Tag Archives: Ginny Mikita

The high price of ‘free pets’

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Local Business, Local Faces, Pets/Animals, , , ,
The thrill is gone, and Bowser’s about to be kicked to the curb

By Victoria Mullen, WKTV

victoria@wktv.org


The holidays are over. The tree has been dragged outside for pick-up, the ornaments packed up and stored in the attic until next year, and that surprise pup you gave the kids for Christmas?


About to be kicked to the curb.


Alas, Bowser’s novelty has worn off, and the kids have moved on to the next new, shiny thing. Pup is growing fast, eating you out of house and home, and because no one makes time to train or exercise him, behavioral problems arise—chewing is a biggie; so, too, is possessiveness. If Bowser hasn’t been neutered, well, you can look forward to other ‘problems’.

He knows he’s been bad—just train him

So, you’re probably at your wits’ end, amiright? You’re thinking about rehoming the critter. Maybe take him to a shelter and let someone else deal with the behavioral issues.


Or possibly you’re taking another tack. Maybe you’re thinking of posting Bowser on Craig’s List and other social media sites. Something like this, perhaps: ‘Cute puppy FREE to a good home’.


First off:

Always charge a rehoming fee. Always.

We get it. Sometimes life circumstances precipitate the need for rehoming. Holiday gift disaster aside, maybe you’re moving overseas, or perhaps there is a severe illness or death in the family.

Animal testing

Anyway you slice it, rehoming can be a challenge: On the one hand, you want to be open-minded to different ways of life, yet you don’t want Bowser to fall into nefarious hands. 


“The danger with free pets is that people are devious,” said Ginny Mikita, animal advocate and attorney in Rockford, Michigan. “Some acquire free animals to supply to medical testing facilities.”


Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to discern the true motivation for potential adopters wanting a free animal, Mikita said. Dog fight trainers acquire animals in myriad ways. Live bait animals come from shelters or from ‘free to good home’ ads. Some animals are stolen out of yards.


Maybe someone responding to your ad shows up on your doorstep looking clean-cut and respectable. It’s a common ruse. In Florida, a young man and a woman purporting to be his grandmother led a family to believe that their pet would be a companion animal for the elder. The family waived their rehoming fee. Once home, however, the two tossed the pup into a cage with a fighting dog; things did not end well.


Maybe you’re not all that fond of Bowser, but would you really want something like that to happen to him?

Puppy mills—the reality

Other atrocities abound. Aside from cats and submissive canines becoming bait for fighting dogs, smaller animals become food for snakes or star in crush videos—and we’re not talking Hollywood. (We’ll wait here while you look it up.)


Some people want free animals so that they can breed them—un-neutered Bowser could end up neglected in a puppy mill, producing scores of unsocialized, ill pups, and living in a small cage without vet care or affection.


And then there are the hoarders, people with a compulsion to collect free animals. We’ve all read stories about how that ends up.

The best way to ensure that your pet is going to a bonafide good home is to post a rehoming fee and to vet prospective adopters carefully. Here are some tips:

• Visit the home. Speak with other members of the family and ask questions—are there other pets in the household? Where will Bowser live? Who will care for him? Does anyone have allergies? Are all family members aware that Bowser is being adopted?
• If you can’t visit, ask someone to visit the home for you. Perhaps the interested party lives far away from you. Ask a rescue in the town to perform a home visit for you. Some rescues have volunteers that will help facilitate long-distance adoptions.
• Ask for personal references. And call the references—ask if the interested party takes good care of their current or former pets. See if you can find out what happened to their past pets. Did they die of natural causes?
• Ask for a vet reference. Call their present or former veterinarian about the party’s other pets and how well they were cared for. At the very least, the vet can confirm that the party has a relationship with the vet. Ask if the vet recommends the party as a good guardian.
• Check animal abuser registries. Michigan doesn’t have one set up yet, but other states might. In response to pressure from the public, registries are becoming more commonplace.
• Google the potential adopter. Google is an amazing resource. A search may turn up past crimes.
• Be prepared to take Bowser back. Sometimes even the best intentions don’t work out—maybe Bowser can’t stand the new family’s other pet. Maybe a family member discovers a previously unknown allergy. Keep Bowser safe by being ready to take him back; let the adopter know that you are willing to do so if things don’t work out.
• Have the adopter sign an adoption contract. Here’s a boilerplate pet adoption contract that can be downloaded and printed out.
• Beware of Craigslist. There are reputable animal databases like Petfinder, breed-specific rescue sites, and local shelters. Most people sourcing animals on Craigslist are looking for free cats and dogs; these people can come off as charming and are confident that they can get you to waive the re-homing fee. Don’t risk it.
• Check out breed rescues. If your pet is a purebred, contact a breed-specific rescue, which will perform a thorough vetting of any potential adopter.

