I’ve heard it said that you can’t fix stupid. We can’t cure the cold yet, either, but that doesn’t mean we should surrender on either front. But unlike a cold, stupid hangs around a lot longer and can’t be touched by vitamin C or chicken soup.
I was thinking these deep thoughts after I heard that a cat tested positive for rabies right here in our little corner of heaven. It’s not clear whether the tainted kitty was a pet or feral, or how far the virus had progressed. But if I were a betting man, I’d say there was an unindicted co-conspirator here — someone who did not take owning a pet seriously. Someone who did something stupid.
The cat and dog population in most communities is booming because stupid people do not take the steps necessary to make sure their pets do not reproduce, then they exacerbate their stupidity by letting them roam wherever they please. Or they get tired of the animal and set it loose far from home.
Assuming you have a working knowledge of the birds and the bees you can figure out what happens next. Scores of animals end up born in the wild, where they aren’t vaccinated or sterilized, and the situation just explodes.
My crackerjack research staff was out of the office this week, so I can’t qualify this, but I’m reckoning the leading cause of over-crowded animals shelters is stupidity.
Considering we occupy the penthouse suite of the food chain, we can be remarkably moronic about how we care for the animals we bring into our homes. In spite of laws against allowing our pets to roam as they please, some people let their dog or cat wander wherever the muse takes them.
That you’re too stupid to grasp that taking care of a pet means being responsible is a you-problem. The fact I have to be alert for possibly rabid animals wandering the neighborhood becomes a me-problem, and I have enough going on without anyone adding to my list.
We have three dogs — Jake, Sydney and Cody — all from rescue shelters. All are fixed and all get their annual shots. They hang out in the house, or in our fenced yard. This does not make us saints any more than stopping at a red light makes one the safest driver in the world. Those things just go with being a pet owner.
It wasn’t too long ago there were coyote sightings around town. One reason the little rascals were coming to Sandy Springs was that they found a food supply — in part pets that were allowed to stroll far and wide.
If you want something that can be tossed when it no longer is convenient, get a disposable lighter or a box of Kleenex. Check that — just go for the tissues. Anyone that stupid shouldn’t be around fire.
Jim Osterman has lived in Sandy Springs since 1962.
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