I live in such a place. Edmond, Oklahoma wants you to think of it as a benevolent, friendly, righteous and religious town. "Edmondites" want you to know theirs is the hometown of Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller. But Edmond is known worldwide for one thing only, something less cheerful. It's the scene of history's bloodiest post office massacre committed by my mail carrier, "Crazy Pat" Sherrill, about which and for whom the phrase "going postal" was coined. I was going to complain about this man who refused to deliver my mail. Now I'm glad I didn't.
My family moved here 46 years ago and we were never "accepted" in the community. I'm glad of that, too. With all the pointless hate and slaughter that comes out of these people, I wouldn't want anybody to think I'm one of them.
Being a perpetual outlander has disadvantages. When trouble visits, when people commit horrible crimes, local officials refuse to assist, as the complaint comes from me.
But, it's just an excuse, and a damned excuse at that. These ogrish trolls love the killing, and want it to last forever. Through their actions and inactions, they're clever about causing and enabling it. Remind you of anything? It should, because it's part and parcel of the greater, repressionist evil which has seized America. It's the same "I-don't-care-about-anything-but-money-and-blood" attitude that gives you monsters like Bush and Cheney, and endless, pernicious war.
For months I've attempted to mobilize the local shelter, the police, the media, to help me stop the person or persons who are shooting cats in my neighborhood. I care for a cat that's been shot twice in the last year. The only help I got was from a shelter bonehead who warned me about Edmond's cat leash law:
7.10.001. Cats at large. No owner, keeper or other person in control shall permit any cat owned, harbored or kept by him to be at large. It is unlawful for such cat to be at large at any time within the City. (Ord. 2989, § 5, March 27, 2006).Ever try to train a cat to walk on a leash? I did. I actually tried to comply. I thought it might be possible. But I discovered what any five-year-old knows: you can't make a cat walk on a leash, and attempting it is the ultimate fool's errand. The cats I rescued and tend don't care about home, food or me. They only want to roam at large—meet other animals, climb trees, lie in the grass—and not stay inside with the exception of a walk on a leash with me in tow. That behavior is instinctive, and only an idiot doesn't know it.
But, the cat leash law isn't intended to establish discipline and order in cats. It is intended to cause death. Edmond has other cat ordinances. Here are two:
7.10.040 Killing authorized when. Any person may kill a cat, the appearance or conduct of which is such as would cause an ordinarily prudent person to believe the cat to be afflicted with rabies; provided that such person who kills a cat believed to have rabies shall immediately notify the city-county health office or the county superintendent of health for consultation concerning the disposition of the animal or carcass thereof. (Ord. 784 § 3, 1975; Ord. 729 § 4, 1973).Rabidity in cats isn't apparent even to doctors, nor is it prevalent. According to our state health department, the number of confirmed cases of rabidity in cats in our county last year was zero. But, you could bang away with a 12-gauge pump shotgun and blow cats to pieces in Edmond all day everyday until the end of time, and none of our "enforcement" people would lift a finger to stop it. Also, setting a limit of four cats doesn't accommodate a serious effort at animal rescue. These rules are aimed at fundraising; although, I haven't been able to determine what the fine amount is for allowing a cat to roam at large. Edmond doesn't have any intention of enforcing the ordinance; so, the purpose isn't even to fine people. The purpose is to promote, enable and validate delicious killing.
7.10.050 Number of Cats. It shall be unlawful to keep or harbor more than four (4) cats over the age of six months. (Ord. 2989, § 9, March 27, 2006).
Did Edmond's cat leash law come from good science, politicians or feline caregivers? That's a good question. It appears the language was drawn not from a resolution of people whose specialty is the health and welfare of cats, but that of wild birds—the Association of Avian Veterinarians:
Whereas: Domestic cats (Felis domesticus) are a nonnative introduced species wherever they occur;All too proper—and authoritarian, chilling and cold-blooded, not to mention riddled with factual inaccuracy. I have to wonder about someone who specializes in the medical treatment of wild birds, but what the heck—different strokes, and live and let live. Whoever wrote this nightmarish resolution proceeded from the questionable assumption cats at large pose a threat to the environment by wiping out bird populations en masse. Did you ever hear of such a thing? I didn't.