From Lin, Doris. (2019, October 24). Why You Should Never Give Pets Away ‘Free to a Good Home’. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/dont-give-pets-away-free-127759

This… is how it should be

Pets are a huge part of our lives; they’re family. Companion animals give emotional support and help reduce stress levels. They ease the pain of loneliness and encourage us to get involved in social activities. They offer unconditional love and can boost a child’s self-esteem.


In return, as responsible pet owners we have a duty to ensure that our animal friends are kept healthy and fit, are exercised regularly, consume nutritious food, and are provided with love and affection, as well as proper housing and care. And if you absolutely cannot keep him, make sure that the home he is going to will be safe and that the family will give him love and affection.

On Nov. 25, 2019, the president signed the bipartisan Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act into law, making it federally illegal to engage in cruelty to animals. The bill immediately went into effect, meaning those found violating the act could be federally prosecuted, fined, and jailed for up to seven years.



‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow?’

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Community Health, Health, Local Business, Local Faces, Non-Profits, Pets/Animals, ,

By Ginny Mikita, Animal Blessings


“Just this side of Heaven is a place called the Rainbow Bridge.” — unknown


Almost without exception, someone during the monthly grief support group I facilitate will ask about or refer to ‘The Legend of the Rainbow Bridge’.


The Rainbow Bridge tells of a pastoral place filled with green meadows and hills located just outside of Heaven’s gates. According to the Legend, when a companion animal dies, he goes to this place — free of illness and injury but saddened by the continuing absence of his human companion. The animal, it continues, playfully romps with other animals as they patiently await the arrival of their human companions. Upon the death of an animal’s human companion, the two reunite to walk over the Bridge into Heaven, hand-in-paw, to live eternally ever after.


It is unknown who originally penned The Rainbow Bridge. A number of people claim authorship including the following: Paul C. Dahm, a grief counselor who is said to have written the poem in 1981 and published it in a 1998 book of the same name; William N. Britton, author of Legend of Rainbow Bridge; and Dr. Wallace Sife, head of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement, whose poem All Pets Go to Heaven appears on the Association’s website as well as in his book, The Loss of a Pet.


Today, The Rainbow Bridge appears in publications as well as websites throughout the world. Veterinarians routinely provide copies to their human clients upon the death of a companion animal. There are a stack of take-home cards with the words printed on them sitting on a small table alongside a box of tissues in the Serenity Room, the room offered to people whose animals have just died, at the Humane Society. The Legend has inspired writers to gently dissect the rainbow by color and meaning and use it as a launching point for the development of a grieving kit. There is even an interactive virtual memorial home for companion animals at http:/www.rainbowsbridge.com.

The Rainbow Bridge is undergirded by what some would believe to be religious ideas of an afterlife and Heaven. While none of the world’s religions ascribe to such a place, in Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in the Judeo-Christian tradition, after the Flood, God establishes a covenant Noah and “every living creature.” God tells Noah to keep an eye out for rainbows, as they will forever serve as a reminder of God’s eternal promise.


The Legend also shares similarities with the setting of Canadian Margaret Marshall Saunders’ 1902 book, Beautiful Joe’s Paradise. Her book was a sequel to her 1893 story, Beautiful Joe, for which she had won a Humane Society writing contest. Saunders’ vision in her book differs slightly from that of The Rainbow Bridge. In Saunders’ imagination, companion animals arrive to a green land to heal and learn from neglect and abuse suffered during their lives. When ready, animals are taken to Heaven by a balloon.


When The Rainbow Bridge is broached in our Group, the reactions mimic those I’ve received to my informal inquiry made in preparation for writing this month’s column. Most people experience an extreme response. Either the Legend provides a great source of comfort, or it evokes an expression of scornful derision.


Yesterday, a veterinarian friend of mine shared her love-hate relationship with the idea. On the one hand, she finds it to be a kitschy cliché to which people desperately cling for comfort. On the other, it actually is a source of deep comfort and healing. She went on to share that she had recently attended a conference in which The Rainbow Bridge was put to music and played during a guided grief meditation. My friend admitted to being instantly reduced to tears.


In the end, the critical question isn’t whether one believes in the existence of The Rainbow Bridge or not. What matters is whether The Rainbow Bridge is a meaningful source of comfort and light in the painful and dark journey of grieving.

