But What About My Pets?

I no longer have pets but will probably in the future. This sounds to me like a great Internet project like so many others where people in local communities register online to volunteer to care for pets and/or need care for a pet. People could meet ahead of time if they are local. It is not a permanent or secure solution, but certainly a start.

The closest critter alert system that I'm aware of is the "in case of fire, save my pet!" window sticker - regardless of whether or not the emergency is human or animal, there needs to be another option! I returned from a 2 week trip nearly 2 months ago and the family taking care of the Cockatiel they were so fond of had neglected to inform me that one of her eyes was swollen completely shut and she was on the bottom of the cage, not doing anything. I wouldn't have asked more than simply feeding and watering the bird, but I'd kept in touch while on the road and returned to find the critter's vent completely blocked and one of the worst looking sinus infections I've ever seen. Vet number was posted on the fridge... I guess people don't realize that by the time a bird shows any sign of illness it's almost too late. /rant

I'm an emergency contact for a few people, I'm in their wills for their birds (yikes), but right now I'm also 8 driving hours away from them. Among other things, it's why I don't have a pet right now ('tiel saga continues, yes, but officially she's not even my bird). My next question is this: in case of human emergency, how well does the responding team need to be prepared? Is it enough for them to know type of pet, or name of pet, or special needs of pet? So they do know - do they have a house key? How do they get in or who do they contact? If you have 5 middle men, how fast can the response time be? For the longest time I'd send a bulk e-mail to family before traveling with a list of emergency numbers and such, in case they didn't hear from me at least every other day. Still, having emergency numbers in CA, TX and IL don't really help if you're in MI.

Who needs fireworks on the Fourth of July, when you have beautiful Elektra, in her natural red, blue, and (a bit of) white?

You might consider tapping into the network of people who already foster dogs, cats, ferrets, birds, and other companion animals before they are adopted. Most such people I know always seem to have room, and are pretty knowledgeable about animals.

I'm lucky in that I have several friends in town who could care for my dog and my horses, and my family is only a 3-hour drive away (they could deal with the dog, but not the horses). When I lived in a different part of this state, I had a friend whose horse had a bad habit of bolting off the field unexpectedly after a game, and in one such instance fell on a hard-packed gravel road. I ended up splitting my time between my friend, who had a broken arm and a lot of soft tissue damage from the accident, and his horse, who was pretty banged up as well, and needed to be hand-walked for 20-30 minutes every day. People who are recovering from injuries or illnesses certainly don't need any added anxiety, so it's a great idea to set up networks to care for their pets.

if you start an organization to help care for pets of the disabled i'd like to know and help in the future.i have trusted neighbors to help me if i go away,etc but i feel for the plight of NYCers who do not

How absolutely horrifying that you lost your pets during such a difficult time in your life. Shame on that unscrupulous woman! I hope that if you haven't already, you complain to the Better Business Bureau and the vet tech licensing board in your state and anyone else that will listen.

I carry emergency information about my pets (7 birds) in my wallet and who to contact. The ASPCA also offers free placard stickers for you to put on your windows so that in the event of a fire or other catastrophe emergency personnel may be able to save them.

Here's the problem I have here-

There are significant assumptions made here- That everyone who lives alone has no support system, and they have not made any plans in case of emergency.

You're projecting your own circumstances and experiences onto every other single bird owner. A family of 4 could easily come across an unscrupulous caregiver when they go on a week's vacation, and come home to a nightmare scenario. Being single really doesn't matter when one is scammed or unprepared.

And to assume a person has absolutely no friends at all who'd be willing to step up, I just don't find plausible either. There are people online, people we chat with daily who we know care about birds, where a person could find at least one to come and help.
How could a bird owner in Manhattan truly be completely alone? There are a number of online and in-person bird clubs. I have found actually, bird and pet owners do step up and help in times of emergency. Even in New York, more people than not still have a sense of being a good neighbor.

And many metro areas, such as New York, do have plentiful Bird Boarding services available. If there's truly a person who is all alone out there, then they, I'm sure, could easily setup something with one of these profesional Boarders for the 'what if' happening. I can't imagaine it being a difficult thing to arrange.

As for low income bird owners, I also think it's rather grossly elitist thinking to assume someone on a fixed income has no thought of care for their animal, to make arrangements in case of emergency, or that they have no friends who could step in and help temporarily. Afflac insurance covers pet expenses too, when someone is put out of work. Afflac has programs to help arrange for various care needs in case of emergencies and missed income.

The bottom line problem I have with this subject line, is there are blanket assumptions made, rather than factual. You can present the worst case scenarios, of coarse they exist, but they are also the rare exceptions. Prove otherwise.
So why does "Another agency" need to be established? really? Why does a local government or agency have to get involved with every facet of one's life? Sure there are horror stories, but it's quite unreasonable to make those out to be the norm. The horror stories can come, even to those who plan for every contingency and have loads of cash spilling from under their mattress. I just wish people would stop worrying about what their neighbor is or isn't doing, and just take care of their own business.

The fact is, as you've laid out here, you, and you alone were the one unprepared here. Being a scientific thinker, shouldn't you have thought about these things in advance? And because you feel guilty now, how does that justify the concern for what others do or don't do?

Anyway, I didn't want this to come across as an attack either. Personally, I'm just getting to the point where I am so sick of everyone worried about my business, or my neighbors' business, when they got their own birds and their own business to worry about aplenty. I'm tired of a constant stream of new laws designed to nanny and micro-manage every aspect of my behavior, or what kind of pet I can or can't have.

The evolutionary outcome of even this subject, is that Nobody should own a Bird as a pet, Period. That way no birds will ever be put in harms way, ever. At least not by a human. And I don't find that an acceptable eventuality.

