Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Animal

Animal Control killed our pets, what steps to take to make sure this doesnt happen to others

Relly70 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:08:27 -0800

What can we do to keep this from happening again? Round Rock Texas Animal Control killed our dogs for barking and growling. The AC officer acted as Judge, Jury and Executioner .. All within two hours. Boomer was about 3 years old. He was part pit bull, part who knows, black with a white chest and paws. I had went with my daughter when she went and picked him up from Pet Smart. He was a pound dog, adopted through Paw Match, and had spent the day in a small corral in front of Pet Smart, waiting for someone to pick him out. He tore our house to shreds, and Pookie, our Lab/Beagle mix hated him, but he was a loving dog. He had been through obedience school (and passed!) and never met a person he didn't like. Coming home, he would throw his paw on your chest until you had bent over to get a kiss.
Dart was about 2. My daughter had decided that Boomer needed a friend, so Dart entered our life. He was the goofiest dog in the world. He wasn't very smart, but he loved everybody. He would push Boomer out of the way any time he felt he wasn't getting enough attention, and force himself under your petting hand. Where Boomer chewed up furniture and carpet when he was a puppy, Dart just got into the trash and spread it everywhere. I've got a picture of Dart somewhere, I came home from work and he was sitting on the coffee table, trash completely surrounding it and he looked like the king of refuse.
My daughter moved out and bought her own home, and Boomer and Dart left my house to go with her. Today, they knocked a hole in the back fence, and the neighbor whose yard they gotten into called animal control. The animal control officer says that Dart rushed at her when she went into the back yard. This dog that I've never seen growl, EVER, charged an animal control officer. I don't know what happened, but I almost bet he was running to her to play. The animal control officer then hit the dog with a baton. Boomer is Dart's friend and protector. He 'circled' the animal control officer and showed his teeth. My daughter got the dogs back into her yard and into the house. I don't even know if she knew what had happened.
Just to be clear, The dogs never bit or attacked the officer.
The animal control officer called a police officer to assist her the vicious dogs. They knocked on her door and told her she could either surrender the dogs to be put down, or she would be fined $500.00 a day, per dog, until they were out of the city. At this point my daughter had been awake for 23 hours due to her work schedule and her baby. She asked if she could keep them until her husband got home, they told her no, surrender the dogs now or the fines started immediately. She did not have the money, so she took the dogs out. On the way to the truck, the cop actually pulled a gun on the dogs!
At this point, she started calling everyone, my wife, her husband, trying to figure out what to do. My wife called animal control, we were going to get them out of town, we were going to do whatever we needed to get our babies out of there. My son-in-law left work and headed for the animal control office to get them out of there. This all happened at 2:45, at 4:20 animal control called my wife back, and while pleading for their lives, was told that they had already been put down. In less than 2 hours, our friends, our family, were killed, with no appeal process, no burden of proof.
These dogs were loving, caring, beautiful and most of all friendly.
Our friends are dead, but, we do not want this to happen again, tomorrow, we start our crusade against the Round Rock Texas animal control office. This will not happen again, we will make sure of it.
How can we change the procedures that they follow, what can we do to get the law changed that there has to be SOME type of time limit, cooling off period, some appeal process.. they murdered our cherished pets.

Help me identify this animal we've not seen

bodgy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:23:11 -0800

What is living in my yard and what do I do about it? I live in Central IL. Lately our dogs (chihuahua) have been acting weird around our bushes next to our back deck, acting like they see something from the deck and then running around to bark at the bushes. We've heard no noises coming back from the bushes but we figured something was living there.

Tonight it happened again and we investigated the exact location and found two holes in the ground. One is a hole straight down and about two inches in diameter. The other hole, about 3 feet away, is more slanted downward at a slope and is much larger, five inches in diameter.

These holes are right by the foundation of our house.

What do we have there, and what do we do about it? And what is our least expensive option to fix this situation?

Finally, based on this information, how worried should we be that something will attack our chihuahua?

(As an aside, in the field behind our yard we saw a baby possum that our dogs barked at. We haven't seen them in our yard but it's the only "critter" type thing we've seen lately other than rabbits which we do see in our yard from time to time).

