More and more urban people have pets, they regard pets as a kind of spiritual sustenance and life companion, but some people abandon them for various reasons. In the hutongs of the city, under the residential buildings of the community, and next to the garbage cans, there is gradually a new group - stray animals. There is also a group of people who are personally helping these stray animals, either before they are alive or after they die.
Adoption is mutually selective
"Cat Thief" is a character in the documentary "Can't Live Without You", she is a pet photographer, in addition to taking pictures of pets, she will also take pictures of stray cats, looking for owners who can take care of them for the rest of their lives.
The "cat thief" is photographing a stray cat.
The "cat thief" has 3 cats in the family, 2 of which were once stray cats. She found that stray animals were on the rise, mostly stray cats. An adult cat gives birth twice a year, with an average of 5 kittens at a time, and can breed at a rate of more than ten times a year. An adult cat and its offspring can give birth to 420,000 cubs in 7 years. So far, stray animals have grown to unimaginable levels.
Stray animals are not only numerous, but their living conditions are not optimistic. Some of them were taken in by civil society organizations or institutions and found suitable owners. Some of them have been rescued by residents or fed at fixed points, and the basic living conditions have been guaranteed.
More stray animals remain homeless, struggling to survive by eating garbage and drinking sewage, and they defecate unattended. Because of long-term wandering, stray animals living in a dirty and chaotic environment are likely to be contaminated with many diseases and become carriers of the virus.
The "cat thief" lives in Beijing's hutongs, often dealing with hutong cats, and gradually becomes one of the spontaneous folk rescuers. "A good photo is very important for the adoption of stray animals," she said. After successfully rescuing stray cats, the "cat thief" decided to take pictures of the stray animals.
"Cat Thief" is taking pet photos.
She would choose the stray cats suitable for "entering the house" to take pictures, and then post the information on social media to find an adopter, and so far she has found a new home for forty or fifty stray cats.
Posting a photo is only the first step in finding an adopter, and it goes through a more complex review process.
"Adoption is unpaid, but that doesn't mean there's no value. It's a process of mutual selection, you choose this stray cat to fit you, I want to choose whether you can take care of it for the rest of your life. "Cat thief," said.
After going through the photo selection of cats, the "cat thief" will ask the adopter to come to the scene to see the cat, determine whether there is a cat edge, and check the adopter by the way. If this step goes well, she will visit the adopter's home again, combined with the cat's life habits and personality, to determine whether the home environment is really suitable for it. After everything has passed, the adopter will be notified to prepare cat food and other supplies.
The whole cycle is as fast as one month, and the slowest is as long as a year and a half.
"All cats come into the house for a while to transition, but soon forget about the months they were with me." After the "cat thief" finds a new home for stray cats, he will continue to care about their lives, and even some adopters will prepare a key for her, "I have the key to the adopter's family, indicating which cat makes me bother the most." When the owner is not at home, the cat thief is often asked to come to the door to feed medicine, shovel, or take care of it for a short time.
There are also adopters who are willing to keep some distance, "Everyone has their own life, and I understand it very well." However, follow-up follow-up is essential. Although she does not disturb the new life belonging to the cats, she will regularly ask them how they are doing.
Cats can't understand why they're abandoned
Although the process of finding a rescuer is strictly audited, there will be various cases of abandonment in the middle.
"Cat Thief" once met a couple adopter, they have a pet cat in the family, the cat habits are very familiar, the situation review process is very smooth, but the change occurred after the two broke up.
The Canadian boyfriend returned to China after breaking up and left the cat to the girl, who could not stand the breakup and said that she did not want to keep it again. So the two cats were put alone in the taxi and returned to the "cat thief".
"I know everyone has their own difficulties and upheavals, but the cat can't understand it, it just feels abandoned. If you decide to have a pet, you will be responsible for it, and abandoning it at will is disrespectful to life, and I must not tolerate it. "Cat thief" said that now many people want to keep pets on a whim, and abandon them when they have the slightest difficulty, which is the main reason for the increasing number of stray animals.
More serious cases are direct discards. The year before, the "cat thief" rescued a stray cat in the temple, and a girl who showed great love in the audit adopted it. Not long after, during the follow-up, the girl said that the cat was lost. The "cat thief" was very anxious for her at the time and offered to help find it together, but the girl did everything she could to push back. "It makes me feel weird, and all owners rush to find their pets. During the interrogation, she lied a lot, not knowing how to lose it or where she lost it. I wanted to get through the confusion, but I found that I never gave up. In the midst of the "cat thief's" inquiry, the cat that had been lost for more than 20 days suddenly returned.
Cat Thief said, "Now I have found a new foster home for this cat." The girl had thought that the cat in the temple had aura and would bring her good luck, but there was actually nothing magical happening, so she discarded it. ”
Rescue should make life better
"Cat thief" does not all stray animals will rescue them, she will take pictures of them, but whether to find a new home for them is still a matter of further judgment.
"I'll come across a dozen stray cats and dogs a day, but there are some that I can't save. For example, if you suffer from cat stomatitis, you must have all your teeth extracted, but what about after the tooth extraction? There was no way I could find a new home for it. If I raise it myself, can I raise 1 and 10? Save good, raise bad. I often wonder: What is the purpose of the rescue? Just let it live in a cage all year round? "In many cases, the "cat thief" has more than enough but not enough, rescue is only a way, reduce abandonment, reduce abuse to solve the problem from the root.
"Cat thief" and a stray cat.
The "cat thief" doesn't think she's doing something very powerful, she thinks she's just a baton in the middle of the relay, and it's the adopter who ultimately makes stray animals live the rest of their lives, and they have a heavier responsibility than the rescuer.
