Apparently many US athletes at Sochi are adopting stray dogs. Russia's official solutions to stray dogs in general, and at Sochi specifically, were heartbreaking at best, and but for the diligent work of some individuals forming rescues, many many dogs would have been euthanized for the sake of public appearances. Our country has a stray dog problem as well, though at least they tend not to be viewed as "biological trash" (or one might hope not).
In other (and even happier?) news, scientists have discovered/decided that dogs do, in fact, know what we're saying. Or at least understand that we are speaking to them, as they have centers in their brain dedicated to speech, discovered in another study using MRI. They're also sensitive to emotions (but I'll be you knew that already!).
I last wrote about Detroit here in November (I think) when I posted about an organization who was doing "Thanksgiving Dinner" for Detroit's stray dogs. Well, on February 18, animal advocates in Detroit stayed overnight in dog houses, to "raise awareness about the dangers of leaving pets outside at night". I understand that my dog values are not everybody's dog values, nor are they necessarily common, but it blows my mind that people will regularly leave their pets outside through all sorts of temperatures and weather. If they changed even one person's mind, it's worth it, and I hope they reached a lot of people, and changed a lot of minds. Dogs (and cats) die outside in the winter. They're mammals, just like people. These are not difficult facts.
We pray that people will start thinking about what they do to all the different animals.
ReplyDeleteYes, I pray for that too.
DeleteI wish with all my heart that all the Sochi dogs would get adopted.
ReplyDeleteMe too! It would really be a rescue triumph, and it would (I think) be really inspiring to groups and communities elsewhere who have populations of stray dogs, and dogs in shelters.
DeleteIt's nice that these athletes are all shedding some light on animal adoption. I do wish more people would look here first though, as we have a lot of dogs right in our own country that need help too.
ReplyDeleteVery cool about the scientist study...although you're right. It kind of makes you say, "Duh! They needed a STUDY to tell them that?"
Even cooler about the advocate group staying out in the dog houses overnight. I feel bad for dogs that live their entire lives on the length of a chain. :-)
Yes, I think people lose sight of the millions of animals in the United States who are in rescues and shelters, and then a flashy story like this gets attention for international adoptions. But, maybe it'll inspire some people to go to their local shelters, now that the olympics are over.
DeleteIt seems like I've seen a lot of dog (and other) animal science articles proving things I thought were common knowledge. Maybe they're only things dog people know? ;)
It's been nice to see some good news lately, hasn't it!
ReplyDeleteYes, it really has!
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