Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
Dec 5th 2007, 3:55 pm
#16
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,182
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
You can't save them all; I know my wife tried. We have 4 cats, 2 dogs and 2 horses. I bought my horse here, and brought my cat from the UK. All the others are rescue. A 3 legged cat that has asthma, a cat with no ears, a cat with social problems (now much improved), a neurotic cat saved from a traffic accident, a partially blind wolf, a dog that was scared of everyone and everything, a horse from the racetrack. You can only do so much.
She is faced with having to euthanize animals daily; I would find this incredible difficult, but for an animal lover like my wife I can't pretend to know how that feels
She wants "a house with land"; I already understand, and am coming to terms with what that will mean. She is undergoing a grueling internship with really long hours, so I am primary caretaker of all the 'furry children'.
A typical morning:
get up and let dogs out, go to bathroom and turn water tap on for little cat to drink from (she has kidney problems and my wife insists I entertain this habit of the cat drinking from the tap when I get up), then let one cat out front door and one out the back door, collect pills for dog (try and persuade dog to eat pills by covering them in catfood), let cat back in the front door, feed 3 legged cat on a shelf away from others, fill ouside dogs water bowl and let cat in, feed other cats together, then feed dogs, fill inside water bowl, empty cat litter trays (3), pick up 'dog logs' from garden, give dogs rawhide bones to chew whilst I get ready for work, grab 3 legged cat and administer asthma inhaler, let cat out front door again, take a shower and get ready for work, let dogs in (if hot put in a room with A.C., if cold a room with a heater on), let cat back in front door before heading to work - finally checking everyone is inside. My arrival home from work is somewhat similar in chores . . .
She is faced with having to euthanize animals daily; I would find this incredible difficult, but for an animal lover like my wife I can't pretend to know how that feels
She wants "a house with land"; I already understand, and am coming to terms with what that will mean. She is undergoing a grueling internship with really long hours, so I am primary caretaker of all the 'furry children'.
A typical morning:
get up and let dogs out, go to bathroom and turn water tap on for little cat to drink from (she has kidney problems and my wife insists I entertain this habit of the cat drinking from the tap when I get up), then let one cat out front door and one out the back door, collect pills for dog (try and persuade dog to eat pills by covering them in catfood), let cat back in the front door, feed 3 legged cat on a shelf away from others, fill ouside dogs water bowl and let cat in, feed other cats together, then feed dogs, fill inside water bowl, empty cat litter trays (3), pick up 'dog logs' from garden, give dogs rawhide bones to chew whilst I get ready for work, grab 3 legged cat and administer asthma inhaler, let cat out front door again, take a shower and get ready for work, let dogs in (if hot put in a room with A.C., if cold a room with a heater on), let cat back in front door before heading to work - finally checking everyone is inside. My arrival home from work is somewhat similar in chores . . .
Dec 5th 2007, 5:08 pm
#17
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere south of New York
Posts: 541
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
It makes me so angry that people frequently take pets into their homes, and turn them back when their cuteness has worn off, abandoning them without much thought.
I've just spent the past half hour paging through Petfinder, and looking at all of the animals that have been abandoned by their families ... because of a move, too much energy, puppy behavior, inconvenience, etc. No doubt after Christmas there will be more.
It's a shame that this isn't spoken about more often than it is. Last year one of my co-workers was in a panic because her dog was lost. It turned up at the local pound and while she collected their dog with great relief, she told me that there was a line of people giving up their animals before the holidays. :curse:
I bet 99.9% of those animals never saw the light of day again.
Tonight I ended up sponsoring a pooch I used to walk when I volunteered at a local no-kill shelter. He's a sweetie but hard to adopt as he is blind. It breaks my heart that after 2 years he still doesn't have a home. If we didn't already have 4 pets, I'd take him home in a heartbeat. Former owners turned him over to a shelter when he was 10 months old, and the shelter workers quickly realized something was wrong when he was walking into walls, etc. at their office. When they called the former owners to ask if they knew he was blind, they said "oh, we just thought he was clumsy" :curse:
It made me think tonight, that instead of wracking my brain for things I want for Christmas that I don't really need ... maybe I can do a little good in the world instead.
