A Very Important Rant

Class, pay attention. This is very important.

Ahem *stands on soapbox*

1) Neutering your male dog or cat will not take away his masculinity, make him a pansy dog, or make him lazy & fat. Spaying your female dog or cat will not make her fat and lazy, and letting her have a "litter" will not calm her down. However, not spaying or neutering WILL leave you with 10,000 puppies or kittens. Yes it is your fault, even if your dog gives birth on someone else's property.

2) It is not acceptable to dump puppies or kittens at people's doorsteps, or in ditches, or places I shudder to think about, or worse, "take care" of them yourself with some horrible means of death. All that because you shirked your responsibility as a pet owner. NO ONE else should have to go to the expense & trouble of finding good loving homes for YOUR animals that should never have been born in the first place when there are so many homeless pets out there. But you prey upon people with a shred of decency and a heart. And who suffers the most here? The innocent animals, who did nothing to deserve the life you sentenced them to when you dumped them off. The animals who are scared & unsure what to do, who are hurt, run over, sick, or tortured by bored kids. I know times are hard, but this is never acceptable in any way, shape, or form. I wonder how you can sleep at night.

3) It is ALSO not acceptable to turn your dog or cat loose for any reason, whether it's so he can "roam", you can't be bothered to secure him appropriately, or you can no longer afford to care for him and you think it's better to let him loose and "give him a chance" rather than take him to the pound. You are not giving him a chance. You are dooming him to the same scary, pitiful, sad and likely short life the kittens/puppies in #2 are facing. I think we should be allowed to drop you off, Mr. or Mrs. Pet Owner, in the middle of Baghdad or Afghanistan with no food, water, or directions to get home because we as Americans can't take care of you anymore. How does THAT sound?

4) You might think animals are nothing more than property or something to own, but they are God's creatures as much as we are. I know in my heart God makes special notes about people who treat animals as such, with no heart or love. It's no better than torturing an animal, so don't kid yourself.

5) Yes, the pound should be the last option, especially if they have a short holding period before euthanization. But did you know that there are these magical little places called "no-kill shelters" and "rescues" that DO exist, even though you might think they are myth. I know it's a struggle to pick up the phone to call them or get online & Google them or contact local vets to get their names, but I think you can manage. More often than not, these people will work with you to get the animal to a safe place. You might have to suck it up for a week or two, but if you make an effort, you can usually find someplace for the animal that is not the pound or the side of the road.

6) There are also places that offer low-cost spay and neuter. Mobile units, vets, certain shelters that also provide spay/neuter. CALL AROUND. It's not that difficult to at least dial the phone & open the phone book (see #5). And if you can't find a low-cost option, start putting that $5 you spend at Starbucks each day or that $20 you spend on bi-weekly manicures in a jar and start saving up. Taking on the responsibility of a pet means you do whatever you can to ensure it is taken care of, and sometimes that means sacrificing on your end.

So the lesson for today? Get your head out of your ass & take responsibility for your pets. Take the best care of your animal that you can, and when you can't, do everything in your power to make sure the pet will be safe & happy in a new home.

SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS

Class dismissed.

There's a sweet little stray dog hanging around the house that won't go away. He has no tags. We can't take in another dog (we've already adopted 2 neighborhood strays, Churchill & Lupin), but it just breaks my heart to doom this little innocent dog to the pound and a likely death because some idiot redneck in my backwoods hometown can't be bothered to be responsible for his animals.

We found a leash, some food & some water for him. Tomorrow Adam is taking him in for vaccinations & a checkup, and if all is well, we're going to introduce him to Churchy & Lupy & see how they get along. I've contacted a fantastic local shelter, and should hopefully only have to foster him for a few weeks before they can take him. (Cross your fingers)

See? IT'S NOT HARD, you lazy redneck fools.