A Soup Kitchen for Pets

Posted by Barbara Techel

 On behalf of Guideposts, I am sharing a repost of this wonderful story!!


Germany has been one of Europe’s strong economies, but things are changing for everyone. It began with the saddest story, as great ideas often do.

Claudia Hollm saw a TV show about a family who had to relinquish their dog because of economic hardship. The family simply did not have enough money to feed their beloved dog and with breaking hearts they relinquished him to a shelter where he died shortly thereafter of a broken heart after being so loved by this family for many years.

This pitiful story fired Claudia’s imagination and even though she holds down a full-time job, she managed to find the time to open a soup kitchen for pets including dogs, cats, rabbits and any other animals people had in their homes but were having trouble feeding. The organization, Tiertafel, (animal table), Berlin’s first soup kitchen for dogs, relies on donations and volunteers. “Making sure dogs don’t gohungry is just as important as making sure that people don’t starve,” Claudia says.

In 2008, with 19 offices nationwide, Tiertafel has helped 4,028 customers to feed 6,291 pets on a regular basis. It’s quite a miracle when you think about this number of animals who will not wind up on the streets or in shelters. Not everyone is eligible for help. Claudia says, “People have to show us official documents to show they are on welfare or have very low wages before we help them. If we see someone who is already poor get a new pet we won’t support them. We’ve had situations where we had to refuse people because they took on new pets, despite having come to us for their original pets…we have one case of a woman in Frankfurt who is in her 80s. Her husband died years ago and she is in ill health. This lady is so happy to have the help. She says if her cats die then she too has no reason to live. The cats are her children and they are keeping her alive.”

 

Here’s the link to read more of Tiertafel, the soup kitchen for pets:

 

Replay of Talk 2 the Animals Radio Show

Posted by Barbara Techel

In case you missed Talk 2 the Animals Radio show yesterday where host Janet Roper interviewed me about all things special needs pets, click here to listen to the replay.

I received a note from Janet that Frankie and my photo made it onto the front page of Blog Talk Radio for “Today’s Picks.”  Janet said, “A show is only listed there if it has a prominent guest.”  It was the first time Talk 2 the Animals was also featured in this prestigious position.  So exciting!

 

Euthanasia: How to Know When it is Time

Posted by Barbara Techel

Thank you to Ingrid King and the Conscious Cat for allowing me to repost this post about knowing when it is time to say goodbye.  I thought it was so well said.

 

Making a decision about whether or when the time is right for euthanasia is one of the hardest things someone loving a pet will ever go through. Unlike human medicine, veterinary medicine is fortunate to be able to legally offer the option of gently ending suffering when there seems to be no hope for recovery. It is a difficult decision to make at best, and it can be nearly impossible for some pet owners. There are so many factors that play into it. The term that is used the most in this context is “quality of life.” But what does that really mean? Are there hard and fast rules as to what constitutes good quality of life? Of course not. Quality of life means something different for every person, and for every animal.

There are some fairly obvious markers. Pain is one of them. No pet owner wants to see a beloved pet suffer. Animals, especially cats, are masters at masking pain, so this can be difficult to detect. Another marker is appetite. For most pet owners, the first indication that something is wrong is usually when a pet stops eating. A third important marker is dignity. Is the pet still able to relieve herself on her own, or does she need assistance with urination and defecation?

But even these three markers are not always helpful when trying to make a decision. Pain can be managed with medication. Some pets stop eating or eat very little but are still happy and are enjoying life. And who is to say that the dog that needs assistance with being carried outside to urinate or the cat who needs help to get into the litter box and needs to be cleaned off afterwards does not appreciate this level of care from his loving human and is otherwise happy and content?  Each pet is different, and each relationship between human and animal is unique.  There is no one right answer.

It is often said that making the decision to euthanize a pet is the final gift of love we can give our animals. I wholeheartedly believe that, but it still does not make the decision process any easier. Love and denial can be intricately linked, and it can sometimes be difficult to separate one from the other.

It is often said that we will just “know” when the time is right.  And I believe that when we do connect with the essence of our animals and manage to set aside worry and fear for even just a few moments at a time, we will know.  It takes courage to set aside our fears, and to tune in to the animal and really “hear”  them.  Ultimately, the only way any of us can make this decision is by listening to our animal friends with our hearts, not with our heads. It becomes a decision of love, not something to be reasoned out on an analytical and intellectual level.