What animal did I see from my balcony this evening?

woodblock100 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:45:15 -0800

I saw a 'new' animal from my balcony this evening and have had no luck finding anything on the net that matches. It was passing by in the shallow creek below my home (western suburbs of Tokyo), not too long after sunset - still light enough for me to get a very clear view. Tanuki are very common around here, so when I saw the movement I first thought that's what it was, but this was completely different. Nothing 'doglike' about it at all.

The head looked like a badger - with a pronounced snout, and a white line running down the front. The forequarters were low, and the body rose up to a pronounced humped shape at the rear. Very sleek, nothing fluffy at all.

Where the body ended and the tail began was difficult to determine. The tail was very thick at the base - maybe I could have just got my two hands around it - and it tapered off just like an otter's tail does, and seemed to move in the same 'snaky' fashion.

It was walking through the shallow water, and stopped directly below me to chew on one of the river plants for a while (a kind of fern-like plant growing on one of the stones). I could easily hear the tearing sound of the plant being pulled apart and chewed.

Size-wise it was something over a meter long (maybe around three feet tip to tail), and seemed quite a 'heavy' animal, although it moved very smoothly. It climbed the river embankment (man-made stone embankment) very easily, and then moved away into a nearby wooded area.

I started searching by looking up badgers, but the tail on this was completely different from any of the badger images I turned up. Badger-like head, otter-like tail ... any ideas?

(I might also add that we read frequent newspaper reports here in Tokyo of non-native animals being sighted in the city here. It seems fairly common for people to get something exotic as a pet, and then abandon it when it grows too large to care for. So this could be something from anywhere on the planet, I think ...)

Name that Wisconsin mammal

escabeche — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:36:06 -0800

What Wisconsin mammal did I just see? Coming home tonight, around 6pm, we saw a dark grey or black animal about the size of a large cat loping or bounding across the road towards the lake. My first reaction was to think it was an opossum, I think based on the rodent-like shape of the face. But I think of opossums as low-to-the-ground waddlers, whereas this guy had long legs and, like I said, was a loper. It didn't have a white stripe on its body like a skunk or white on its face like a badger. Didn't get a good look at the tail.

Any idea what this was, Upper Midwest naturalists?

I want to play with your octopus (literally)

Cambrian_Sea — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:25:17 -0800

I am a biology student at the University of Utah specializing in animal behavior, and I have a particular interest in cephalopods (squid, octopi, cuttlefish.) Everything I know about them is from reading, and I would love to have the opportunity to observe one in real life, and perhaps even interact with it if that would be possible. Does anyone in the Salt Lake area have a pet octopus or know of one that I might be able to meet?

Why no pet foxes?

WPW — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:56:19 -0800

Can foxes be domesticated? Are there any instances of foxes being domesticated to serve as pets or task animals? Can they be domesticated? If not, why not?

Strange plant at Montaña de Oro

Korou — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:25:38 -0800

I found a strange ocean plant at Montaña de Oro. Can you help identify it? This was in an ocean-side canyon and was somewhat squishy.

Here's a back shot. And a second front and back.

please translate: bow wow. Meow. Buzz buzz.

grumblebee — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:02:45 -0800

Recommend non-fiction books about animals -- books that will blow my mind. I've read Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human.

What is this strange sea creature?

miffed — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:09:06 -0800

Can anyone identify this mysterious sea creature? My sister saw four of them swimming at the surface in Boca Raton, FL. They were undulating like squids; when contracted they look like black slugs, when stretched they look like that fellow in the photo. An entire crowd formed to watch, as they were so very weird.

How does one clean cat urine off a stuffed animal?

cyborgirl — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:27:59 -0800

How does one clean cat urine off a stuffed animal? You can't throw them in the washing machine because the interior would never dry, but a simple washing with a damp cloth like the label recommends will never get rid of the smell. One of our house cats has taken an abnormal liking to one of our son's stuffed animals, very obviously humping it. Possibly as a result of his fondness for the stuffed animal, the cat just urinated on it.

