heartbreak...

[slowhoney]

First off, I am against breeding too. I think it's cruel, unnecessary and thoughtless when there are so many other animals already out there who need homes. Also, a shelter should be your first choice when it comes to getting a "pet" (I say this in quotations because animals are more than just pets to me, they are my companions). As much as I love animals, I could not being myself to work in a pet store. And to this day, I have never "purchased" an animal (to me, paying for an animal is just as messed up as paying for a human). People really, really need to think about what goes on at shelters and how much better it is to get a pet from there before going to a pet store. As you mentioned, there IS a time limit for these poor creatures.

And again I stress this point... to me, there is no difference between animals and humans. So if you discriminate against an animal for being a pit bull, for being a stray, etc., it is just as unacceptable as being an adoptive parent and saying you do not want a black/white/older/etc. child (it is so offensive to me that so many adoptive parents only want babies--you should want to adopt the child that needs you the most, and this goes for pets too). I've seen a lot of dog shows on television and they make me sick. To bring an animal into your home and make it part of your family is one thing; to breed a specific dog you can show off and make money with is another, and completely immoral and cruel. I have seen the way some of these dog show dog owners treat their pets and how moronic their expectations are for an innocent creature--it is revolting. I am not saying all show dog dog owners are bad owners, but I am saying I do not like the idea of show dogs/pets and that I have witnessed poor treatment by these show pet owners.

Thanks for posting this because I think it will at least open up some eyes. A lot of people would just prefer to go through life blind, but I think that is a sad and unacceptable choice. I have gotten scolded from many friends and family members for opening up their eyes to animal testing and animal cruelty. "Oh, I wish you'd never shown me that!" Well, tough. You need to see it, otherwise you will do nothing about it. I have influenced many people to buy cruelty-free products and more environmentally-friendly products (such as organic kitty litter, which is more expensive but well worth it). Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through so much pain, watching these animal cruelty videos or reading horror stories about animal abuse or shelters... dolphin slaughter in Japan, cat and dog fur trade in China, the seal hunt in Canada, the horror of chicken farms, the cruelty of animal entertainment (circuses, rodeos, cockfights, etc.), animal testing, animal hoarding... but in the end, I know I am better off for it. I can die knowing I made a difference, even if it's a small one, and I can die knowing that I tried to help fix one of the most upsetting situations on this planet in as many ways as I could. As painful as it is for me, as an animal-lover, to watch and learn about these horrible situations... it is so much less pain than these animals experience. And it is well worth it to try and keep just one more animal alive.


P.S. How the hell does one abandon an animal?! I get attached after five MINUTES with ANY animal. Seriously. I would like to know how on earth you give up a pet. I will never, ever, ever, ever be able to do that in my lifetime. Ever. Once I adopt an animal, it's mine until it goes or I go. Period.

 

[SparklingWaves]

Shimmer, everything you said here is 100% true and then some. What a job you have. I have worked saving animals from going into the shelter in my area, because I have seen exactly what you are talking about. Thank God for people like you.

I truly respect people that work in the very small shelter near my house. The people at the shelter are overworked and see some horrible abuse to animals and see some great animals put to death everyday. HORRIBLE! So, I never drop off an animal there unless the animal is near death.

It takes work to train dogs. People ARE LAZY when it comes to taking care of dogs. They don't take care of them the way they need to be taken care of. They spoil them like a human or chain them up for life and make them lunatics. So, what happens- sometimes I will get a dog barking at my door step - It has been abandoned. It has no training, has been chained, or even fought against other dogs.

I have to give these dogs everything they weren't given - training daily, exercise daily, play time daily, and socialization with a pack daily. It's constant work. I watch them like a hawk and they know it. I don't let anything slide. They are groomed. They are bathed. They are feed separately. They are socialized with cats. They are crate trained. They learn to go on rides and ignore other dogs on the walk.

Dogs can be trained and trained to be excellent pets. People are the problem. They don't want to put in the time and they don't want to do the research to find out what needs to be done to correct the dogs behavior.

I live in a neighborhood where everyone nearly has at least one dog and I see them all chained up on short chains. They never walk their dogs. When I can't walk the dogs with my husband, he walks all the four of our large dogs and has a poop scooper in his hand. He works 12 hour shifts. There is no reason not to walk your dogs.

Also, when walking your dogs, there are bozos that don't believe their little toy dogs will hurt your large dogs. They let them growl and charge and bite at your dog off leash. Use dog pepper spray on those dogs. It's against the law for them to be off leash and they are attacking your dog and your dog may kill them. Better to spray them and save their life and not have a lawsuit from someone's ignorance that thinks their toy dog is cute playing suicide. That also goes with the strays. It's shows your dog that you can handle this situation and they don't have to step into action as alpha.

 

[Aprilrobin]

I totally understand the anger and I have to say that I personally do not have the fortitude to work in an animal shelter. I will also preface this by saying that I have many pets, about 1/2 of which are rescues and 1/2 I got from breeders as babies. I also help manage one of the largest pure bred rescue groups in the US.

At the rescue we never have to put down a dog unless there is a serious medical or aggression issue. So thankfully, it isn't something we see often. I do realize why it happens at shelters though.

That being said, "breeding" isn't bad. It is in fact, quite necessary to keep breeds of dogs in tact and to promote the best health. In fact, most breeders I know do more for animal rescue than anyone else. A good breeder will require a spay/neuter, will be super picky about who can purchase their animals, will have only a couple litters a year and will REQUIRE that if for any reason you cannot keep the animal, the animal will be returned to them. Breeders cater to breed enthusiasts. Breed enthusiasts are not problematic pet owners.

I think there needs to be a differentiation between breeder, animal broker, puppy miller and whatever you call the those unscrupulous aholes that will breed any animal to make a fast buck. THEY are the problem. Ignorant/irresponsible pet owners are the problem. Legislation is the problem.

Selling animals in pet stores should be illegal. Puppy mills need to be ILLEGAL. People need to face gigantic fines and jail time.
Spay/neuter needs to be mandatory w/o special breeder licensing.
These things will solve the problem.

Of course, the best solution would be to convince humans to not be cruel, ignorant aholes. If anyone has a solution to that problem, well, you just saved the world. Sadly, not sure that'll ever be possible.