Same Dog, Different Owner

[wickerwoman]

65. I had a friend many years ago

who suffered from depression and struggled to take care of his cats. Just about the only thing that got him out of bed was feeding them (even when he was too depressed and broke to feed himself). He just couldn't keep up with the litter box and general house cleaning- not to the point of real harm or neglect to the animals but certainly not an ideal environment for them.

Anyway, he wasn't an asshole or an idiot. Like you say, he loved the cats and knew they'd likely be put down if he gave them to a shelter. They were nine or ten years old and one had health issues and needed to be on a special diet. And they were one of the few positive things in his life. I really think having to give them up would have sent him over the edge. And they were certainly not better off dead than they were in his care.

It's a shame there aren't more support services focused on educating and donating food or medical care or home visits for poor or distressed families that want to retain their pets.

I found Animal Cops difficult to watch too, but one of the reasons was because there were so many episodes where pets were taken away from poor minority families or very elderly individuals, often with the owner(s) crying as the animals were removed, and then they always end the episodes with the animal bouncing around on the lawn of a white middle class suburban family who can finally offer the pet a "loving" home. They never really delve much into some of the issues going on with the homes the animals are removed from and whether or not addressing some of those issues would have allowed them to maintain the bond with their original families.