heartbreak...

[LisaR]

Thanks for the post and reminder

I work with an animal rescue center that does all kinds of rescue - from people who are ill or have died and need placement for their canine children to dogs who are at kill shelters that call us about pets that they really don't want to put down because they feel they'd be awesome pets if we can find foster homes until permanent placement, pay for surgeries, treatments or medications that are needed, or will nurse puppies through the night because they cannot. It's so damn sad. After building a raport with those whose job it is to carry out "the sentence" I realize it's not easy for them as well and I'm glad that they call us but it makes me angrier with the person who abandons their cat because it has feline leukemia and they don't want to pay for it...or the person whose dog has gotten hit by a car and they refuse to pay the $1200 for surgery. Not only does it place a heavy burden on others' time, resources and pocket books but a heavy toll on their hearts. It's difficult to care for animals that are in pain but it's a rewarding job and I applaud all who do along with all who support them, aid them, foster for them and adopt from them.

Owning a pet is one of the most rewarding relationships you can have and along with it comes responsibilities. These including taking care of your animal in the event of illness or injury. As you mentioned above, one of the biggest is NOT breeding your animal and having it spayed or neutered. IMO, the only exception to this should be if you're raising registered animals for show. Even then, there should be limits.

I have 4 dogs that started out as fosters and I just couldn't part with them! DH and I have no children and so we've just decided to take that money we would have spent on kids and put it towards animal rescue. They are our joy but were all on "the list" at one point - one because she was pregnant with 8 puppies and her owner no longer wanted to "mess with her". Two were injured and needed surgery and the fourth was found running lose on a highway.

Please don't breed your animals and please, please, PLEASE think about adopting before you purchase a pet. We need to make room in our homes so we can foster more until they find their "forever homes".

 

[Another Janice!]

completly unintentional and unexpected...(I'll spare you the whole back story), but my husband had to go to animal control the other day (our animal control is next door to the humane society) and came home with a kitty.

His name is Mercury and while I hate cats (but I would never hurt or abuse one), my kids freaking adore him and he is a really, really good kitty.

Another one saved!

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another Janice! completly unintentional and unexpected...(I'll spare you the whole back story), but my husband had to go to animal control the other day (our animal control is next door to the humane society) and came home with a kitty. His name is Mercury and while I hate cats (but I would never hurt or abuse one), my kids freaking adore him and he is a really, really good kitty. Another one saved!

FANTASTIC. I am not a big fan of cats myself. (mainly because its hard to come across a good one the whole.. sharp as glass claw thing.. doesnt turn me on.) im glad he was rescued, and that he has a good home now!

on another note.

I got the opportunity to work with 50 something Hurricane Katrina Rescues, and let me tell you.. most of these dogs were strays and it makes me really sad, but they all have very good homes now. except for the 2 pit bulls which I grew very attached to, and they are so sweet but no one will adopt them because.. well Pitbull.. I HATE IGNORANT people , people used to come in and see his picture on our "adoptable wall" and go "Oh. hes a pitbull we better stay away from him " and that made me so sad of course with my short temper i would be like "OH actually they are both VERY FRIENDLY dogs.. I will go stick my arm in his mouth if you would like " I wish i could have more pets allowed at my condo. then again i guess its a good thing to be restricted because.. i would have tons of animals otherwise.

 

[Shimmer]

What do y'all think about California wanting to exterminate the pits?

 

[CherryFabulous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shimmer What do y'all think about California wanting to exterminate the pits?

I think its ridiculous! Its the way they are raised and more or less its the owners fault. I have many friends who have pit bulls and these are some of the sweetest dogs, they are great with their children, etc. I FIRMLY believe its how they are raised.

On the other hand....
I own 2 beautiful chow chows and according to many they are mean and horrible dogs (as a breed, not mine). As a matter of fact I have friends who wont go near them just because they are chows (granted they are large dogs) BUT all my cute babies who are now 9 years old are gonna do is lick ya to death.


AND being animal lovers my family and I have 6 cats, all who were strays that we took in or adopted from the shelter cause they were going to be put down that day! ugggh. I HATE THAT CRAP. I recently just nursed 4 baby kittens from the time they were 2 weeks old til they were 8 weeks and had good homes to go too. That included bottle feeding every two hours, having to make them potty, hand bathing them so they would stay clean and learn how to do it on their own... AND I am a student, work full time, work with the youth at my church, have a needy boyfriend (lol), and I still found time to take care of these babies and not let them die.

WOW, I think I am done there.... sorry for the rant guys, animal cruelty is just wrong.

