We all need a Good Goose

Lately, I have been making many appearances as the Suncoast Animal League’s mascot, at many different events and I can’t believe how well I have been treated…kind of like a rock star!  I do, however, have a concern about my popularity.  My problem, as I see it, is I’m becoming too popular.  I hear numerous times, “I want to have a goose for a pet”. Most people or animals, for that matter, might consider that as a good thing.  But, as I look around, I’m not so sure.

During these events, I have to listen to countless stories about geese chasing people, not allowing anyone to get too close.  No one seems to have a good goose story.  Well, maybe we have a good reason for keeping people a wing’s length away.

What about this “Man’s Best Friend” thing?  Over the past couple of days, my friends at the Suncoast Animal League have been called to assist in some alarming cases.  One, concerning six, one-week old pups abandoned under a shed during this cold weather, a second involving a stray dog found wandering the streets and giving birth to eight pups, and yet a third where the expecting dog was forced outside to give birth in the cold because the owner was mad at the dog for getting pregnant.  Wow, this how you treat your “Best Friend”?

What about cats?  They are treated worse than dogs.  Everyone wants a cute, adorable little kitten until they turn in to a cat.  Well, what were they suppose to become?  Look around the streets, the poor things are everywhere.  What’s the response you get when you try to bring cats to an animal shelter?  “We are full”.  And you know what, they are!

So as I see it, popularity isn’t all that popular.

Did you know that the Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas County Government shelters euthanize nearly 60,000 cats and dogs each year?  And a little more than 9,000 get adopted.  This cost tax payers over $14,500,000.  Before you go screaming to loudly at your County Commissioners you might want to ask, “Where did all these animals come from”?

This has been going on for a long time and it will take a long time to “fix it”.  Pardon the pun.  But maybe it’s time to take this problem out of the hands of man and put it in to “the feathers of the goose that’s got it together”.  I don’t mean to “honk” my own horn but you don’t see a goose tied to a tree in the back yard “starved “for affection.  When’s the last time you saw a goose hanging around a dumpster in the back of a restaurant?

In 2008, I will be the “wingman” for the Suncoast Animal League, as we work together to put in place low cost spay/neuter programs that make sense and eventually raise the $150,000 necessary to open a high quality, high volume, affordable and accessible Spay/Neuter Clinic.  Soon, we will announce these programs to the public, and on March 22nd, in downtown Palm Harbor, we will host a Dog Walk and 5K Run to help raise funds for the clinic.
If you think placing animals in animal shelters is the answer, then you are only fooling yourself.  The statistics will bear that out.  Please… help us make a real difference!

I am aware that our community is made up of good eggs, bad eggs, cracked eggs and some eggs that are just plain scrambled.  But it is time to put all of our eggs in a basket and take care of those we profess to care so much about.

BUILD THE FOUNDATION BY MAKING A DONATION!

 

Sincerely,

---