A

The fact will always remain, Crap happens. There are always going to be people out there who don't care about there animals, or their family, or themselves. But those situations are not the norm. And I just don't believe the worry over a single person or low income person owning a pet bird is truly warranted at all.

Good day-

Huh? Arnold, do you realize that the writer of this blog was hospitalized in an emergency situation, and for a prolonged period of time, due to serious illness? Are you suggesting that people need to plan their health problems better? (Wow, stupid me, to have developed an illness that caused me constant pain right about the time I finished grad school. I should have planned it so that I didn't need major surgery at a time when it would delay my job search. Good thing I don't have pets, because obviously someone who ever gets sick is too irresponsible to have them.)

You don't seem to understand that the problem is not simply that of a misfortune befalling a single bird -- it's the need for better options for people who are trying to do the very best for their companion animals under all circumstances. The author of this blog is making constructive suggestions for how to improve the situation. She is sharing her own painful memories because she wants to keep other people and other animals from going through this.

And just because someone is your friend does not mean that the person is either able or willing to care for your animals. Some of us have animal allergies, live in places that forbid pets, or simply don't have the time or experience to be good pet-sitters. The idea is not simply to find either a friend or an employee -- it's to find a person who would be competent and responsible at taking care of your pets during your absence, whether the arrangement is for pay, for friendship, or both.

(GrrlS. -- good luck with this. Keep us all posted as to how it works out!)

At some point in life, everyone deals with some kind of emergency. Truth be told, these emergencies, over a lifetime, pop up frequently even. Crap never happens when you want it to. And I'm not making light of what happened to her. Only saying, her nightmare caregiver scenario could easily have happened to a wealthy knowledgable family too.

And simply asking, is it the scientific factual basis to assume a need exists to micro-manage other single and/or low income pet owners?

I was simply stating, I don't believe a need exists for a community to come up with another new program or law, when people, rich or poor, single or coupled, need to just take care of their own business and let others take care of theirs. If we all just took care of our own business, and did plan to some degree for our own eventualities, we wouldn't have to worry about what others are or aren't doing.

I was only pointing out, that options already exist and can easily be found with a little effort.
And while yes, many of us have "anti-pet" friends; Those of us in "birds" should know at least one competant friend too, especially if we live in a very large metro area.

Arnold, it's a sad day when a "card carrying" atheist anarcho-capitalist Ayn Rand fan has to lecture someone about compassion and community. That day has come. I need only mention to you that the best way to keep the nanny state from poking its "lang neb" into the affairs of private individuals is to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT YOURSELF.

You are hereby challenged to start an emergency caregiver association in your hometown that provides care to the pets of its members. Since you will be the founder and presumably one of the board members, it should be relatively easy for you to see that the bylaws include provisions forbidding the theft of pets from their people. As you are aware, channels already exist to take up the plight of pets who are permanently abandoned or mistreated. Your organization should focus on helping people and animals who are having a hard time and need temporary assistance.

"The only freedom deserving the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest." --John Stuart Mill

I have parrots in my apartment and have a friend from across the street who will take care of them if I have an emergency.

I agree with the idea of an on-line search for NYC area parrot groups who might know of people who can be trusted to responsibly take care of pets in case of emergency or a planned vacation.

GrrlScientist, you are a caring person and excellent Bird Mom. Thanks for discussing this important topic.

GrrlScientist,

Sharing the sad experience you went thru with your pets and warning others what could happen if prior plans are not made for emergencies is the best way to honor your lost pets. Thanks. I am a parrot owner and realize how trusting and vulnerable they are and how easily they can perish. I have no idea where Arnold is coming from. There seemed to be a valid point embedded in alot of unnecessarily hostile hubris.

Please, point out what's actually hostile?

This is a "scientific" blog, right?

What scientist out there expects not to be challenged on their assertions simply because of sympathy? She states this happened years ago too.

I'm not trying or wanting to be hostile or attack. I'm simply wanting the factual inherent crisis to warrant the need for another agency, new laws, or government intervantion?

Why can't people just be responsible for their own business?

Why is it assumed single and low income people don't plan for eventualities?

And to comment on another reply- How is setting up an entity with a Board of Directors and bylaws more compassionate, then simply offering to help as an individual? I have found historically, something requiring a Board helps very little and often too late, and yet requires the need for endless fund-raising. If people were just good neighbors, whatever few people did find themselves un-prepared, could surely find needed help within the bird community.

In posts past, the author of this blog has stated she is on the lists of others from whom she will get their birds in case of emergency.

And again, Bird Boarding already exists, and one simply has to make arrangements prior to an emergency ever taking place. Afflac insurance will even pay for that kennel care too while a person is layed up.

If the article had said rather, this is what happened to me, if you are single or low income then you should think about making plans, so what happened to me, doesn't happen to you, I would have applauded. These kinds of reminders and wake up calls are always a good thing.

But the article tries to make the case that there's an inherent need for "another" agency or that some kind of measures need to be enacted to protect birds from low income and single owners.

I do have sympathy for what happened to her birds and her. What she went through was a nightmare without question.

I just don't believe there is justification to single out single people or low-income based on her experience, or even 3 or 4 other examples. The nightmare she went through could happen to anybody, not just a single or low income person. Nobody is ever truly 'prepared' for the worst to happen.

And again, please point out the actual hostility?

In my day scientists were a little more thick-skinned and actually desired some debate. Guess those days are gone, and facts become facts just by saying they're facts.

on a rather unrelated note - critter care in case of rapture, from "best of" on CL http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/ksc/725674463.html