Advice from a dog

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

DALTON, Georgia––”Living on the buckle of

the Bible Belt, where every harsh, cruel thing done to ani-

mals seems to have so-called divine justification, is at

times intolerable,” says Linda McClure-Woodham. “I can

count the number of animal activists in Dalton on the fin-

gers of one hand. But I keep writing my column in the

hope that maybe, just maybe, it is reaching those who

would never read ANIMAL PEOPLE or any other publi-

cation like it.”

For just over three years, McClure-Woodham

has ghostwritten two installments a month of a pet advice

column called Gizzmo for the Dalton Advertiser, a twice-

a-week newspaper with a circulation of 34,000. The osten-

sible author is her Chihuahua mix, Gizzmo, whom she

adopted from the local pound five years ago, at age six

months, as the dog was headed for the gas chamber.

Gizzmo answers fictitious letters sent in from other ani-

mals––some actually submitted by human readers on

behalf of their animals, some invented to illustrate other

issues McClure-Woodham wants to address.

Dogs & Cats

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Petsmart Inc., a Phoenix-based national

chain of pet supply stores, maintains adoption

boutiques for local animal shelters instead of buying

and selling animals from breeders. The 38 “Luv-A-

Pet” boutiques placed 4,000 animals in the first 12

months they were open––and when Petsmart stock

went public in July, the price surged from $18 per

share to $25 the first day before leveling off even

higher. Investment analysts are recommending

Petsmart at any price up to $30 a share.

A growing number of communities are

discovering a need for a group similar to the Pet

Owners With Aids Resource Service of New York

City and the Pets Are Wonderful Support network of

Los Angeles, which help hundreds of AIDS patients

to keep their pets as long as possible and seek new

homes for the animals when their people die.

Pending formation of such a group in New Orleans,

Legislation In Support of Animals is pinch-hitting.

ANIMAL HEALTH

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

IN THE VETERINARY CLINIC

Despite concerns about bites and animal-transmitted

disease, veterinary staff are as often hurt on the job by ordi-

nary slips, trips, falls, and lifting injuries, according to sta-

tistics supplied to ANIMAL PEOPLE by the American

Veterinary Medical Association Professional Liability Insurance

Trust. From 1988 through 1992, dog bites accounted for 16.3%

of claims, cat bites for 13.8%, kicks by horses and cattle for

5.2%, and all other injuries done by animals combined amounted

to just 4.1%––but slips, trips, and falls came to 17.2%, while

lifting totaled 16.2%. Three-fourths of the lifting injuries

involved lifting “small” animals, whose weight and ability to

struggle were probably underestimated by the injured. Average

costs per claim were $2,808 for animal-related lifting injuries;

$6,253 for other lifting injuries; $6,212 for slips, trips, and falls;

$4,174 for horse and cow-kicks; $1,527 for dog bites; and $678

for cat bites. Job safety statistics have apparently never been

compiled for animal control officers and shelter workers, but

similar ratios may apply.

National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

The newly formed National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy held its

first working meeting September 18 at the American Humane Association headquarters in

Englewood, Colorado. The discrepancy between the AHA projections and the shelter-by-

shelter, state-by-state statistics was briefly raised, but not discussed in detail.

Formed last July 17 at the 1993 annual convention of the American Veterinary

Medical Association, the NCPPSP plans to conduct an epidemiological study of pet over-

population, using yet-to-be-established regional data collection centers.

MEMO FROM ANDREW ROWAN

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

I have questioned the validity of

the national shelter statistics for more than

10 years. After discussing the issue with

the late Phyllis Wright in the early 1980s,

and with her support, we organized a work-

shop on the question at the Tufts Center for

Animals and Public Policy in 1984. The

workshop included the AHA, MSPCA,

HSUS, and ASPCA, plus a number of

local shelters known to have good statistics

and quality programs. As a result of the

workshop, I concluded that the animal

overpopulation problem had been dramati-

cally reduced, from shelters killing 20% of

the national owned dog and cat population

in 1973 to only 10% in 1982. As far as I

can tell, my claim for this progress has

been virtually ignored by nearly everyone

in the business, Phil Arkow being a notable

exception. Certainly no one has ever tried

to challenge it.

Squirrels, cats top count to date: Student roadkill census heads into second year

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

DERRY, New Hampshire––Roadkill Monitoring

Project coordinator Brewster Bartlett, a.k.a. Dr. Splatt, has

announced that March 14 through May 15 will be the 1994

roadkill survey period for school groups.

Last year students at 31 schools participated, all of

them in New England. This year, Bartlett hopes to recruit

several hundred, from all parts of the U.S. and Canada.

“Each student is assigned a road that is frequently

traveled going to and from school,” Bartlett explains. “This

road is to be monitored at least twice a day for at least eight

out of the nine weeks.” Each Monday, student roadkill

counts from the preceding week will be tabulated and

relayed by computer modem to a Roadkill Bulletin Board

maintained by Simmons College, in Massachusetts.

Animal and habitat protection groups split on North American Free Trade Agreement

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

NO IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIRED

WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. Court of

Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled September 24

that the Clinton administration doesn’t have to produce an

environmental impact statement on the North American

Free Trade Agreement before it takes effect. The ruling

reversed a lower court ruling that would have required sev-

eral years of study before the pact could be submitted to

Congress for ratification.

Public Citizen, one of three plaintiffs in the bid to

delay or stop NAFTA, pledged to appeal to the Supreme

Court within a matter of weeks.

“This decision has cheated the American public

out of the right to know,” said Friends of the Earth director

Jane Perkins.

LETTERS [Oct. 1993]

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Premarin vs. horses

Your articles on the connec-

tion between the production of

Premarin female estrogen therapy

drugs and the overbreeding and

slaughter of horses were shockers. I

thought that by now I was shockproof,

but I suppose I am not. Just when you

think you know the worst, there is

more. It is important that we not let

depression take over; we have to act.

I phoned my pharmacist and

learned that I was taking the “natural”

Premarin. I then spoke to you; you

gave me the names of three synthetic

substitutes; I phoned my doctor and I

switched to one of them, Estrace. The

office nurse was appalled when I

explained the reason for my switch. I

am sending her copies of your articles.

I’m sending copies to some organiza-

tions and individuals as well. If just

some of them take action, some hors-

es will be saved––thanks to you.

Letters

Editorial: Lies, damned lies, and statistics

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Most ANIMAL PEOPLE readers probably remember the saying, variously attrib-

uted to Benjamin Disraeli and Abraham Lincoln, that there are lies, damned lies, and sta-

tistics. In popular interpretation, the saying equates three categories of misinformation. In

practice, however, as both Disraeli and Lincoln knew, accurate statistics are perhaps the

most powerful means we have of demolishing lies and damned lies––which often reside in

purported statistics that don’t withstand scrutiny.

Inaccurate statistics are correspondingly an invitation to public demolition by one’s

opponents. When animal advocates take outdated or sloppily compiled numbers into public

debate, they figuratively stand up with pants unzipped. Some activists believe a big number

is most convincing and dramatic, whether or not it can documented. Yet people are more

often moved by the plight of one animal than that of many. “Millions” are overwhelming

and abstract. Smaller numbers are more hopeful. People feel empowered to save a certain

number; after that, the effort seems impossible and response diminishes.

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