LETTER- Ensure pet safety with tools

Unfortunately, there are many cruel individuals in the world who see a friendly cat or dog as a target, not a beloved companion [June 1: "Peripawtetic puss: The great roaming cat debate rages"]. The guardians of Carmen, the cat who was allegedly shot by a neighbor, found that out the hard way.  

Every year, thousands of companion animals allowed outside alone never come back alive. Dogs have been poisoned, beaten, or had their mouths duct-taped shut for "barking too much." Cats and dogs have been set on fire, dismembered, sexually assaulted, hanged, buried alive, and otherwise tortured and killed. Unsupervised animals also risk getting lost, hit by a car, poisoned with antifreeze, or snatched up by dogfighters for use as "bait," or by "bunchers," people who steal dogs and cats and sell them for use in experiments.

Ensure your companion animals' safety by tagging along during outdoor excursions. They can still enjoy the great outdoors with a walk on a leash and harness or even in a Kittywalk "pet stroller," and the great indoors can be made even greater with toys and lots of attention from you. Cats can be allowed outside under supervision into enclosures made secure with fencing systems like Cat Fence-In and Purrfect Fence.

For more information on keeping your companion animals safe, please visit HelpingAnimals.com.

Alisa Mullins
Senior Writer
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Norfolk

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