Animal advocate and attorney Ginny Mikita is the founder of Animal Blessings, an organization dedicated to honoring the sacred worth of all animals. Mikita’s companion animal loss support services include facilitating a monthly Companion Animal Loss Grief Support Group, officiating an annual Memorial Service in December, writing grief columns for local publications and speaking at gatherings — local and national — of animal care and protection professionals. Additionally, Mikita regularly officiates Blessings of the Animals in both religious and secular environments.



Animal law: WKTV Journal In Focus interviews local lawyer, animal advocate

3-bottom, Community Health, Going Local, Local Faces, Non-Profits, Pets/Animals, WKTV Journal In Focus, ,

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus, we discuss the evolving world of animal law, specifically efforts to have a legal system that recognizes the rights of all animals but especially animals that some call pets.

We will talk with Ginny K. Mikita of the Mikita Kruse Law Center in North Kent County and find out about her work with Attorneys For Animals, a group whose mission is based in their belief that “animals have a purpose of their own and inherent value.” The group works within the legal system to that end and encourages efforts to ensure that animals are “recognized, treated and protected as individuals.”

Mikita also talks about her work supporting humans grieving for their companion animals which they have lost.

WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.

One of the most painful times of the year

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Holidays, How-To's, Pets/Animals, , ,

By Ginny Mikita, Animal Blessings

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen

Well-intentioned friends exclaim, “Happy Holidays!”


Andy Williams repeatedly croons through retail sound systems, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” 


But for those whose companion animals have died and will not be home for Christmas or Hanukkah, it can, instead, be one of the most painful times of the year.


Whether this is the first holiday season you’ve experienced without your beloved companion animal, or the season has come and gone several times since her death, it can be particularly difficult.  


This year, consider giving yourself a gift. Gift yourself with permission, quiet time and sacred space. Allow yourself to remember your companion animal and be fully present without judgment to all the emotions such remembering evokes. Sadness and tears, anger and pangs of guilt, joy and laughter.


Here are just a few “gift” ideas:

Light a candle

Treat yourself to a beautiful candle. Find a meaningful place in your home to place it during the season, perhaps next to a favorite photograph of your companion animal. Set aside daily time — even five or ten minutes — to light it, allowing yourself to be enveloped by its warmth. Reflect upon your time together, focusing on your gratitude for and the lessons learned from your companion’s life being part of your journey. 

Have a heartfelt talk

During your candlelit moments, if the spirit moves you, have a conversation. Out loud. Or journal. Share with your companion animal whatever is on your mind. You may have feelings bottled up inside that have never been spoken. Perhaps the circumstances of your companion animal’s death continue to haunt you. Perhaps you’re considering or struggling with adopting another animal. Perhaps the loss triggers unresolved grief from earlier losses.

Share your companion animal’s items

Items that belonged to your companion animal — a toy with which she played, a blanket in which she snuggled, clothing with her scent, like a ThunderShirt — are often all that’s physically left behind and can be very difficult to part with. If you’re ready, the giving season may be the right time to share some or all of them.   

Make a dedication

Volunteer your service or make a donation to a shelter or other animal-related organization in your companion animal’s name. For many years, I have made donations to Wings of Wonder, a raptor rehabilitation organization, as memorial gifts. The group sends a picture of the screech owl who will be released into the wild, soaring on her own wings, to the grieving family.

Create a scrapbook

If you haven’t already done so, create a scrapbook of or fill a box with favorite photos, writings and other memorabilia that remind you of your companion animal. 

Visit a special place

Visit a special place — a dog park, a walking trail – that was special for you and your companion animal. Gently care for the space while there. Before returning home, you may want to leave something behind as a tribute — a flower or a favorite treat for the lucky animal who happens upon it first.  Such acts are powerful healing tools. There were so many items left at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial site in Washington DC, the National Park Service eventually hired people to collect and catalogue them, and later opened the Museum Resource Center, a climate-controlled warehouse, to store them. 

Attend a blue Christmas service

Many Christian churches, especially in West Michigan, now have special services in early December designed especially for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

Continue to live and love

While grieving plays an important role in healing, our companion animals, I believe, would want us to continue living and loving. Decorate your home. Hang your companion’s stocking and fill it with items to be given to a shelter or other animal advocacy organization. Most importantly, surround yourself with the love of others — other companion animals and people who respect your love for and loss of your companion animal.

Animal advocate and attorney Ginny Mikita is the founder of Animal Blessings, an organization dedicated to honoring the sacred worth of all animals. Mikita’s companion animal loss support services include facilitating a monthly Companion Animal Loss Grief Support Group, officiating an annual Memorial Service in December, writing grief columns for local publications and speaking at gatherings — local and national — of animal care and protection professionals. Additionally, Mikita regularly officiates Blessings of the Animals in both religious and secular environments.