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Readers barking mad over word choice

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Q. Shame, shame on you! I cannot believe you just encouraged someone to euthanize their dog! I mean really? Even if it was meant as a joke, that comment is not, in any way, funny. A more productive comment would be getting a very good dog trainer. Clearly, her dog thinks that he’s alpha and doesn’t like the boyfriend usurping him. This behavior can be changed — if the humans do what they need to do.

Terry , Boston

A. Tamed/Untamed received no fewer than eight other letters in response to this item in our last Q&A (Feb. 2), and we are eager to address it. Reader Susan had written us that because her boyfriend, Dan, claimed her beloved dog, Tracker, barked too much, he was urging her to give Tracker away. This was our original response: “We are normally reluctant to recommend euthanasia, but in this case, it may be warranted. One way or another, Dan has got to go!”

Our editors decided it was not very nice for us to recommend euthanizing a human, so (unfortunately without our knowledge or consent) they changed our words to read “One way or another, the relationship with your boyfriend has got to go!” We wrote to Susan privately as soon as we saw the editing change in the paper.

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Reader Terry, as well as others, wisely recommended a trainer if indeed Tracker’s barking is a problem. It is not always easy to get a dog to stop barking, especially since this is one of the many services dogs provide that caused early humans to seek their company in the first place: They warn us of approaching trouble. Just one example: A friend was yelling at her barking dog to shut up when she noticed why he was doing it — her driverless car was rolling backward downhill past her window. Possibly Tracker’s barking was his attempt to tell Susan something important — like the fact that Dan was a jerk.

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We were grateful to hear from many readers about the problem of stray animals and the limited capacity of shelters, and we realize that our column on the subject didn’t say enough. Cats are more vulnerable than dogs because more cats than dogs are abandoned and the shelters, for all their good work, turn cats away for lack of space. Then too, far too many shelters don’t have the “no kill” policy, and bringing a dog or cat to such a shelter can lead to its death. The animal is therefore better off in the streets, doing as best it can. Our readers offered some excellent suggestions, including an appeal to concerned people to help stray animals on their own.

In our area, many people do this. Some feed groups of stray cats every day, year after year, at considerable expense. Others take in stray cats. One woman takes in all strays she knows of and shelters them, and another wound up with 10 cats, most of whom were feral. These cats were free to roam the house but instead spent their lives hiding under a bed. So this is something a would-be rescuer should know, and realize that feral cats don’t always behave in the same way as cats raised by people. When Liz took in two feral cats that spent their days hiding, she asked this wonderful person how long it took her cats to acclimatize. The answer was “17 years.” Liz’s cats, however, acclimatized in a few weeks. Evidently it depends on the cats.

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Meanwhile, we all know that failure to spay or neuter results in many unwanted dogs and cats. A knowledgeable reader points out that the city of Pittsburgh has found it less expensive to offer a free spay and neuter program than to deal with homeless animals. Those who appreciate the problem might do some research on the cost of a free s/n program versus the costs of dealing with strays, and present the information to the authorities — whether a town’s board of selectmen or a city mayor’s office. However, spaying a female is one thing and neutering a male is quite another, a subject that will be dealt with in a future column.


Sy Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas are naturalists and the authors of several books. Send your questions about animals to syandlizletters@gmail.com.