Man's Best Friend

For many people, pets are as much a part of their family as the human members.  I'm no exception with my two kitties.  At one time, I had two dogs, three cats and two fish tanks.  We were just a big happy furry, waggy, purry, swimmy bunch!  Most of my friends have pets as well and they often get Christmas gifts from my pets and vice versa.  I even have pictures of other people's pets on my phone.  Owning an animal is a major undertaking.  They must be fed regularly, have checkups and shots, their living spaces need to be cleaned, they need to be groomed and some must be exercised long and often.  Why is it then that some people take on owning an animal without doing any planning or research?  A good friend of mine owns a dog that once belonged to a relative.  This relative was out with her kids one day and came across a group of rescue dogs up for adoption.  She decided on the spot to adopt one, bring it home, toss it out into the back yard with a large dog they already owned and feed them out of the same bowl.  She couldn't understand why the older dog became so aggressive and why the new dog spent all its time cowering in the corner.  Duh!   If my friend hadn't taken the dog, it would have ended up back in the shelter because "it just didn't work out."  I also just love the people who decide to get a pet to "teach their kids responsibility."  That's right, take a little kid who's never been responsible for a single thing in his entire life and has no concept of time and only a shaky concept of consequences and put him in charge of feeding, watering, exercising and cleaning up after a living, breathing creature.  At first it will be fun to take care of the new pet, but after a few days, chances are the kid would rather play than be responsible.  At first it won't be such a big deal to remind him, but after a few weeks, chances are the parents will be sick of nagging.  Best case scenario is the parents end up taking care of the animal.  Worst case scenario is the animal goes to the shelter.  You'd be surprised how many shelters hear this story.  Maybe you should teach your kid responsibility and THEN get a pet.  Just a thought.  Then there are the people who decide to own an exotic pet like a boa constrictor without realizing that they can grow to over 10 feet long and live as long as 30 years and require very specific living conditions and food.  When it gets to be too much, they'll just let the snake go figuring it will go back to its natural environment.  Unfortunately, releasing a boa out into the wild is releasing a new species into the ecosystem resulting in havoc on the existing wildlife and that's if the snake survives.  I knew a girl who decided that she wanted to breed a certain type of hunting dog so she bought a male and female with no clue how to go about breeding them.  Her husband was active duty and they got orders to move, so she took the dogs several miles away and dumped them.  Her rationale was "Someone will find them and give them a good home."  Chances of that happening were pretty slim.  I stopped talking to her after that.  My favorite people are the ones who own a pet for many years and then find out that they're pregnant.  Suddenly, the pet must go!  They post flyers and ads saying things like "Sweet, well behaved pet to good home.  After many years of trying, we're finally pregnant!  We just won't have time for a pet and a new baby."  More animals end up in shelters for this reason than you'd imagine.  People who work in shelters and foster animals in their homes are beyond disgusted at this one.  It's as if the pet was a substitute for a baby and now that there's a real baby, the pet can be disposed of like a disposable camera, disposable contacts and disposable diapers.  Certain countries in other parts of the world eat animals we consider pets.  Sometimes I think their ethics are more honest.  At least they're up front about what they do while people here talk a good game, but treat animals with a cavalier and contemptible attitude.  People behaving badly.