Today was a great day for a trip to the local shelters. A good friend of mine is looking for a life companion for his family and asked me to help. His decision upon visiting the first shelter was easy, he will adopt a shelter animal rather than feed into the insidious machine of puppy mills and pet stores.
Upon visiting our first shelter I came upon a sight that brought such sadness to my heart, I have to write about it. A young woman was ‘turning in” a Malamute… A large dog, see the pic. She seemed sad, but that just ain’t enough. Lets call this what it is, you drop your dog at the shelter, you may as well put the needle in yourself. This dog, probably about 7 years or older, weighing in at an easy 120lbs was a gentle giant. He looked optimistically at her, then at the shelter attendant. He went along and was lead into a steel box, in which he could barely stand up straight or turn around. She wiped a dramatic tear from her eye and walked away. The dog stood, looked and I’m sure wondered, “Why?”
The young ladies excuse was that her landlord would not allow her to have the dog. How convenient? Little did she know that I found out that she only got the dog 2 weeks ago. Wonder if she just moved to a new place this week? Or did she not inform herself before getting the dog. So the dog, comes out of a shelter, walks into a home, and two weeks later ends up back in the shelter. Could there be any wonder if eventually this dog ends up having mental issues? NO! This dog was also filthy, with matted hair, which means he has not been groomed or bathed. Guess people are just too busy to run a brush through their dogs hair.
Lets get something straight here, if you get a dog, you are getting RESPONSIBILITY. You don’t teach yourself responsibility through pet ownership, you are a responsible person, then you get a pet. It is not a disposable commodity, IT IS A LIFE! Get that straight! You are screwing up a life. If you don’t have the balls to own up to responsibility, get a Chia Pet.
More than a MILLION dogs will be killed this year because of Stupid People… Add to that one more.
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Adopt, rescue, foster or donate!
Kind regards,
Robert Cabral