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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 15, 2005 Abandoning animals leads to tragic circumstances By Peg Stewart Ashland The other day I was listening to a neighbor complain about a stray cat that was causing trouble. It was destroying plants in her carefully tended flowerbeds and had caught a bird at her feeder. She was frustrated and at the same time concerned because the cat and her kitten were lean and ragged-looking and obviously homeless and very hungry. She said that they fled when approached, indicating that both these poor vagabonds were not used to people and most likely feral. Since tomorrow is National Feral Cat Day, this is a good time to make the community aware of the plight of ferals and the issues surrounding them. A feral cat is a cat that has reverted back to being wild. This typically happens due to irresponsible pet owners who abandon or dump unwanted cats and kittens. They are left without resources and seek shelter anywhere they can find. And since they are usually dumped without being spayed or neutered, they multiply rapidly with no hope of the resulting offspring becoming tame. Contrary to popular belief, these cats cannot fend for themselves. They are subjected to disease, predators, parasites, rain and cold and many other maladies. Another erroneous idea is that cats can easily feed themselves with their hunting skills. Not true! Most feral cats are malnourished and fall victim to starvation. It may not be obvious to those who aren’t aware or are not looking, but there are literally thousands of feral cats in Jackson County trying to survive. They can be found in every shopping center parking lot, mobile home park, apartment complex and on and on. They are everywhere, hiding in the bushes, living under buildings, or in whatever shelter they happen upon. Especially susceptible are the kittens. Recently, I rescued five kittens born to a feral mother. Much time and effort was put into humanely trapping them. They were only 5 weeks old, yet they were covered in fleas (which can cause anemia, blood disease or death), they had ear mites, severe diarrhea and were full of worms. Despite my best efforts and multiple vet visits, one died while under veterinary care and another died in my arms after a horrendous night of fighting to keep him alive. Using the best available estimations from existing statistics, approximately 10,000 feral kittens die every year in Jackson County. To the individual pet owner, I say, “You can spay or neuter your cat for the cost a carton of cigarettes, or a case of beer, or the cost of a dinner out. Do it!” And to Jackson County Animal Care and Control, I say, “You recently received $880,000 from a bequest to be used for the benefit of the animals. Do not let this money sit idle in a bank account in case of future budget cuts; this may never come to pass.” The answer does not lie in continuing to euthanize more and more cats and kittens. The answer is in prevention. Spend the money now to prevent more deaths and suffering. If you can help with this problem, please call Peg at 482-4889. Policing ordinance is a pie-in-the-sky proposal By Timothy B. Smith Ashland Watching the presentation to the city council by the Ashland Committee on Policing and Public Safety convinced me that the two well-meaning and erudite individuals addressing the council do not have a comprehensive appreciation of the journey and difficulties that lay ahead. Their proposed ordinance is the metaphorical equivalent of clicking their heels and making a wish. By far the most troubling aspect of their presentation was the rendition of a story about a trainee who was terminated because his superiors documented a deficiency in officer safety practices. Their belief was that his job performance made him the perfect candidate for participating in the community policing model. I can think of no police officer or administrator anywhere who believes that compromising officer safety is a necessary part of community policing. It’s impossible to know the whole story of the termination without reading the training documentation, but the assertion that these two gentlemen had a better sense of the safety needs of a rookie police officer than did his superiors is absurd. The ordinance is a miniscule portion of the journey to effective community policing. Along the way, do not make the mistake of snatching officer safety responsibilities from the trained and experienced professionals. If you do, you will be assuring that no high-quality police officer candidates will ever consider working here. The potential rewards could never outweigh the risks. Once the heels have been clicked and the wish has been made, Dorothy still ends up back in Kansas. Police officers still have to serve the public while enforcing the laws and protecting themselves by using appropriate officer safety tactics. In order to ensure the successful transition to a community policing model, work with the officers and their supervisors. Form a mutually beneficial partnership. Setting the community against the officers and asserting that community members with no police experience or training know as much about employing proper officer safety tactics is a formula for mutual failure. 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