Tails in the news

Love at any age

The Animal Protective Association of Missouri is celebrating Senior Pet Month in November. The St. Louis shelter will pair with Purina and other corporate sponsors to educate and raise awareness through appearances at local events, espousing the health benefits for senior citizens with pets.
“People with pets are happier, healthier, and live longer, with fewer trips to the doctor,” says Becky Krueger, director of education and outreach for the APAMO. “Seniors who don’t have kids at home to take care of often feel better mentally and physically with a pet.”
At events such as the group’s Canine Carnival, held on October 1 at Thilles Park in LaDue, the group promoted the month long adoption push. Discounted adoptions for senior citizens were featured alongside the advantages of guardians of any age living with an older pet.
“Older pets are in the shelter longer because people are attracted to puppies and kittens, but more mature animals can be a good match for people that work during the day and are crunched for time,” Krueger said. “They’re already trained, and they already have a personality: You know if they’re good with kids, you know if they’re wild or settled.”

16 horses die in transport crash

Sixteen horses died when a truck carrying 42 animals crashed along Missouri’s I-44, on September 28.
The accident near Stanton, about 60 miles southwest of
St. Louis, underscores a statewide issue: According to a report by Watkins Glen-based group Farm Sanctuary, Missouri ranks fourth in the nation among states with animal transport accidents, with 13 such crashes reported in the last six years.
The Transport Accident Report, released in the middle of 2006, accounts for livestock transport injuries in 44 states. Farm Sanctuary Communications Director Tricia Ritterbusch says many of these accidents occur because drivers are overworked and animals are transported unsafely.
“Many of the accidents occur because the drivers go a long time without a break, fall asleep, and the truck overturns,” Ritterbusch says. “Double-decker trucks are especially dangerous, because the tall truck is unstable and prone to falling over.”
Ritterbusch says that there have probably been many more accidents than those listed in the report, as Farm Sanctuary was only able to track those crashes reported by the media.
“There are probably a lot that have happened in rural areas that we don’t even know about,” she says. “The government doesn’t track these accidents, but we’re trying to get them to.”