Why is it so hard to find online mouse skulls?

Squid Voltaire — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:49:19 -0800

Where can I buy mouse skulls online? In the interest of experimenting with found-art reliquary construction, I thought I'd buy some mouse skulls. To my shock, I couldn't find any for sale, and eventually bought a muskrat skull on ebay*.

I eventually discovered Skulls Unlimited from a previous askMe, but they charge fifteen bucks plus shipping.

I guess I assumed that, since they are considered vermin and are regularly exterminated, someone in this crazy world would be selling mouse skull five for a dollar. Preferably someone like Sarina Brewer, who uses and sells donated carcasses and roadkill only.

So, in short, anyone have any suggestions for cheap, ethical memento mori?

*Upon payment, I noticed that they also sold skins and traps, making me feel a bit as though I'd commissioned this animal's death. Boo.

Need adopt-a-penguin recommendations. Yes, that's what I said.

NikitaNikita — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:21:15 -0800

Recommendations wanted for "adopt a penguin" gift donations. This penguin research organization came up, but can't find any info if it's legit or not. Links to other recommended/donation-worthy animal "adoption"/charitable gift sites welcome too. To clarify, I'm trying to make a donation on someone else's behalf as a christmas gift. I've done this at my local zoo, but I also need some penguins. :) Thanks!

Which animal shelter or rescue group should I volunteer with in Los Angeles?

scody — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:00:26 -0800

Which animal shelter or rescue group should I volunteer with in Los Angeles? Since adopting every single dog who needs a home appears to be impractical, I'd like to volunteer at a shelter or rescue group. I don't really know where to start, though -- in addition to the L.A. city shelter system, there are dozens of private rescue groups who also need volunteers. I'd be interested in hearing any specific suggestions of organizations to consider (or to steer clear of, as the case may be).

I will say that I'm somewhat wary of volunteering at a city shelter; the high level of animal stress and the knowledge that a number of the dogs will be euthanized makes me fear that the experience would be more wrenching than rewarding (and thus I might not be inclined to stick with it).

I live around the Studio City/Toluca Lake neck of the SF Valley, so bonus points for organizations within 5-10 miles.

Thanks!

Help de-code a kid's winter wish

nanhey — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:47:56 -0800

Help me de-code a NYCares Winter Wishes Wish - I have no idea what this kid is asking for My company participates in the New York Cares Winter Wishes program, buying gifts for needy children.

I thought i picked as easy one -- he asked for,

"Animal Planet Collection and a great white sharks 2"

i figured they would be DVDs of some sort. intense googling has revealed nothing --- any idea what this kid is asking for?? i know i could just get some assorted animal planet DVDs, but i'd like to fulfill his specific wish!

Whale Wars - but on land?

El Curioso — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:29:06 -0800

Just finished watching an episode of Whale Wars, and I was wondering: are there any groups that do this sort of thing on land? Meaning, volunteer, nonprofessional or otherwise NGO-type people who confront and interfere with poachers in the wild, head-on and dangerously?

Is this cat beyond help?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:07:59 -0800

Is this cat beyond help? We adopted two cats, a male and a female (both have been neutered/spayed) from the Humane Society about 15 months ago. We’d had them about 6 months when the male started spraying around the house. After a few spraying sessions, we took him to the vet for a check up. No physical problems and we were given numerous behavior modification techniques to try: Feliway, aluminum foil on the floor where he’s sprayed, carpet runners with nubby side up, new litter box, squirting him with water when we catch him, putting his food in the areas he’s sprayed, kitty diapers and isolating him, just to name a few. We've been trying all the behavior modifications, clean religiously with enzyme cleaner, but he just sprays somewhere else. The vet put him on amitriptyline and said to keep trying the behavior modification techniques. After more spraying incidents and tweaking the medication a couple of times, the vet put him on kitty Prozac. He is still spraying at least once a day. He is currently being isolated on a screened in porch, away from us and his sister. Putting him outside just isn’t an option as we live in a suburban wildland fringe area where mountain lions and coyotes roam, not to mention dangers from dogs, cars, etc. We also don’t think it’s fair to neighbors to let him roam and use their yards as litter boxes.