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shimmer What do y'all think about California wanting to exterminate the pits?

afjkalsdkjfalskdfj awoeur hwqe!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
i cant even begin to ThInk about how to thiink about how mad this makes me feel


I was in a kennel with a pitbull named Isabell, when i worked at the kennels, and i was just sitting on the dog bed and she was on my lap then she stood up and put her head on my shoulder and growled at the dog in the next pin (ill admit for a split second i thought i was gonna have the side of my face ripped off) but i yelled "IZZY!!" and she rolled over on to her back in the submissive position.. and just looked at me. I could never even begin to imagine this girl being gone. she was incredibly sweet. aww.. I miss working at the kennel

 

[theleopardcake]

god i would really like to adopt a dog. i really would. perhaps, when i'm older, i'll adopt 2 of them!

 

[MissMarley]

i'm reposting this on all my blogs. i'm so sick of stupid people who refuse to pay $50 to spay or neuter their pets, and dump whole litters at the shelter. we have five cats, all rescues- one was hit by a car, one was dumped by his owner's family after the owner died, one was going to be taken to the county and dumped, one was a breeder "discard" (not good enough to show), and one was 2 weeks old and dumped in a ditch.

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO DAMN CRUEL?

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMarley WHY ARE PEOPLE SO DAMN CRUEL?

improperly raised i guess.

 

[Shimmer]

Lack of empathy.

 

[Another Janice!]

Ok...the reason my husband had to go to animal control the other day is because he went to a job (he's a cable installer) and 4 pitbulls attacked him. He has some serious bites and is facing rabies shots.

Animal control told this owner NOT TO MOVE the animals. The next day, the dogs dissappeared. It damn near took an act of congress for them to track down those dogs...and when they found the house they were at, 7 (!) pitbulls were there and came after the animal control guys.

Needless to say, these owners are going to get a serious fine and we are considering suing. These dogs will all most likely be destroyed because they are entirely too violent to be able to be adopted.

If it were a child that had been attacked, he would have certainly been dead.

It is entirely the owners fault. It sucks, but its true.

 

[Shimmer]

Yes, it's the owners' faults. There is no question of that.

I hope your husband recovers well.

 

[giz2000]

My husband refuses to go to the animal shelter with me...flat out refuses....why? Because everytime I go there, I come out with a dog! The three dogs we've had since we've been married have come from the pound or a rescue..our cat was found in the parking lot of a shopping center...I love big dogs, the bigger the better...so we always adopt the big dogs that no one wants (I don't have the patience to housebreak a puppy!)...our three dogs have been Rufus (German Shepherd), Bee (Neapolitan Mastiff) and Elvis (Neapolitan Mastiff). Rufus and Bee died in 2005 and earlier this year, respectively...

...but the time they spent with us was priceless.

If I could get my hands on a Great Dane, I'd take him home, too!! We have a big yard, but the dogs spend most of their time indoors with us (big dogs spend the day sleeping, so they don't really need much room indoors).

I always encourage people to go to the shelters to adopt their pets...wish more people would listen.

Here are my pound puppies: (the pictures of Rufus and Bee are a little small, but trust me...they were very cute and sweet!)

 

[alurabella]

I have the BEST cat in the world, adopted from my local animal shelter. she was two years old when I got her (I adopted her two months ago, right when I got married). I always feel sad for the "adult" cats, since kittens are MUCH more liekly to get a home... there was a whole litter being adopted out when I went in, but my precious Clea stole my ehart away.

Another another side... I had a bunny for two years, but my husband was allergic to him. *cries* I still miss him so much... but I made SURE he went to a good home. His new mommy lets him run fre around the house (supervised) and I still get updates on his wellbeing.

 

[Uchina]

Comparing pet ownership to slavery is an insult to anyone who has been in that sort of horrible situation- from the dawn of time to present day.

 

[Hilly]

Wow....I found this thread and think it needs to be bumped up.

I am adopting a cat for Christmas and am ecstatic! I just really want to save a cat's life from the harsh reality of a shelter. Hell, I'll take the ugliest cat (though there are no "ugly" pets...) even a cat with one eye. Someone who I can love and who will love me back. Unconditionally!

 

[clslvr6spd]

I have rescued 5 dogs from animal shelters, 2 of them passed a couple years back. My 3 babies; Ozzy (pit/boxer), Hukah (beagle mix) and Yeager (pharaoh Hound). All of the dogs I have rescued have been the best and sweetest dogs! Now I want to go down to my shelter and adopt more!

One thing that really peeves me is people going after the pits, every one that I have owned or been around have been the sweetest things ever!

 

[gigglegirl]

Thank you for bumping this thread up as I don't know when I would have eventually stumbled upon this. wow...I could barely read the whole thing, I was crying. I've loved my dogs with all my heart and it just reinforces the fact to me that I want to go to the shelter and adopt some more dogs! I'm too emotional of a person, I don't think I could volunteer at one, the putting down of the animals would absolutely kill me. Without a doubt, it was hard enough to put the family dog down after her being in the family for about 13 years as she had extensive cancer and old age and could barely walk....

