Big Island Treasure

Hungry humans and fat cats.

I/we,  are the happy owners of a small three legged sweetheart of a dog we picked up at the local Humane Society.  We also have six cats running around here. Given my choice I would have only one for rodent control. I have had a pet most of my life, including a monkey as a child.

There is a commercial currently playing on tv featuring a pretty song sung by a lovely, talented woman (Sarah Mclachlan) sponsored by the ASPCA for the prevention of animal cruelty. It portrays pathetic, neglected animals while “Angels” ( In the arms of the angels.) plays in the backround and asks for twenty dollars a month to support one.

I realize there are decent pet owners and some really crappy ones, that will always remain. My opinion however on what should be done with the excess of uncared for pets and their offspring is tempered by the following facts.

According to Unicef, having a child remains one of the biggest health risks for women worldwide with fifteen hundred women dying  daily in child birth. That’s one half a million annually.

At 1 020 million, for the first time in human history,

more than one billion people are undernourished

worldwide. This is about 100 million more than last

year and around one‐sixth of all humanity.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the U N.

• 1 billion people live on less than $1/day
• 146 million children under age 5 are underweight
  • 10.1 million children under age 5 die every year,
    over half of hunger-related causes
• 1 in 7 people is hungry
• 1 in 6 people lacks safe drinking water     Evangelical Lutheran Church

The pet industry is a major segment of the U.S. economy. This year Americans will spend about $48 billion on their pets, according to consumer research company Packaged Facts. In the next two years, that number is expected to hit $52 billion.  Oakland Business Review

I’m sorry some pet owners treat their animals very badly. I regret that over one billion humans are undernourished and some can be very brutal and uncaring about others. Given a choice however, my twenty dollars a month will feed and care for a starving child. Our children are fat. Our pets are fat, while our neighbors die for lack of water, food and health care.

According to, AVMA, there are 72 million dogs  and 81.7 million cats among the pet owning populace.  According to Pet finder the annual cost of a dog is approx, $600.00 and a cat is $500.00 or $45.00 a month not including the initial years cost.  For $35.00 a month you can sponsor a child through World Vision or even less through other concerned organizations.

This is just my opinion. You can feed your pets steak, dress them up to look silly, by them toys, insurance, cemetery plots, it’s your money. Decent food and friendship works for me. It is also my opinion that if you spend more on your pet than your brother, you are a fool.

For information on Obesity in America see:  John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Sarah Mclachlan, In the arms of the angels and the ASPCA. Misdirected talent.