Abandon the Melbourne Cup
My old man is sick. He has dementia and is losing his way around the house. He’s peeing in the kitchen and wants to eat all the time.
He seems to be ageing quickly now.
We’ve seen Nash grow into an old man.
Nash is our SPCA cat. Abandoned by people who left him behind, Nash has been part of the family for 10 years. He picked us out from the people going through the SPCA on the day we visited.
We wanted an older cat as they are often the ones who don’t get forever homes.
Nash was named after Nashville. He has rhinestone-like flecks in his fur the light catches and makes sparkle.
He was always a big boy but as his condition deteriorated over recent months we knew something major was up rather than just the shedding that happens at this time of year.
So what to do when pets get old? A trip to the vet was needed to give us the prognosis of what was happening to the furry head of the household.
It wasn’t what we thought. It wasn’t what the vet thought: thyroid issues. Nash has diabetes. He’s going to need injections for life to get him back to health.
As we looked to the future, we decided to take care of him in old age as we would any other family member.
When it is time for Nash to go, he will tell us as other cats have. They know when it’s their time.
But for now, we can nurse Nash back to happy life in the years that remain.
It is the true responsibility of pet ownership, of not treating animals as disposable commodities that are abandoned and left alone when they become inconvenient or ill or old.
Take care of them when old, just as when they were young.
The moral to the story is in this modern age pet ownership has to be taken more seriously. Owning pets is not a part time job done when it’s convenient.
Alongside the moral responsibility issues are the vet bills on top of increasing rates demands, dental bills and the general cost of living from petrol to food.
Today, pet ownership must be weighed up as an ongoing expense both for food and healthcare but also in emotional investment.
Companion animals need company and there have been few things in my life I have enjoyed more than the love and companionship of my pets.
Consider it carefully before giving a pet as a gift this Christmas.
What might be fun on a Christmas morning might not be so appreciated when the decade-long responsibility of a forever home is considered and the vet bills add up.
No-one is decrying the right of vets to charge for their services, but ownership now has to be taken seriously. It’s not short term, it’s not until you decide to travel and farm the animals off to relatives.
If you have a pet, stick with it. I am.
At this time of year those people who volunteer as front-line helpers for animal welfare groups around the Waikato will experience first hand the utter cruelty from people with no empathy or compassion for animals.
From a farmer hitting cows with pipes to others breaking their tails, the hidden animal abuse in the Waikato is horrific.
Alongside the hidden abuse, mainstream media seem to portray animals as expendable for entertainment.
This was never more true than in the coverage this week of the Melbourne Cup. The winner was applauded while the death of one of the horses, Cliffsofmoher, was put to the back of the bulletin, if mentioned at all.
Some like me however are tiring of the culture of horse racing and eventing where animals are killed for fun. I see no difference between the animal deaths at rodeos and the expendable horse culture of the Melbourne Cup.
Cliffsofmoher was the sixth horse to die at the event since 2013.
Horse racing is dying. People are tiring of the deaths of animals and the pithy excuses of the horse fraternity that it is part of the sport. Horse racing isn’t sport, it’s gambling. Remove the money and you remove the attraction.
The Melbourne Cup should be abandoned and closed for good. How horse owners speak of their love for their animals while killing them off or injuring them for entertainment, I will never understand.
It is time communities stood up for the animals who can’t speak to protect them from people who show so little empathy for them while making millions off their backs.
Today Nash had is first insulin shot. There will be many more between now and his final days. I will be there for them all and ensure he is taken care of.
That is what pet ownership is about.
Pet ownership has to be taken more seriously. Owning pets is not a part time job done when it’s convenient.