As one can easily see by reviewing a number of stories carried here at ARK, animals are not faring very well in Oregon. This is the case in many other places as well. Both law and public policy generally treat animals as expendable property. The law only values animals in human economic terms.
Those of us who have had animals enrich our lives know better, and others in society should know better. Dogs and other animals give us so much, whether it be a child's unconditional love of a family pet, the life saving skills of search and rescue dogs, the police skills of a K9 officer, the special aid provided to those by seeing eye dogs and hearing dogs, dogs used in physical and emotional therapy, the list goes on and on.
Yet our laws and policies directly and indirectly result in the needless deaths of millions of others of these same animals each year. Most animal control officers view animals as problems to be disposed of. Many police departments train their officers with the one-sided view that animals are dangerous. County ordinances and licensing fee structures wind up rewarding irresponsible backyard breeders and puppy mills at the expense of animal shelters and humane societies, and most importantly, at the expense of the unimaginable number of animals that must be euthanized each year. Even the federal government, with its "Animal Damage Control" program, traps and poisons thousands of animals each year, many of them non-target companion animals. However, the powers that be will not effect change until the voices of a significant portion of the public demand that antiquated attitudes reflected in public policy towards animals are changed.
The following petition is in the process of being circulated in order to indicate to our elected officials that a large number of people request that laws and policy regarding animals be reevaluated and changed to reflect the intrinsic value of animal lives in their own right. You can add your name to the petition right here at ARK. The petition is directed to the City of Portland in light of what happened to George, the yellow lab killed by an off-duty Portland policeman who lacked any understanding of how to approach dogs. However, the issues involved go much deeper than a single case of one dog being destroyed due to ignorance or fear. We believe that, without the proper education and modification of policy, everyone who has a companion animal currently has an animal living at risk in our society.
The petition is also directed at the local level because initially this is where we can be the most effective. We also encourage individuals in other parts of the country to start their own petitions. Contact us if you would like us to carry a copy of a petition for your area here at ARK or provide a link to your web page, and we will do so.
If you live in the Portland Oregon area, we would also be interested in knowing whether you would like to be part of an active network of individuals working to change the status quo. You will be able to indicate this at the bottom of the petition below.
To:
Mayor Vera Katz, City of Portland;
Portland Commissioners Kafoury, Sten,
Francesconi, and Hales;
Multnomah County Commissioners Stein, Collier,
Kelley, Hanson, and Saltzman
"It's just a dog" was the initial response by the Portland police department to the killing of a family dog by one of its off-duty officers. That response was more than an unfortunate comment. Instead, it accurately reflected existing attitudes, policies, and laws that license the abuse, abandonment, neglect, and killing of our animal companions.
Our animals deserve better. Through all that they give to us, they have earned the right to be valued and protected. They have worth far beyond the merely economic. They are neither nuisances nor devices for the focus of ill-conceived "enforcement" methods. They deserve laws, policies, and actions that recognize their contributions to us and to our society.
We ask that Portland and Multnomah County form a balanced and knowledgeable Citizen's Committee to review all existing laws, policies, and educational programs affecting animals and their relations with us. We ask that Portland and Multnomah County take this opportunity to assure that "it's just a dog" never again serves as the public or private excuse for animal cruelty, abandonment, and killing.