The vet thinks he has a severe anxiety disorder. He has always been high-strung but now just seems almost frantic at times, pacing around, compulsively rubbing his face on us and anything else he can find, unable to completely relax and calm down. He seems like a very unhappy kitty even though there haven’t been any changes to his environment since we brought him home. We’ve talked with a few people involved in animal rescue and all have said basically the same…rescue groups and no-kill shelters are filled beyond capacity, and likely won’t take him since his behavior problems make him unadoptable. My friend’s mom was involved in cat rescue for many years and had a really honest talk with us about options, including euthanasia. She feels the cat’s quality of life is pretty poor, given his obvious anguish and anxiety, the fact that if he stays with us he will be confined, mostly by himself, to the screened porch and reiterated that he is unadoptable with these severe behavior problems.

We want to do what is best for him and give him the best life possible. We’ve read all the MeFi posts about cat behavior and honestly have tried everything. We would appreciate hearing other’s experience with a similar issue. We would not appreciate judgment and criticism from cat fanatics insisting we just have to learn to live with this because we made a commitment and that we aren’t trying hard enough to help him. We know we made a commitment to this cat and feel that we are doing way more than most others would do.

Private correspondence can be sent to jotter6458@mypacks.net

Yes, I cook for my dog. How can I do it better?

taz — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 09:39:17 -0800

I'd like nutritional advice for homemade dog food and maybe treats, using easy-to-find ingredients. I haven't been able to find high quality commercial dog food where I live, so I make most of her food myself, but I would like to make her homemade food as healthy as I possibly can with the resources I have, which are somewhat limited. Current routine, and many(!) more details inside. Our dog is a rescue that we've had for five months, and she's a completely different animal than we got - in the best way, so I know we are doing pretty good now, but I'd like to know more and do better.

We don't have access to most fancy health food ingredients, so I want to use ordinary ingredients as much as possible.

I currently feed her one of: turkey, chicken, fish, or liver, + brown rice or crumbled whole wheat bread, + vegetables (shredded carrot and zucchini with a bit of cooked spinach, or cooked and lightly mashed frozen veggie combo - peas, green beans, carrots, potato, lima beans). I portion these (protein, carb, veg) as roughly 1/3 each. At one point I upped the protein, but she began straining to poo and her poop was very hard. Normally her poop is very good/solid - never soft or runny, but not too hard, either. That may have just been an adjustment thing, so I'm not averse to increasing the meat to veggie/carb ratio if it's a better diet. I once tried cooked oatmeal instead of rice, and she seemed to really dislike it, but it was probably just because it wasn't what she expected, and we can give that another shot - if it's better for her. (She's really not picky or spoiled - she'll eat what we give her to eat, though I might have to feed her from my hand a bit at first to get her going...)

To this I add a spoonful of nutritional yeast, a small bit of chopped or dried garlic, a half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, a small splash of olive oil. About once a week I give her a scrambled egg or two instead of meat/fish, and a couple of times a week I give her a few spoonfuls of low(er)-fat yogurt as a treat.

Her regular treats are slices of banana, frozen peas (which she is inexplicably crazy for), or a small bit of feta cheese. She'll eat a couple of bites of pear and apple as well, though not her favorite stuff. She's not crazy about fruit, generally. We don't feed her our leftovers (we eat 'em ourselves!)

I worry, expecially, that she's not getting enough calcium. I don't really find the proper sorts of raw bones for her here (we once asked our butcher for a dog bone, and he gave us something that looked like it came from a dinosaur... really, there was no way that was happening). And she could probably benefit from other additives, but I can't find a lot of health food ingredients here. The nutritional yeast, which should be available as a powder, I have to buy from the one place I can find it in pill form (and expensive), which I then grind up. There just isn't a lot of health food stuff available here yet.

