The Animal Issue Will Give You Fuzzy Feelings

We didn’t intend for the Animal Issue to be a sequel to March’s Money & Retirement Issue. But between inflation, the rising costs of gas, food and whatever else just spiked while you were reading this sentence, money and the economy are top of mind for most of us, perhaps more than usual. The financial crunch is even adversely affecting our pets, which is particularly cruel, since the whole point of owning pets is to have something cute and cuddly that makes you feel better about the world.

Like seemingly everything else, the cost of pet ownership is skyrocketing. Veterinary care costs have risen nearly a third in the past five years, forcing some families to make impossible choices in the face of insurmountable vet bills. In an essay, news editor Matthew Roy recounts a harrowing (and expensive) experience earlier this year when his dog, Cleo, needed spinal surgery.

Even routine pet expenses are proving prohibitive for some. That’s why a local group founded the Mobile Pet Food Shelf, which distributes pet products and services to those in need around Vermont. It’s also one reason dog sharing is a becoming a trend. By co-parenting a German shepherd-dachshund mix named Maple, two Hinesburg families have discovered that splitting her costs, care and snuggles is a perfect fit.

Dogs are pretty adaptable, but we doubt cat sharing will ever be a thing. Our finicky feline friends fare better living in one place — even if that place is a hardware store, such as Aubuchon Ace Hardware in Vergennes, home to Bubbles the store cat. Perhaps the regional chain, which keeps cats at many of its stores, has room for the tabby an Ask the Rev letter writer is nervous about inheriting.

Bubbles is happy, healthy and well cared for, so he won’t draw the attention of Lisa Milot. She’s the Vermont Division of Animal Welfare’s first director and aims to reform how the state handles animal abuse complaints.

Nor should Milot have reason to trek to Rocky Hill Farm in Westford, where a couple raise meat rabbits on pasture. It’s likely the only farm in Vermont doing so on a commercial scale.

Canadian artist Jude Griebel might take an interest in the farm, however. His darkly funny “Elegy for the Consumed” is one of two Brattleboro art exhibits prompting viewers to consider their relationships to animals. Griebel might also get a kick out of the annual Burlington trout parade, which celebrates the Sustainability Academy’s study of the fish and features puppets, music and the mayor.

Finally, no Seven Days Animal Issue is complete without the Best of the Beasts Pet Photo Contest. The four-page spread of impossibly adorable dogs, cats, farm animals and a freakin’ hedgehog is proof that whatever the cost, our furry, feathered and scaly friends are simply priceless.

The original print version of this article was headlined “Dog Daze | The Animal Issue will give you fuzzy feelings”