Talk with Tanya

A few months back I was indulging in a moment of sadness and self-pity. I lay on the floor in a room by myself, away from my daughter, and cried silently to myself. Thinking I was alone, I opened my eyes, startled and then comforted, to see 6 pairs of eyes looking back at me.

I have six cats–all very different in temperament and personality. But the one thing they all have in common is that they all love me… no matter what I look like, no matter what I say, no matter how I screw up. There are no conditions on their love. Now, of course, they could have been looking at me and thinking, “Get off the floor, you crazy woman!” But my interpretation was “It ain’t so bad, mom, we love you.”

How many of us have people in our lives who don’t judge or criticize us? Our companion animals give unconditional love and so much more. Research is now overwhelmingly showing that companion animals give to us in ways that make us both happier and healthier humans.

With the holiday season upon us, it is the perfect time to reflect on our gratitude for the many gifts they offer us.

Mood enhancement. Studies show that pets provide an effective defense against depression. It’s hard to be grumpy around a wagging tail or a soft purr. According to one study on men with AIDS, those with pets were 50% less likely to report symptoms of depression than those without.

Stress reduction and reduced blood pressure. A recent article reported that pets were actually better than medication at managing spikes in blood pressure due to stress. Another showed that people performing a high pressure task experienced less stress with a pet present than with a supportive friend or family member.

Exercise. Responsible dog ownership requires that you enjoy a walk and offers great opportunity to stop and talk to your neighbors. Aerobic exercise and social connection… a double benefit! (Not sure if cats help here. How often do we sit longer than we should because a furry someone has claimed stake on our laps? Maybe the benefit is on the flip side – demanding that we sit still every once in a while.)

Cure for loneliness. Pets help people lacking social supports. Nursing home residents reported less loneliness after spending time with a dog than they did after spending time with other people. Another study said that women reported finding greater emotional support from their cats than from their husbands or kids.

Cardiovascular health. In a study spanning 10 years, cat owners showed a 30% reduction in heart attack risk. While another study recorded immediate improvements in functioning in heart patients after spending just a few minutes with a therapy dog. (When my father had a stroke his biggest motivator for getting well wasn’t his wife, 6 kids, or 8 grandchildren; it was his little dog!)

Longevity. Another study said that cat owners live an average of seven years longer than non-cat owners.

Help for kids with disabilities. From helping children with autism communicate to helping those with learning disabilities learn to read, pets make a big difference in lives of kids with special needs. (There is a mother who brings her daughter with autism to HSHV to visit with our cats. It is her reward for accomplishing some specific task and her mother says it is the highlight of her week.)

This holiday season, let’s give thanks for the companions who give us so much and ask for so little in return.

If you would like to honor these amazing creatures by helping out the most vulnerable among them, the ones that are thrown away or abused, please visit our website for holiday giving ideas.

If you are looking at this list of benefits and thinking you might have time for an animal, please come see us soon. We’re sure you will find unconditional love within our walls.

Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season and all year round.

Our new shelter is beautiful and we hope you will come see it. We are eternally grateful to our community of supporters that helped make this dream a reality.

Our old shelter (scheduled to be a pile of rubble within a day or two) looked like a jail. It was sick, cramped, and stressful on people and animals. It repelled adopters because it was too sad to visit and, even though our staff and volunteers took extraordinary care of the animals, it didn’t elicit much confidence.

Our new state-of-the-art facility is designed to be a healthy space focused on comforting and healing the lost, unwanted, hurt, and abused. It is also designed to be a supportive space for staff and volunteers to do their important work, and a welcoming space for adopters looking to meet their new best friend. In fact, one of the greatest benefits of a new animal shelter is the increase in adoptions that occurs because people want to visit.

An excited visitor commenting on our new digs last week said, “It is so nice here. You don’t even feel sorry for the animals anymore.”

While I agree, I don’t want people to forget that as lovely as this place is, it is still a temporary shelter. It is not a home and it can not be a sanctuary. However comfy we are, to effectively serve our community’s homeless animals, we must have room for the next animal that comes through our door… because they never stop coming.

Our mission’s success depends on animals getting adopted.

However, we don’t want folks adopting simply out of sympathy. Do we want people committed to adoption because it saves innocent lives? Absolutely. But when it comes to selecting a new family member, we want to help families find good matches. Animals have unique personalities and needs, just like humans. We want everyone, two-footed and four-footed, to be happy.

We are not against responsible breeders. But our desire is to see everyone make adoption their first option when looking for a new companion animal. Nationally, about 20% of the population get their pets from animal shelters or rescue groups. Just raising that to 30% will have an extraordinary life-saving impact.

My older sister is a big animal lover with an penchant for Black Labs. Historically she has purchased her Labs from a breeder because she thought shelter dogs were “ruined”. Certainly an abused animal can bear scars, but for the most part, animals are incredibly resilient and forgiving. On most days, I would say more so than humans.

Boopsie

It is important to know that the animals we have available for adoption are here through no fault of their own. Usually human shortcomings or an uncontrollable life crisis have brought them to our door. They are no different than a companion animal you can get anywhere else: they require patience, attention, exercise, and training. In return, they give unconditional love and loyal companionship.

Take the cat Boopsie, currently up for adoption. A sweet and graceful 8-year old girl, she was abandoned outside when her family moved, left behind to fend for herself. This is quite common, especially with cats. With plenty of life left in her, she deserves a second chance at a loving home.

Cinderella

Or Cinderella, just a pup. Her owner was driving with her in the back of his pick-up truck and she jumped out. A Good Samaritan picked her up from the middle of the road and chased down the driver of the truck. It turned out that he didn’t want her back. So here she sits, waiting for someone to take her home.

These animals, and all the others at our shelter, deserve another chance at a happy life. Having a community proudly committed to adoption helps ensure they have that chance. And, hopefully, having a welcoming shelter will make that choice a lot easier to make.

Please come see us soon!