us from saving the world. Because we are too busy fighting amongst ourselves.

Just recently, I had considered volunteering for a breed specific rescue group. Not only were they too far away for me but they had some crazy notions about who they would adopt to.

These included: The adoptees could not have more than one other dog in the home and no more than 3 cats… Anyone over the age of 65 could not adopt a dog under the age of 3. The adoptee needed at least 3 references and only one could be family. They needed to fill out a lengthy form listing every pet they ever had and what happened to them. And lastly, there had to be a home visit that was up to the discretion of the person visiting the home.

Do you know – that I would not be able to adopt from them? My dog to cat ratio is way too high for them – and yet, I strongly believe that my pack is happy and healthy and loved beyond measure.

My parents are 65 and their dog, Motts, is getting up in age and they are considering getting another Lab soon. There is a good chance that they might fall in love with one under the age of 3… is it so wrong to let them adopt him or her? Isn’t that better than a dog being put down or living a long time in a crate without a family?

I realize that there are odds at play – the dog could outlive them… but, in reality, at 38 I could be hit by a car or die from cancer. Yet, no one is telling me I can’t adopt a puppy. (Though I am already out of the running because I have too many pets to begin with.)

It is frustrating, sometimes, in this animal welfare world – to understand all the different philosophies – all of which are to protect the animals…And, it is hard to support those that, to me, seem so contrary to what I feel is the ultimate goal: saving these animals from a horrible fate and giving them a second chance at a good life.

So, I follow my own beliefs – I have 4 dogs in my family, I encourage my parents to bring a new dog into their lives, I let Delilah out to make her happy, and I don’t have a fence in my backyard.

And, as I look around right now – Delilah is soaking up the sun in her posh bed, Buddy is sprawled out on the sofa, Sadie is sleeping at my feet, Martha is at the top of the cat tree, Sampson is snuggled in my bed, and Thorp is sitting on the chair next to me. Everyone is happy, healthy and safe – even though most everything I do is against some other animal welfare person’s beliefs.

Oh, how I wish we could all come together and support each other – because I really do think we would be THE power to reckon with.