ARE YOUR PETS YOUR FAMILY OF CHOICE?

ARE YOUR PETS YOUR FAMILY OF CHOICE?

Recently I became aware of all the dog and cat rescue groups that are trying to find homes for pets who have been abandoned or picked up by the dog catcher. 

I toured a couple facilities in two different towns near me, both which were running "sales." I noticed that one shelter's web site had over 300 animals at any one time. I went there and saw maybe 50 dogs, mostly Pit Bulls and Chihuahuas. Although Pit Bulls have a bad rap, one of the Pit Bulls I saw was beautiful, healthy, expertly trained, and gentle - enough to sit with a baby. It was only two years old. But it had no collar, tags, or microchip on it, so it was listed by the street it had been picked up on. Why had no one come to pick it up? Well, the shelter employee I spoke with said something like "I've been here ten years and most of the time owners do not come in to pick up their pets, even when they are licensed and micro-chipped." 

The reason may not just be economics. Right now a lot of people are loosing homes - and backyard. People are becoming homeless. It costs to pick up your animal. Just like a car that's been impounded the fines ad up. Maybe the owner knows the dog has medical issues that will cost them. For some people getting a new animal may be less expensive. 

I think also that people are offended when a pet runs away from them, though many simply ran because they were startled by a loud sound - an earthquake, fireworks, a truck backfiring. 

(First published August 5 2012)