And too many dogs, too. But for now, I’m thinking about cats, mainly because of a tragedy that occurred in Medford, Long Island, on March 31. That morning, around 7:00, a fire broke out at Happy Cat Sanctuary, where as many as 300 cats lived with owner and founder Chris Arsenault. About 150 cats perished, along with Chris, who died trying to save as many as he could. More than 100 survived (the search goes on), including this poor little girl, who is now in my foster program. I haven’t held her yet, but gosh, I love her already!
Chris’s determination and compassion made him a strong advocate for animals on Long Island. He earned the affection and respect of so many and saved countless lives over the past 18 years. Today, the animal rescue community mourns his loss along with the loss of all those precious cats. I’m just so thankful that officials ruled out arson as the cause of the fire. Arson would have made everything worse… if that’s even possible.
What Chris attempted was simply too much for one individual. Pet overpopulation in America is a societal problem that our government needs to address directly. The only meaningful way to tackle this issue is through a combination of spay/neuter, adoption, and TNVR (trap, neuter, vaccinate, return).
Despite what some people say, eradication programs don’t work and only create more problems. They also use horrific methods, like poisoning, leghold traps, shooting, gassing, drowning, and starvation, while never addressing the underlying issue. Alley Cat Rescue has an excellent explanation of why eradication programs fail.
In an ideal world — and I admit I’m a dreamer — there would be no need for Happy Cat Sanctuary and no need for my program, either. In an ideal world, our government would fund a program to provide free, high-quality spay/neuter services, which would address pet overpopulation and ease the suffering that comes with it. It would support adoption programs, fine people who allow their cats to roam, and ban the commercial breeding of all pets.