Ugh and it infuriates me how people can just freaking eliminate a member of their family b/c its either doing something wrong or just too big or whatever. My friend did this b/c her boyfriend she was moving in with didn't like dogs as he was attacked as a kid, but luckily her aunt took the dog b/c her cousins grew attached to them.

Another thing that pisses me off is when people leave their dogs outside 24-7 especially considering I live in the centre of Canada where winters regularly go to minus 25-35*C not even factoring in windchill. The dogs that are left out are definitely not any kind of Arctic breed and they wonder a) why the dog isn't a guard dog as it barks at everything that does or doesn't move and b) why its paws are sore/whining/bleeding. Okay I've ranted enough......sorry for the long ramblings!

 

[purrtykitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hilly Wow....I found this thread and think it needs to be bumped up. I am adopting a cat for Christmas and am ecstatic! I just really want to save a cat's life from the harsh reality of a shelter. Hell, I'll take the ugliest cat (though there are no "ugly" pets...) even a cat with one eye. Someone who I can love and who will love me back. Unconditionally!

I had a cat for 17 years that was the sweetest cat EVER...oh, and by the way...some mindless shitheads put his eye out when he was a young, trusting kitten. The tw*ts that owned him (before we got him) would toss his little behind out of their apartment for the day and he was left to wander. Nevermind the fact that he was a less than 3 month-old kitten and they lived across the street from a junior high...asswipes. Of course (you all saw it coming, didn't you) these poor excuses for humans called him over and then proceeded to swing him around by his tail and then one maggot put his cigarette out in the kitten's eye!!!

My grandmother (a librarian at the school) saw this all happen in the matter of a few seconds. She ran out in a fury and scooped up the kitten and brought him into the school. She tried to get the kids to turn on that one maggot, but no one would. I'm hoping by now he's rotting in prison...since hurting animals is just the first step to becoming a sociopath, but I digress. Long story short (yeah, right), my grandmother called my mom, and asked her to take this kitten. She couldn't keep him b/c of her allergies and any shelter would've taken one look at him and destroyed him. Coincidentally, I'd been begging for a kitten of my own (I was all of 3 at the time), so she said yes. And he came to live a long, happy life with us. Hobo (that's what my grandma named him because he was all black, with white toes and black spots, so it looked like he had holes in his socks!) and I were inseperable. When I went to summer camp, he would spend all day at the end of our driveway waiting for me to come home, and my dad would have to go out at night to bring him in. He was my best bud for 17 years!!

I could go on and on about stray animals. I wish I could save everyone. I even tried this summer...we had a family of cats (mom and 4 kittens) in our backyard. We fed them and we even named them. We eventually captured them in the hopes that our (in)Humane Society would fix them and adopt them out (or at least re-release them). But when I called a few days later, I found out that they had destroyed them because they were considered feral. I was crushed

(yes, I bawled...and I even missed a day of school because I was so upset) because they originally told me nothing of destroying the cats.

Anyway, those are my long, depressing stories...and I highly encourage anyone who is looking for a new furry friend to adopt from their local shelter.

 

[*KT*]

Thanks for bumping this thread. It's heartbreaking for me to be reminded of what so many abandoned dogs face, especially since one of my two is a rescue.

Veka was purchased at the age of 3 months to be a Search & Rescue dog. The guy who bought her had never done S&R work before and he researched it well enough to know which breeds were good at it but didn't research well enough to learn that you really shouldn't buy a dog for work purposes until it's old enough to determine whether it has strong working drives or not. He also really wanted a white german shepherd, not a belgian malinois, but he was too impatient to wait for the other breed to be available for him to buy... so when she aged a few more months and it become apparent that she had very little drive to do work, she was given up. Thank GOD she was given to a woman who's involved in Malinois rescue work in North Carolina instead of a shelter.

We'd been watching the malinoisrescue.org to find the right dog-sibling for Riley and when I saw her and read her summary, I knew we had to go get her. Bunch of e-mails, phone calls, adoption application, and a long drive from Michigan to North Carolina & back, she's our dog now.

Poor thing spent four months with the breeder, four months with her first owner, and then two months in rescue before coming to our home. I think she's finally realizing that she gets to stay here with us forever. She's still scared of feet (unless they're poking out of the bedcovers, then she licks 'em!) and is hesitant around people she doesn't know (unless they've got yummy treats). We have a membership at a huge dog park, so we hang out there for a couple hours on Saturdays and Sundays and it's helping her get more comfortable with the people she sees at the park. She adores other dogs and will play with any who responds to her "play bow". She's so eager to please that training her is so easy. She stole our hearts and it's unfathomable to us that someone gave her up!

I'm one of those who doesn't want children, but fuzzy kids are a totally different story. Sometimes I think the fuzzy four-legged kids (the ones who are treated well) are the only creatures capable of unconditional love.

Here are my 'kids'. Veka on the left and Riley on the right. Single picture is Veka running at the park. http://home.comcast.net/~nhmark/RileyVeka.JPG