Thanks to anyone reading who has given a home to an animal in need.
I've just spent the past half hour paging through Petfinder, and looking at all of the animals that have been abandoned by their families ... because of a move, too much energy, puppy behavior, inconvenience, etc. No doubt after Christmas there will be more.
It's a shame that this isn't spoken about more often than it is. Last year one of my co-workers was in a panic because her dog was lost. It turned up at the local pound and while she collected their dog with great relief, she told me that there was a line of people giving up their animals before the holidays. :curse:
I bet 99.9% of those animals never saw the light of day again.
Tonight I ended up sponsoring a pooch I used to walk when I volunteered at a local no-kill shelter. He's a sweetie but hard to adopt as he is blind. It breaks my heart that after 2 years he still doesn't have a home. If we didn't already have 4 pets, I'd take him home in a heartbeat. Former owners turned him over to a shelter when he was 10 months old, and the shelter workers quickly realized something was wrong when he was walking into walls, etc. at their office. When they called the former owners to ask if they knew he was blind, they said "oh, we just thought he was clumsy" :curse:
It made me think tonight, that instead of wracking my brain for things I want for Christmas that I don't really need ... maybe I can do a little good in the world instead.
Thanks to anyone reading who has given a home to an animal in need.
Dec 5th 2007, 5:10 pm
#18
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,105
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
You can't save them all; I know my wife tried. We have 4 cats, 2 dogs and 2 horses. I bought my horse here, and brought my cat from the UK. All the others are rescue. A 3 legged cat that has asthma, a cat with no ears, a cat with social problems (now much improved), a neurotic cat saved from a traffic accident, a partially blind wolf, a dog that was scared of everyone and everything, a horse from the racetrack. You can only do so much.
She is faced with having to euthanize animals daily; I would find this incredible difficult, but for an animal lover like my wife I can't pretend to know how that feels
She wants "a house with land"; I already understand, and am coming to terms with what that will mean. She is undergoing a grueling internship with really long hours, so I am primary caretaker of all the 'furry children'.
A typical morning:
get up and let dogs out, go to bathroom and turn water tap on for little cat to drink from (she has kidney problems and my wife insists I entertain this habit of the cat drinking from the tap when I get up), then let one cat out front door and one out the back door, collect pills for dog (try and persuade dog to eat pills by covering them in catfood), let cat back in the front door, feed 3 legged cat on a shelf away from others, fill ouside dogs water bowl and let cat in, feed other cats together, then feed dogs, fill inside water bowl, empty cat litter trays (3), pick up 'dog logs' from garden, give dogs rawhide bones to chew whilst I get ready for work, grab 3 legged cat and administer asthma inhaler, let cat out front door again, take a shower and get ready for work, let dogs in (if hot put in a room with A.C., if cold a room with a heater on), let cat back in front door before heading to work - finally checking everyone is inside. My arrival home from work is somewhat similar in chores . . .
She is faced with having to euthanize animals daily; I would find this incredible difficult, but for an animal lover like my wife I can't pretend to know how that feels
She wants "a house with land"; I already understand, and am coming to terms with what that will mean. She is undergoing a grueling internship with really long hours, so I am primary caretaker of all the 'furry children'.
A typical morning:
get up and let dogs out, go to bathroom and turn water tap on for little cat to drink from (she has kidney problems and my wife insists I entertain this habit of the cat drinking from the tap when I get up), then let one cat out front door and one out the back door, collect pills for dog (try and persuade dog to eat pills by covering them in catfood), let cat back in the front door, feed 3 legged cat on a shelf away from others, fill ouside dogs water bowl and let cat in, feed other cats together, then feed dogs, fill inside water bowl, empty cat litter trays (3), pick up 'dog logs' from garden, give dogs rawhide bones to chew whilst I get ready for work, grab 3 legged cat and administer asthma inhaler, let cat out front door again, take a shower and get ready for work, let dogs in (if hot put in a room with A.C., if cold a room with a heater on), let cat back in front door before heading to work - finally checking everyone is inside. My arrival home from work is somewhat similar in chores . . .
