Fallbrook residents can help prevent pet abuse

April was National Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month, but cruelty to animals is a problem that occurs all year round, even in Fallbrook. Izzie is a kitten that was found in a trash can in Fallbrook in November 2010. A passerby heard her crying and pulled her out.

Izzie had gone for days without food or water. About three weeks old at the time, she had had something tied tightly around her neck long enough for her skin to have thickened around it. The man who found her took Izzie home and tried to help her.

Several days later, on Nov. 18, her rescuer took Izzie to the Fallbrook Animal Sanctuary. After undergoing surgery to remove the damaged skin around her neck, she went home with sanctuary volunteer Deborah Stevenson to be rehabilitated.

Now, five months and a half months later, Izzie still exhibits signs of being abused. She runs at her bowl of food and gets into it, gobbling the food without chewing it because she went so long without food when she was younger. (According to her foster mother, this behavior will probably lead to digestive problems when Izzie is older.)

She is also distrustful of strangers and bites people hard if they reach to pick her up. Stevenson said that Izzie is “terrified of the world and anything that moves,” but is beginning to improve because she is now starting to tolerate Stevenson’s other cats.

Stevenson also said that the veterinarian who treated Izzie called it a miracle that she was alive. Stevenson added, “She’s a fighter; she’s got a tough little personality.” Not all abused cats or dogs are as lucky as Izzie was in being rescued. Volunteers at the sanctuary have seen many abandoned animals that could not be saved. They would like people to know how to prevent these animals from suffering neglect and harm.

According to the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS), “intentional cruelty, or abuse, is knowingly depriving an animal of food, water, shelter, or veterinary care; or maliciously torturing, maiming, mutilating, or killing an animal.” The SDSH’s investigators respond to more than 1,500 reports of animal cruelty and neglect each year.

The San Diego County Department of Animal Services (DAS) also looks into allegations of animal abuse. Lt. Dan DeSousa, public information officer for DAS, said that calls from the 92028 area have averaged 105 a year for the last three years. Calls have included reports of starving animals, a lame horse and animals stuck in pipes besides owners physically abusing their pets. While the number of calls has neither increased nor decreased, DeSousa said, “I would like to see that [number] go to zero.”

Many of these cases occur because the pet owners simply do not know what proper animal care requires. So both society volunteers and DAS staff work to educate people in how to care for their pets. Pet owners can find a lot of useful information at http://www.sddac.com.

Anyone witnessing animal abuse can report it by calling the SDSH’s toll-free hotline at (800) 98-ABUSE, or the DAS at (619) 236-4250. An online report can be filed at http://www.sdhumane.org or on Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Anonymous web and text messages can be sent via SDCrimeStoppers.com. Crime Stoppers now offers rewards up to $1,000 for information which leads to an arrest in felony animal cruelty cases.

Another kind of animal cruelty is the abandonment of unwanted animals, most of whom cannot survive on their own. The descendents of the cats that survived in the past are now feral cats that run wild. Anyone who wants to help feral cats that live near them can take advantage of a free feral cat spay/neuter day on May 15 at Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Valley Center. Appointments need to be made by calling the Feral Cat Coalition at (619) 758-9194.

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