My View from Here...

It got really cold last night...  the sky was clear and temperatures dropped down to the single digits again.  I know that patience is a virtue and although I don't always show that I have much of it, I find myself hopeful that this will be the last single-digit night of winter.  I am ready for spring and all of the signs of life that it brings with it.  There is one part of spring that I am not looking forward to...
 
We are in a pretty rural area but are still relatively close to the hustle and bustle of urban life.  I always find myself suprised at how some people who live in an urban area see our rural roads as a dumping ground.  Folks drive out from the cities and dump their yard waste along our roads...  other times it is a used appliance or couch...  bags of garbage often are seen obstucting an otherwise picturesque view.  I am left to wonder what these people are missing?

It is obvious that they don't see the same thing that I do when I drive down my road...  they must not see the beautiful woods, fields, hills...  They couldn't possibly see the beautiful old barns and the old oak trees.

I am especially bothered when they "dispose" of their unwanted pets along our roads.  It happens a lot and there is no excuse for it...  our county has an Animal Control facility which will take unwanted pets for a very reasonable fee...  Truth be told, they usually have cages out front where people can leave pets after hours for free.

Even if the unwanted animal is euthanized by the shelter, it is a much less traumatic and painful death than they would be afforded out in the "wilds" of our rural roads.  Death by coyote attack, being hit by a car, or starvation is the likely fate of "dump-offs".

A few years ago, we took a walk down our road to the dead-end turn-around, which is a popular dumping ground.  In the bushes we found an open cat carrier and heard a very small voice calling from nearby.  After some coaxing, out came a little orange kitten that could not have been more than 6 weeks old.  He was very skinny, covered in fleas, and suprisingly very friendly...  so friendly that there was no doubt that he had been handled by humans since birth.

I was angry - this particular spot was over 1/8 of a mile from the nearest house.  This little guy did not have a chance and would certainly have died from starvation, flea infestation, or possibly would have been a very light meal for a coyote or hawk.  Of course, we rescued the little guy, gave him a flea bath and fed him, but there are countless others who have been dumped and have perished.

These are not wild animals...  You can't dump them off and expect that they will go back to nature.  These are animals that humans have domesticated - we have taken away most of their ability to fend for themselves.  Euthanasia can be a hard choice to make, but there are worse fates for these animals than a quick and humane death.

It's true that nature can be cruel, but that does not mean that man should not make every effort not to be...

I realize that most of my readers are "animal people" and that I am preaching to the choir, so to speak...  but I hope that maybe one of the "urban dumpers" will happen upon this blog, read this post, and start to see some of the view that I see when I look down my road - it is a beautiful sight.