Monday, September 14, 2009

Animal Qs in transit

A weekend trip to the North Carolina coast generated a variety of observations and Qs about animals. Answers to questions are invited and welcome!

* baby seagulls: even though this isn’t the baby bird season, the question remains -- who has seen them? where are they raised? why are “adult” seagulls always the ones we encounter on the beach?

* seashells and critters: is every seashell automatically a home/shelter for some kind of animal? (are seashells always functional as well as oftentimes beautiful?)

* what’s the recommendation about feeding feral cats? I encountered a long, lean black and white kitten(?) near a visitor info center in NC and had nothing with me to offer it. Later, I wondered if it’d be a good idea to keep healthy cat treats in the car for such an occasion. Though I couldn’t bring the cat home – and sensed I shouldn’t try reporting it to any animal welfare organization in the area, not knowing the operating philosophy – I wanted to do something.

* no joy ride: on the highway coming home, a pickup truck passed our car . . . with a handsome German Shepherd in the open back. Looking uncomfortable, the dog moved from side to side and when the driver accelerated, nearly lost his balance. The truck (with Pennsylvania tags) quickly got out of our reach/vision; I couldn’t even note the license plate (though I don’t know what I could have done with it—citizen’s arrest?). Do any states have rules against dogs or other animals in open trucks? “There ought to be a law.”
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