I got the very nice book Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, but I can't find most of the holistic ingredients in the diet section. I ordered a book of dog food recipes that are supposed to be "Veterinarian approved" and the recipes were totally silly, plus even from my little knowledge, not really that healthy. So I'm up for a good book on this, but it has to be something that relies on regular ordinary ingredients that you could find anywhere, and of course it should actually have some canine nutrition science or background. I'm really, really not looking for something like "Bow-wow Brownies" with "Bow-wow Brownie Frosting" (actual, real recipes from the second stupid book I got).

Pet vet on the 'net yet?

pseudostrabismus — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:17:43 -0800

For minor pet health questions: suggest websites that are comprehensive & user-friendly? I'd like to avoid unnecessary vet visits. Last week my cat had runny eyes for no apparent reason, and googling common search terms (cat+eye+discharge, etc) led me to a lot of annoying sites jam-packed with ads, poor user design, and sketchy-sounding information. (He's fine, now, by the way. I imagine his cat allergies were acting up or something.)

I'd like a pet health website with comprehensive, searchable entries offering detailed and specific information about animal health issues. Everything should be explained in terms geared to the literate layman- in other words, use of Latin terminology is fine if it's explained plainly and intelligently, rather than cut & pasted from a vet textbook in indigestible hunks, or dumbed down into single syllable hyperbole in the vein of POOR KITTEH OH NOES! VET TIME HURRY! Levelheadedness would be a plus, as not every sneeze needs a visit to a vet. I'd love to see stuff like "If your cat is breathing fine, it's ok to wait out the sneezes or a week or so. After 10 days, if it's not better- or if the cat is gasping- it could be problem X or Y, so take him to the vet."

Can anyone recommend such a site?
Thanks in advance!

PS, Personally, I'm most interested in cats, but I'm sure other users would appreciate sites relevant to their pets too. So if you know the #1 health resource for the spiny echidna or whatever, well, shoot!

Where can I find Mother's Animal Cookies?

filthy light thief — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:40:02 -0800

I'm looking for Mother's Animal Cookies, with the notion of making my own and finding the best recipe. But it seems there are none in any local stores. Should I give in and buy some off eBay (yup, already checked), or does anyone know other online sources? Google failed me, though I didn't search too far and/or wide. I initially though of asking for another MeFite to send me cookies, but I thought that was a bit desperate and strange. That, and I don't want to take the deliciousness from another.

Something is rotten in my state (not Denmark).

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:43:43 -0800

Last Wednesday I was assaulted by a foul smell in my front (guest) bathroom. I have been trying to pinpoint the cause for several days. I'm about to go out of town and need advice on what to do, especially since I'm extremely broke and have tried all the usual methods of attack. Details inside... Thursday I noticed there was a bit of a poo smell going on in the front bathroom. Often, it takes two flushes, and I assumed the toilet was clogged. I plunged, cleaned, plunged, etc. and then lit a candle. I never use those drop-in toilet cleaners.

Friday the smell was WORSE. It smelled like sewage. I did my due diligence; I read up as to what the various causes may be and bought every cleaner imaginable. I opened up the drains and did the vinegar/baking soda clean on all of them.

Saturday, the smell was better... I followed it along the ground until I realized it was emanating from the bathtub drain.

Once again, removed all fittings possible, dumped some special drain cleaner (a green product specifically for drains, no lye, no bleach) down the hole, several pots of boiling water, etc.

Went around and checked every other spot in the house; there is no smell except in the front bathroom. Ran water in every sink, tub, shower, etc. to ensure there were no dry traps.

The smell has now dwindled from a sewer-gas smell to simply a musty, sort of unpleasant dust-like odor. Stale, but not poo-ish or sewer-gassy. (To contrast, when I came home on Friday, when I opened the front door I SMELLED SEWER. FROM SEVERAL FEET AWAY, WITH THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM CLOSED.)

My house was built in 2003. The drain is at floor level and the tub/shower are completely surrounded by stone and concrete. I have crawled, literally, with my nose shoved along the edge of the toilet, sink, wall, everywhere in that bathroom and it is coming up out of the drain. As of right now it smells musty and vinegar-y just a bit from all the treatments I've done. The smell is now confined to just the bathroom and is severely diminished.