Whereas: Free-roaming (stray and owned) cats have had well-documented significant impacts on local wildlife populations and are an important cause of the decline of neotropical migrants;
Whereas: Free-roaming (stray and owned) cats face a multitude of life-threatening hazards and diseases, present zoonotic risks to humans, and contribute to the growing problem of cat overpopulation and suffering;
Whereas: Managed cat colonies do not solve the problems of cat overpopulation and suffering, wildlife predation, or zoonotic disease transmission;
Whereas: Veterinarians are uniquely positioned to offer recommendations and counseling on indoor living as part of a feline preventative health program, and by offering this service can contribute to the improved welfare of cats;
Whereas: Veterinarians are increasingly concerned with preventative feline health care, yet are poorly trained to counsel cat owners to incorporate indoor living as part of a preventative health program;
Whereas: Promoting veterinary education which emphasizes responsible cat ownership, and supporting local ordinances that include mandatory licensing, vaccination, and neutering, can contribute to a reduction in the number of unwanted free-roaming cats;
Whereas: The Association of Avian Veterinarians seeks to preserve species and their natural habitats, and has adopted the philosophy that veterinarians should take a leading role in preventative care for all the earth;
Be it resolved that the Association of Avian Veterinarians:
1. Supports community efforts to develop local ordinances that a) require mandatory spay/neuter of all cats over six months of age unless the owner purchases an annual intact permit and/or breeders permit; b) require all cats to be licensed and vaccinated against rabies; c), discourage cat owners from allowing their cats to roam at large.
2. Supports reducing the numbers of stray cats through humane capture (with placement in homes where appropriate) by local health departments, humane societies, and animal control officers.
3. Supports actions by governmental wildlife agencies, public health agencies, and public and private organizations to ban or eliminate cat colonies on public lands in a humane manner and discourage feral cat colonies on private lands.
4. Will work with veterinary educational institutions and other professional organizations - as well as within the AAV - to promote awareness, education, and research aimed at reducing the number of owned and stray free-roaming cats.
Perhaps the motive is political: Edmond republicans are extreme examples, and the town has a powerful and frightening legacy of Christian evangelical fanaticism. I believe some person or group who has influence over the city council, and could be described as Dominionist, pushed the measure through as their contribution to end times. In that free roaming cats keep down rodent populations, which they were bred to do, reducing free roaming cats could allow pestilent disease like plague to gain a foothold. That could help force Jesus to come! And if you can force Jesus to come to Edmond, you can force Jesus to give you all his money.
I'm joking about Jesus' money. But I'm not joking about Edmond's culture of death. Now it seems we have a new cat butcher:
Deborah Spaeth was horrified by what she saw on her lawn. Her cat’s body was lying in the front yard, cut lengthwise down its stomach. The entrails had been partially pulled out.Notice how the police spokeswoman doesn't promise the law will take action—nor does the story mention the cat leash law, although you can be sure the police mentioned it to Ms. Spaeth, and they may have even cited her. To be fair, Edmond has other ordinances which make this behavior a crime. It's also a crime under state and federal law. With an unsolved homicide, Edmond's law enforcement should be interested in cat killers. But don't bet there will be an investigation. Horrific death is the only culture this town knows, and let it be a lesson: you don't have to be polite to wanton killers or those who enable them.
“It had to happen that night,” she said. “There wasn’t any blood, so he had to be killed somewhere else and tossed in my yard.”
That happened in June. Spaeth said she waited to see if it was pattern or a one-time incident.
But after a neighbor’s cat came up missing, she contacted Edmond Police.
“Pets are a part of (the) family and for something to happen like this can be tragic,” said Edmond Police spokeswoman Glynda Chu.
Around that same time Spaeth and her neighbors noticed dead birds lying underneath mailboxes as they walked in the Park Lane Estates addition. She said they appear to be placed there intentionally.
Spaeth, a psychotherapist, wondered what type of individual could be doing this. “I think ‘maybe there is a Jeffrey Dahmer in our neighborhood.’ A lot of serial killers and sociopath individuals start with animals. But that might just be the mom’s reaction in me.”
Chu said residents should keep an eye on their pets even when they go outside for a short time.
“Losing a pet is like losing a child to some people,” she said. A lesson that Spaeth’s daughter has taken to heart.
“Every night before she goes to bed she checks the back doors, we have cat doors and she makes sure they are all inside,” Spaeth said.
Updated 6/13/14: The fun continues here and here with the loss of my favorite cat—perfectly legal in our communitarian community.
