Unwanted cats are a bigger problem , with fewer resources . State figures show that in 2014 , 4,996 cats entered shelters ; 20 percent were euthanized . Domesticated cats are most commonly affected by rabies . That worries South Kingstown Animal Control Officer Robert Wilson . “ You have unvaccinated cats cohabiting with rabid animals ,” he says . “ Skunks and raccoons come back positive all the time .”
Back at the Dunkin ’ Donuts , Ireland checks her phone . “ We ’ ve got three !” Ireland and Fletcher head to the Tainishes ’, where the gray male , an orange male and a female are piteously protesting their accommodations . Fletcher loads the cages into his Ford Fusion . On Monday , the cats will go to the clinic to be spayed , neutered and vaccinated , and then returned to East Providence .
Fletcher believes that the state has made a lot of progress in animal welfare . Rhode Island eliminated the gas chamber as a means of euthanasia in 2005 . In 2006 , the Rhode Island Foundation brought together some of the animal welfare groups with veterinarians and animal control officers to create OSAC to prioritize problems .
But the fissures remain . A few years ago , a Brown University student and students at the Highlander Academy partnered with OSAC to create a special spay / neuter state license plate , with the proceeds supporting RICSNC . Fletcher thought the proposal would sail through the legislative committee meeting . But a representative of another animal welfare group testified against it , and the bill was held for further study .
A voluble man given to elaborate metaphors , Fletcher likens the state ’ s squabbling animal groups to the creation of our solar system . He envisions one leading organization that , like the sun , could exert enough gravity to nudge these groups in an orderly orbit to attack problems together .
It might not get animal lovers to love other animal lovers , but it might stop them from fighting like cats and dogs . �
Ellen Liberman is an award-winning journalist who has commented on politics and reported on government affairs for more than two decades .
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