"Cat Thief" said of her concept of rescue: "I think rescue should make life better, not a burden on life. Many rescuers do not take rescue as a profession, but spend their money, time, and energy on overload operation, put their entire lives into it, and seriously affect interpersonal relationships. The number of stray animals in our country is huge, and it is difficult to change by a small number of people, and it is better if there is a law against the abuse and abandonment of pets. ”
In 2014, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture issued the Measures for the Administration of Animal Custody in Beijing, which stipulates that adopters should sign the Animal Adoption Guarantee, promising not to abandon, abuse, or resell adopted animals, and to feedback on the status of adopted animals as required. At present, the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau has approved the establishment of the Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Protection Science Popularization Center, which is also the only non-profit non-profit folk animal shelter and protection institution approved by the government in China.
A decent goodbye
Momo is a pet mortician, and cremation of deceased pets is her main job, as well as centralized cremation of stray deceased animals.
Momo used to work in a funeral home, and when he was young, he traveled from the south to the north, rooted in Shenyang, and later changed careers to start taking care of the aftermath for pets. "I feel that people and pets are equal, and for the family members of the deceased or the owner of the pet, the departed life is an indispensable part of the family, and full respect and empathy should be given."
The price of cremation for pets is not high, 400 yuan within 10 catties, and the price increases according to weight gain. Momo values the experience of parents saying goodbye to their pets, and only makes one reservation for each time slot. She first cleans the body of each deceased pet who arrives at the store, some of which need to deal with the remaining stool due to incontinence, some of which have vomit in the mouth, and some of which have stuck needles in the body. After cleaning, Momo took the parents and pets to the farewell room, and she often told the parents: Don't worry, accompany the pet again, and then cremate when you are ready. During this time, Momo never bothered, and one of the longest guests said goodbye to his pet for 7 hours.
Momo prepares for the cremation of a dead dog.
Before the cremation, Momo would also ask the parents if they kept some hair as a souvenir. After the end, Momo and her parents collected the ashes together, and finally handed them over to the customers to take home, and her service ended here.
After doing the pet funeral industry, Momo will also take care of the aftermath of the accidental death of pets on the side of the road.
"I don't think they should just lie on the road, and if they don't rescue them, they are likely to be run over by passing vehicles many times." If the final outcome is left unattended, it is likely to be cleaned by sanitation workers or thrown directly into the trash, and the best case is that well-meaning people bury them on the side of the road. ”
What impressed Momo the most was a kitten he saved last year. At that time, the vehicle in front of Momo suddenly braked, turned left around the object in front of him, increased the throttle and drove away. Momo's colleague was just about to start the vehicle when he stopped again and said, "Cat, there's a cat in front." ”
Momo and his colleagues hurried out of the car, and a cat lay on the ground convulsing, spitting blood and breathing after only a few pumps. There were a lot of people watching, but no one knew what to do. Out of professional sensitivity, they understand that they can't be saved. So he took out a set of corpse bags, gloves and shovels for stray cats and dogs from the car, packed them up, and took them to the store for cremation.
Momo is cremating a dead dog.
The way to optimize the ecology of the environment
More and more people have pets, but pets only have a life span of more than ten years at most, and when its life is over, how to say goodbye to it is a problem that many people have not considered. Most people will choose a vacant lot to bury, and even small pets will be thrown in the trash to be discarded, and they may not have thought of cremation for pets. Cremation is not only a decent farewell to pets, but also the best way for environmental ecology.
"Most people tend to bury in place, which has a lot to do with economic income and ideas, and not everyone will choose cremation." Momo said that although there are dozens of pet funeral service stores in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, there are still a small number of people who choose cremation.
According to the "Technical Specifications for the Harmless Treatment of Sick and Dead Animals", for the direct burial method, the bottom of the buried pit should be more than 1.5m above the groundwater table, and the bottom of the pit should be sprinkled with a layer of quicklime or bleaching powder and other disinfectants with a thickness of 2-5cm. Animal carcasses and related animal products are thrown into the pit, the uppermost layer is more than 1.5m from the surface, covering the cover of 20-30cm from the surface and the thickness is not less than 1-1.2m. Disinfect with disinfectants such as quicklime or bleach powder for more than three weeks.
In fact, few people can do the above after burying their pets. Many pets die because of illness, and hasty burial will cause the body to decay quickly, and after the corruption, it will attract other small animals to eat the carcass, causing the virus to spread.
"When the current Animal Epidemic Prevention Law deals with the issue of how to deal with animal carcasses, it only stipulates that it cannot be disposed of arbitrarily, but there are no specific provisions on how to dispose of them; while the Funeral Management Regulations are mainly aimed at the human body, and there is no legal basis for animal burials." Zheng Hongtao, a lawyer at Beijing Qualcomm Law Firm, said that there is currently no department in China dedicated to pet funerals.
The stories of "Cat Thief" and Momo were both made into a documentary called "Inseparable from You". Yang Haitao, vice president of iQIYI, who planned and promoted the project, said: "Making this film has changed my previous understanding. It focuses on the intimate relationship between people and pets that is already very common in this society, and looks at the complex topic of people's own love hidden behind this intimacy. ”
Before the documentary aired, Momo was cremated and sent away the husky "potatoes" she had raised for many years. She said: "I think it is a very happy thing that I have carefully sent away so many cats, cats, dogs and dogs. ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zai Fei Text Editor: Zai Fei Caption Source: Visual China Picture Editor: Cao Liyuan
Source: Author: Yu Chenyang