The Beasts’ Bayou

Baton Rouge is indeed a capital city when it comes to indulging animal lovers’ passions from affenpinschers to zebras. Exotic and indigenous species roam the ranges of the Global Wildlife Center, Waddill Wildlife Refuge, Baton Rouge Zoo and Alligator Bayou. Those content with horsing around within city limits can gallop to their own beat at three local pony clubs as well as quarter horse shows, rodeos and hunter/jumper classics at Farr Park Horse Activity Center.

The city’s new dog parks are finally giving pups and their people a chance to socialize. When they feel like really putting on the dog, Baton Rougeans generously open their hearts and their wallets at nonprofit fundraisers such as Spay Baton Rouge’s Spay Soiree, Cat Haven’s Cat Tails & Cocktails and Capital Area Animal Welfare Society’s Krewe of Mutts Parade. No matter whether a favorite pet has fins, feathers, fangs or fur, the city’s vibrant veterinary community and LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s renowned specialists and researchers provide world-class care to all creatures great and small.

However, our area is not a critter Camelot. Pollution, land misuse and development threaten the habitats of the Spanish Lake Basin. In 2007, 11,445 animals arrived at East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control — only one of the area’s municipal shelters — where 964 were adopted and 9,611 were euthanized.

Yet for every environmental issue, deranged hoarder or neglectful, abusive owner, an army of animal advocates is poised to protest and protect both domestic and wildlife populations. More than just endorsing a cause, Baton Rougeans routinely rescue, re-home and volunteer with a stunning variety of species and breed-rescue organizations.

Unleashed is about all things animal. We’ll sniff out information about the best birding spots, locally produced, organic grooming products and treats, the black bear conservation controversy, therapeutic riding for disabled children, owning exotics, pet insurance, salmonella risk for reptile owners and trends from high-tech litter box cleaners to doga (yes, that is doggie yoga).

A weekly Creature Feature highlights adoptable pets available from local shelters and rescue organizations; Animal Bytes rustles up information about the events and announcements regarding the beasts by you; and City Lynx leads to the city’s spay/neuter assistance, resources, rescues, wildlife and equestrian venues.

But the only way this dog will hunt is with your help. So, come. Sit. Stay. Read. Fetch a topic. Unleash your opinions. And get ready to roar.

Besides her 20 years of experience as an editor and writer, Adrian E. Hirsch is a charter board member of Spay Baton Rouge, a nonprofit that spays/neuters feral cats and the pets of low-income residents to stem overpopulation; the Baton Rouge coordinator of Gulf South Golden Retriever Rescue, a nonprofit that rescues golden retrievers from shelters and owners, fosters and finds permanent homes for the dogs; and (along with her twin daughters) a member of Tiger HATS, an LSU Veterinary School service organization that offers animal assisted therapy. Experiences at LSU Parker Coliseum and Lamar Dixon Expo Center following hurricanes Katrina and Rita motivated her to receive evacuation training from the Louisiana State Animal Response Team. The Hirsch family includes two rescued golden retrievers and a rescued Her-malayan cat and frequently hosts armadillos, raccoons, turtles, hawks, snakes and other wildlife that visit from the neighboring swamp.