Dec 5th 2007, 5:24 pm
#19
Lapine Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Austin, Texas in my own little world
Posts: 21,691
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
A coincidence....
my mother phoned in tears last night because one of her outdoor cats was hit by a car. She found him in the front garden in terrible pain and went inside to grab purse to take him to the vet.... but when she got back, he was gone.
The only reason she has any outdoor cats is that the house is literally full.... over ten cats. She can't bear to take them to the "shelter" where they will be almost certainly euthanised, and in her neighbourhood most people DON'T spay/neuter their cats and there are abandoned litters all the time.
Now my parents' lives revolve around the cats -- they can't both visit at the holidays because someone's got to take care of the cats.
We have two adopted-from-the-shelter cats and my mother thinks we should have more because we've got a bigger house, but we have far less time, and I'm highly allergic to cats. Having only two keeps the allergen load reasonable; having more would be very hard.
My mother is in despair about the fact that most people there will not "fix" their pets.
Two of our cats came from the King Ranch, where a litter had been abandoned to die with no food or water, miles from anywhere, by the side of the road. We rescued them, but not before one disappeared and another was attacked by fire ants and died.
my mother phoned in tears last night because one of her outdoor cats was hit by a car. She found him in the front garden in terrible pain and went inside to grab purse to take him to the vet.... but when she got back, he was gone.
The only reason she has any outdoor cats is that the house is literally full.... over ten cats. She can't bear to take them to the "shelter" where they will be almost certainly euthanised, and in her neighbourhood most people DON'T spay/neuter their cats and there are abandoned litters all the time.
Now my parents' lives revolve around the cats -- they can't both visit at the holidays because someone's got to take care of the cats.
We have two adopted-from-the-shelter cats and my mother thinks we should have more because we've got a bigger house, but we have far less time, and I'm highly allergic to cats. Having only two keeps the allergen load reasonable; having more would be very hard.
My mother is in despair about the fact that most people there will not "fix" their pets.
Two of our cats came from the King Ranch, where a litter had been abandoned to die with no food or water, miles from anywhere, by the side of the road. We rescued them, but not before one disappeared and another was attacked by fire ants and died.
Dec 5th 2007, 5:34 pm
#20
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Aspen, CO
Posts: 9,845
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
I used to go to the local animal shelter and borrow a dog to take for a walk, I just wanted to bring them all home! Now I feel torn between taking them out and ignoring the place.. I already have a dog the size of a horse..
Dec 6th 2007, 12:11 am
#21
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,903
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
It makes me so angry that people frequently take pets into their homes, and turn them back when their cuteness has worn off, abandoning them without much thought.
I've just spent the past half hour paging through Petfinder, and looking at all of the animals that have been abandoned by their families ... because of a move, too much energy, puppy behavior, inconvenience, etc. No doubt after Christmas there will be more.
It's a shame that this isn't spoken about more often than it is. Last year one of my co-workers was in a panic because her dog was lost. It turned up at the local pound and while she collected their dog with great relief, she told me that there was a line of people giving up their animals before the holidays. :curse:
I bet 99.9% of those animals never saw the light of day again.
Tonight I ended up sponsoring a pooch I used to walk when I volunteered at a local no-kill shelter. He's a sweetie but hard to adopt as he is blind. It breaks my heart that after 2 years he still doesn't have a home. If we didn't already have 4 pets, I'd take him home in a heartbeat. Former owners turned him over to a shelter when he was 10 months old, and the shelter workers quickly realized something was wrong when he was walking into walls, etc. at their office. When they called the former owners to ask if they knew he was blind, they said "oh, we just thought he was clumsy" :curse:
It made me think tonight, that instead of wracking my brain for things I want for Christmas that I don't really need ... maybe I can do a little good in the world instead.