I have no idea where the pipe is that goes to the roof. There is nothing under my house, it's on a concrete slab foundation. There are no signs of dampness or leaks anywhere in the walls, around the tub, around the toilet, around the sink, etc.

The shower liner is immaculate. I opened the closet door that shares the wall with the tub/shower. The inside of the closet is dry, smells pleasant, no dampness. I took a knife and pried up a bit of the carpet that runs along the wall that is shared with the drain... no dampness, nothing. Even shoved my fingers up under the wall right now where I'd pried the carpet; I feel/smell nothing. Flashlight showed everything is white and normal-looking just opposite the smell.

What I'm asking is... did an animal possibly get trapped somewhere and die? If so, can I just leave and come back assured that the smell will probably be gone? I'm in Texas and the temps are expected between 40-77F over the next week.

I really don't think it's mold. I am extremely sensitive to such things and take daily medication for allergies, and have yet to sneeze or itch at all, even with my nose shoved into the drain.

At this point were I not about to leave for 3-4 days and severely broke, I'd probably just call a plumber. My trip is non-refundable and was paid for in advance, so I can't change plans and use the money for a plumber. Also, I'm concerned that I'll call somebody and they will either tell me 1. I have something terrible going on and they have to tear the wall apart and the bill will be several thousand dollars, which I cannot pay or be here to supervise, or 2. it's nothing, a mouse died somewhere, I'll have to wait it out (plus pay $150 for a house call at a weird hour that resulted in nothing).

What say you, MeFi homeowners? What would you do?

What airlines will get me from Phoenix to New York City with three adult cats?

Optimus Chyme — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:44:11 -0800

What airlines will get me from Phoenix to New York City with three adult cats? Failing that, can you recommend anyone who does live animal shipment? I moved to New York and left my cats with sitters in Phoenix while I found an apartment. I have an apartment now and would like to retrieve my cats. My plan was to a) fly back to PHX and fly them back out to NYC with me or b) have them shipped out here via a live animal transport service.

I know, for instance, that Southwest doesn't allow pets at all. What airlines are the most pet-friendly?

With respect to shippers, I got an eye-popping $1500 estimate from Precious Pet Transport, which I will be happy to spend if there are no other options available. Do you know of better or less expensive pet transport companies?

Flying back and renting a car is out of the question due to time and cost constraints; my research indicates that it would be the most expensive option other than building them a rocketship out of gold.

I am open to any suggestions or advice you may have. Thank you!

My mother pronounces it "meee-yolk."

Ugh — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:00:35 -0800

Curiosity-filter: Why can't we drink primate milk? I was reading this ridiculous article when I came across this:

"They are not on the list of approved species such as cows and sheep, but they are also not on the list of the banned species such as apes and primates," Rolf Etter of the Zurich food control laboratory said."

Why are apes on the banned list? Seems like if they were our closest relatives, there would be no real harm in drinking their milk. Where is this banned/ approved list?

What is this animal?

not_on_display — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:57:55 -0800

Help me identify this animal. More details on the link to the flickr page. Thanks!

animals in the old testament

low affect — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:26:13 -0800

Where in the Old Testament can I find some mention of laws about the treatment of animals. I know there were all kinds of laws about animals; what to eat, what makes a suitable sacrifice, etc... I'm looking for anything about requirements during the raising of livestock. And I guess during the slaughter; Actually any laws about animals.
I know about the Kosher stuff, but is that in the actual Bible, or some other source?

If you can think of specific verses off the top of your head, great, but just pointing me to somewhere good to look for this stuff would be really helpful. Right now my google is failing me.

Mad Magpie?

cilantro — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:44:33 -0800

There is a magpie sitting in the middle of the grass in my garden with its beak wide open, its tail fanned out, and its wings spread. I thought it might be hurt, so I approached it, and it flew away with no apparent problems. It returned to the same spot and took up the same position a couple of minutes later. It doesn't seem bothered by the various other birds, including other magpies as well as a couple of little brownish birds, that are hopping around nearby. Is it a teenage bird that's too big for the nest, waiting for mom to come by and give it a snack?Is it injured, but not so injured it can't fly? Is it just insane?