ALS
No judgment from me, Sue. In theory, shelters and rescues exist to serve people like Sue in extenuating circumstances. Or people who become terminally ill or disabled and need special care and can no longer care for their animals. Unfortunately, our society has such a “disposable” mentality when it comes to LIVING BEINGS that people abuse the shelter systems and give away animals for the dumbest reasons.
As someone who dedicates a big part of her life to animal rescue, you wouldn’t believe the “excuses” I’ve seen. My favorites (insert eye roll) were “cat kept eating houseplants” and “dog kept getting pregnant.”
I wish I was joking.
Rescues and shelters could go back to their original purpose of just serving the truly needy if only everyone would:
1. Think long and hard about getting a pet in the first place, including what that animal will grow up to be (in the case of a puppy or kitten), and whether their lifestyle will still be conducive to that pet in 5, 10 or 15 years. Think about how your life may change regarding moving, jobs, travel, kids, etc. Can you say for sure that the pet will fit with those plans? If not, don’t get a pet just yet.
2. Making a commitment to that animal, for better or for worse. No one ever said pet ownership was easy. When your animal acts out, forgets its housetraining or becomes ill, you owe it to yourself to fix or learn to live with those problems. If you don’t want those problems, what makes you think someone else will? No one ever walks into a shelter asking for a dog that bites or a cat who doesn’t use the litterbox.
3. Spay and neuter! Real men have their own balls. Your dog will not miss his. And your female does not need to “experience motherhood” to be fulfilled. Your kids do not need to witness “the miracle of birth” via the family dog either. I hate it when people say they want their dog or cat to have “just one litter.” Imagine if every pet had “just one litter!”
4. Be responsible about where you obtain your pet. Obviously the shelter or a rescue is the best place because you are saving a life. But if you’re going to give your money to a breeder, at least do your research and make sure that you’re funding a breeding program that was designed to improve a particular breed – and not a back yard breeder, a designer breeder, or worse – a pet store. A lot of people think they are somehow “rescuing” the sad puppy in the pet store, when they’re really just giving the store money to buy more puppies to sell.
Sorry, I tend to get a little soapboxy on this topic as it’s near and dear to my heart and something I dedicate my life to on a daily basis. But seriously folks – 4 rules to live by noted above. If everyone did that, we would not have a problem with animal overpopulation, period.