Thanks to anyone reading who has given a home to an animal in need.
I've just spent the past half hour paging through Petfinder, and looking at all of the animals that have been abandoned by their families ... because of a move, too much energy, puppy behavior, inconvenience, etc. No doubt after Christmas there will be more.
It's a shame that this isn't spoken about more often than it is. Last year one of my co-workers was in a panic because her dog was lost. It turned up at the local pound and while she collected their dog with great relief, she told me that there was a line of people giving up their animals before the holidays. :curse:
I bet 99.9% of those animals never saw the light of day again.
Tonight I ended up sponsoring a pooch I used to walk when I volunteered at a local no-kill shelter. He's a sweetie but hard to adopt as he is blind. It breaks my heart that after 2 years he still doesn't have a home. If we didn't already have 4 pets, I'd take him home in a heartbeat. Former owners turned him over to a shelter when he was 10 months old, and the shelter workers quickly realized something was wrong when he was walking into walls, etc. at their office. When they called the former owners to ask if they knew he was blind, they said "oh, we just thought he was clumsy" :curse:
It made me think tonight, that instead of wracking my brain for things I want for Christmas that I don't really need ... maybe I can do a little good in the world instead.
Thanks to anyone reading who has given a home to an animal in need.
I know how you feel except we have birds. A bird is like a two year old for their entire life! We had a lovebird the local kids found outside, he died last year. A quaker who got to rowdy for his other owners. A quaker and a nanday that were given to our sons. Most recent addition is a blue front amazon who was abandoned at a pet shop in his carrier!!! My son was there at the time and they said he could take him home. They did not really know if we even knew how to take care of him. He had feather loss on his tummy and was in generally miserable condition. He has been with us since March and his feathers are back and he is has bonded with my daughter. I always advise people not to get birds because of the toddler attitude, need for attention, and lifespan. They think it is strange but I don't want them to change their mind after 6 months, birds bond with their owners and grieve for them when given up. Yes my house is very noisey! The blue front even has two different dog barks he picked up before we got him!
Dec 6th 2007, 12:34 am
#22
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Chino, CA
Posts: 153
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
We got a rescue cat a few weeks ago and are looking to get a dog as well - although I think we'll wait until the commotion of Christmas has died down first (sounds like there will be plenty to choose from in the New Year).
I've been looking on the shelter websites and I noticed that the adoption forms ask how long you think you'll keep the animal. I find this a bit bizarre as if you take a pet, surely it must be for life (although maybe its just my attitude).
I've been looking on the shelter websites and I noticed that the adoption forms ask how long you think you'll keep the animal. I find this a bit bizarre as if you take a pet, surely it must be for life (although maybe its just my attitude).
Dec 6th 2007, 12:47 am
#23
In yonder hills
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: Nr. Lincoln, England
Posts: 4,132
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
Worth a study in its own right.
---
Dec 6th 2007, 1:25 am
#24
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 307
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
We have a cat we adopted from our local animal shelter who was a year old at the time and had been waiting for a home for several months (see my avatar for a picture!). The people at the shelter just couldn't understand why she hadn't found a home as she was very loving and calm, but she was also a black and white cat (apparently, these are hard to find homes for) and she was not a kitten. My kids and I fell in love with her immediately -- in fact, neither of my children even paid much attention to the many kittens that were also available for adoption. She is a wonderful cat and very good with both my girls (ages 8 and 5) -- one of the advantages I've always thought to getting an older pet is that you have a better idea of their type of personality.
I aplaud all of you who have chosen to adopt a pet or pets from a shelter or taken in a stray animal.
I aplaud all of you who have chosen to adopt a pet or pets from a shelter or taken in a stray animal.
