Bet you guys don't live next door to a gun going off at 3 and 4 in the morning. Fortunately, I was already awake. RIP whatever critters meandered out of the woods into that tiny yard.
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| Click & scroll down for rabies map |
Contrary to protests, critters really do bite, and SWMO is like the local CDC for
rabies. I've had bats show up on my deck in broad daylight and just sit there.
Never pick up a bat under those circumstances. It might be quite sick.
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| I click to an awesome bat info page. |
You know, just in case you actually do run into a bat. (Why do you think people historically associate bats with death?) Bats can be very small, like mice, and hard to see if you're walking around barefoot, like this guy.
(I NEVER go outside barefoot, we have copperheads, scorpions, spiders from hell, and wasps.)
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| Click for hair raising article- he nearly didn't get treatment |
A few years ago, a family of skunks that had dug their way under the middle school was captured and found to be rabies carriers.
Cats are reported with rabies 3X more than dogs. Cats also carry a number of other diseases that
affect humans.
This is a good page for legal issues concerning handling wild animals and feral cats. "
If you have any other questions contact us online or by phone at 1-855-WILD-HELP anytime."
Missouri Conservation once encouraged shooting
feral cats on sight during hunting season, but
that's changing across the nation. Abandoning pets is already becoming punishably illegal in some areas, and one day restrictions and pet licensing will be an across the board necessity for conservation of protected species and disease control.
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| Aww, cute bunny, um... o_o (Yes, click.) |
I like cats. I grew up with cats. I also have positive immune markers for
Bartonella from cat scratches, and was very sick as a child because of that, and
may still be impacted neurologically. -
Cat Scratch Disease- I think it's scary that my neighbors let their cats run around the wild woods and then come back into their houses, and then the owners wonder why they feel run down or get some kind of weird illness. Rabies is 99% fatal to humans, but many people dismiss getting their cats vaccinated. Who even cares about the rest of the germs and parasites they bring in, right?
Petshed Petcyclopedia : Human Risk From Cat Worms +_+
ew....
My neighbor is an older veteran in his 80s, and he's pretty old school about handling wildlife. We don't bother him about it. I grew up with my dad killing strays and extra pets as a solution to problems, and even though that is deeply rooted in me, as well, it bothers me that it's a solution to a much bigger problem of people ignoring their responsibilities to dismissed, escaped, neglected, and abandoned pets. How did the solution to rampant cuteness 'ownership'
(slavery... think about it) become killing the leftovers?
This could have been a child.
Think about it.
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| click for extreme pet ownership clashes |
I think
all pet owners should have to apply for approval which is given after attendance of a class on pet diseases and legal responsibilities, and then pay taxes on each one (I have to pay tax per head on a handful of pet chickens where I live) and pay fines when their pets are caught on camera at other people's wild bird feeding stations or in their yards or not wearing collars that verify vaccination and ownership. (I was told I cannot legally detain someone's dog in my yard with a leash even if it is destroying my property
even if I am kind to the dog and holding it for the frantic neighbor looking for the dog to come pick up- my neighbors' dogs running around have more rights and legal protection than I do, like diplomatic immunity or something.)
Millions of dollars are spent every year trying to round up and care for unclaimed or escaped pets because the original owners weren't responsible enough to prethink pet ownership in the first place.
Pets are expensive. If you cannot afford your electric bill, you cannot afford a pet. That's right, we also got city ordinance notices in the mail yesterday over the rise in nonpayment for utilities.
Lawmakers pass bill that penalizes leaving pets outside in extreme weather Oopsie, getting close to jail time now over nonpayment of utilities if you own a pet (but not if you have children or seniors living in your home).
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| totally click this |
If I were the President of Southwest Missouri, I'd say no more pets until y'all straighten your butts up. Stop shooting your guns, stop dumping your dogs and cats, leave wildlife alone, and focus on getting your lives back together so your AC won't be cut off during the hottest time of year. I understand the psychological need for pet love (I really do), but pet love doesn't cover pet ownership sins. If you can care about a pet, then you can care about your neighbors, their property, laws regarding such, and paying your dues over it along with everyone else.
Sorry so mean. Kinda get that way living next door to guns going off at 3 in the morning. For twenty years. Except it hasn't been so bad lately because the guns are getting heavy.
I've gotta go, might get someone showing up for coffee. You never know in these woods. Hope he's had his rabies shot.
