Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just recently I've started watching the Fort Worth Animal Control urgent animals facebook. The list of animals on the euthanasia list pretty much everyday is overwhelming. Almost all of them are animals who would have been good pets if they had gotten a chance. I think if people really understood how many good, adoptable animals die because there just aren't enough homes for them all, they might reconsider giving up so easily on a family pet.
(And maybe even spay/neuter their pet!)
Hopefully this video will remind people that getting a dog is a lifetime commitment. It is so sad to see people advertising their pets on Craigslist because now the pet is inconvenient...they are moving, got another pet etc. I wish people would think long-term when they see an adorable pup or kitten, but sadly many do not. I think one of the worst excuses is "my landlord won 't let me keep it"....duh, how about asking FIRST? So many excuses....
Unfortunately the economy has created much of the current mess. Many responsible pet owners found themselves facing homelessness with no where for the beloved pet to go. Yes there are those who "think" they want a dog and find out just how much of a commitment it is. However, I've hear way too many stories and get emails daily of someone new loosing their home and must find homes for their pets.
I would live in my car with my dogs before I ever gave them up.
It's not just that, many of these people have zero funds, they've gone through their savings and are loosing not only their homes but cars etc. In my area the church charities are overwhelmed, there are very few resources, such as homeless shelters and as you know none will let you take a pet.
I almost became one of them, at 60 I had to re-home a dog and cat because I was days from becoming homeless, loosing everything, I had no more money to feed them or care for them. I can't tell you how heartbreaking it was. I was fortunate that a friend helped out at the last minute, but by then I'd already re-homed my pets. I'm still scraping by at a really crappy job, minimum wage, no guarenteed hours. My story is not unique. I know in some parts of the country things are looking up, but in my area we still have over 10% unemployment, jobs are very scarce even at fast food and retail. Just yesterday a friend told me they had over 600 applications for a clerk job within 24 hours with the county.
I live in an area where living outside can be brutal during much of the year because of the heat and humidity, at my age I can get heat stroke with in 10 minutes after being outside.
As I said before I get almost daily emails from some of my local groups of another person loosing their home and can no longer keep their beloved pets. The latest one was tragic, 3 different elderly people were being sent to skilled living facilities and their families couldn't take their pets so a total 4 cats and 3 dogs were looking for homes many of these pets are elderly. Our few and far in between animal shelters are packed and my county doesn't even have one. In the last 2 weeks we've had 2 dogs dumped on our rural road, another friend said some one dumped 7 puppies in front of their road (this one was obviously a careless breeding issue). But the 2 that were dumped on my road we were able to catch, one a very young BC and another fairly young Bichion, fortunately my one neighbor has a family member that lives in a county that will take animals, they go out and check your license plate to make sure if you bring in a pet. I couldn't even foster another animal and pay for vet visit ect. Last month I cleared less than $400. Odie and I scrape by and another mouth to feed would be impossible. In my county if they come pick up a stray they will charge you $50. and also for any vet bills that might happen. I found this out from my good hearted mechanic who called them and eventually ended up with a $500. bill - I know I couldn't pay that right now.
Hopefully this video will remind people that getting a dog is a lifetime commitment. It is so sad to see people advertising their pets on Craigslist because now the pet is inconvenient...they are moving, got another pet etc. I wish people would think long-term when they see an adorable pup or kitten, but sadly many do not. I think one of the worst excuses is "my landlord won 't let me keep it"....duh, how about asking FIRST? So many excuses....
Typically, this is when somebody has had to move, in all fairness. That said, it is a big reason we waited until we were no longer renters to get a dog.
Unfortunately the economy has created much of the current mess. Many responsible pet owners found themselves facing homelessness with no where for the beloved pet to go. Yes there are those who "think" they want a dog and find out just how much of a commitment it is. However, I've hear way too many stories and get emails daily of someone new loosing their home and must find homes for their pets.
I think this is accurate. In hard times I think pets bear a disproportionate brunt. But people also have to consider their priorities, normal people know when it's time to say goodbye to a pet even though it hurts.
Irrational people hang on to pets when it negatively affects other parts of their lives. Like animal horders ect. These are the people who should never have a dog but this is a free country and you cannot legislate people's families.
I think this is accurate. In hard times I think pets bear a disproportionate brunt. But people also have to consider their priorities, normal people know when it's time to say goodbye to a pet even though it hurts.
Irrational people hang on to pets when it negatively affects other parts of their lives. Like animal horders ect. These are the people who should never have a dog but this is a free country and you cannot legislate people's families.
There are all kinds of laws about how pets are cared for.
There are all kinds of laws about how pets are cared for.
And families too
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