Last edited by Neathborn; Dec 6th 2007 at 1:25 am. Reason: spelling mistake
Dec 6th 2007, 1:50 am
#25
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Avon Lake, OH
Posts: 5,270
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
It's a true thing and not good. My wife, and me to a certain extent, volunteers at a no kill cat shelter and the stories that I hear are horrible. They impose their own sanctions on when they will adopt and who they will adopt to. They wont adopt out black cats around Halloween and they wont adopt out around Christmas. For Christmas they print up certificates and suggest that if you really want to give a kitten at Christmas you buy all the paraphernalia to put under the tree along with the certificate and then have the whole family go back after Christmas and New Year to pick out the cat together. She was also saying how she had 20 messages the other day all asking for very, very specific cats and all had to be under 8 weeks. One called her up at 6:30am. She also said last Christmas she had people calling her all through the night and all through Christmas day from people desperate to adopt a cat for Christmas. Needless to say none of them were called back or offered a chance at adoption at that time.
Anyone in the Cleveland area who wants to adopt a cat (and look after them) or volunteer, let me know!
Anyone in the Cleveland area who wants to adopt a cat (and look after them) or volunteer, let me know!
Dec 6th 2007, 2:11 am
#26
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,903
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
My neighbour has 10 cats, one of them keeps getting out and having kittens. When she opens her windows you can smell her house from ours. Workmen that come over are gagging when they come out.
Dec 6th 2007, 2:18 am
#27
Last orders please...
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Way down deep in the middle of the Jungle..
Posts: 6,154
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
I can't go near shelters...I always end up blubbering and asking my dad if we could please take them all home...
all my dad's pets over the years have been either rescues or strays...he currently has just 1 cat (as the dogs have both passed away) but he's always said that he's going to wait till retirement age and then go get a rescue dog thats old so then they'll be at the same pace and he'll have plenty of time to spend with it...and IMO I think its for the companionship as well.
all my dad's pets over the years have been either rescues or strays...he currently has just 1 cat (as the dogs have both passed away) but he's always said that he's going to wait till retirement age and then go get a rescue dog thats old so then they'll be at the same pace and he'll have plenty of time to spend with it...and IMO I think its for the companionship as well.
Dec 6th 2007, 2:45 am
#28
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: My Old KY Home!
Posts: 6,498
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
We just adopted ourselves a puppy about a month ago from Petsmart. She's about 7mo old and we do not understand why anyone would have wanted to give her up. We loved her on sight. Only bad thing is, my allergies have started to act up since we got her, and I really hope that I'm not allergic to her. This is my first dog, so I don't know if I'm allergic to dogs.
I'm thinking about doing some volunteering at a shelter. I'd love to adopt more animals, but we're considering moving back to Britain in a few years and I don't know how expensive it will be to take the animals with us.
I know we can always foster them instead. How does fostering generally work? Do we just take care of the dog/cat until someone decides to adopt him/her? What happens if no one wants to adopt them? Does fostering then go on indefinitely?
I'm thinking about doing some volunteering at a shelter. I'd love to adopt more animals, but we're considering moving back to Britain in a few years and I don't know how expensive it will be to take the animals with us.
I know we can always foster them instead. How does fostering generally work? Do we just take care of the dog/cat until someone decides to adopt him/her? What happens if no one wants to adopt them? Does fostering then go on indefinitely?
Dec 6th 2007, 2:57 am
#29
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Avon Lake, OH
Posts: 5,270
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
We had 2 cats. One day I was at the shelter and holding a 2 month old kitten who had been brought in a couple of weeks earlier with a badly smashed face, either kicked in the face or thrown against a wall. She was very lonely and the shelter owner asked if we wanted to foster her until she was fully better and able to be adopted. After thinking about it we took her home. We now have 3 cats. We will also not be fostering again!
Dec 6th 2007, 3:21 am
#30
now I know my J,C,B's
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: NE Ohio
Posts: 2,215
Re: Disposable pets ... a tragedy that doesn't get the press it deserves
I'd be bringing a new home every week if I did
2 of ours are rescues, which we got as kittens from the cat shelter in Scotland. Many people suggested that we put them up for adoption when we were in the getting ready to leave phase, but we consider them as part of the family so that was never gonna happen. So 4 crates later they all made it here a tad peeved, but I think they've forgiven us
