I would like to challenge you as an animal lover to visit your local pound and spend a good portion of your day there . As you visit with the animals it will dawn on you that many of societies cast offs will not see another tomorrow. They will not feel the touch of their special owner when they need comfort. They will not be able to chase their favorite tennis ball in the big front yard or wait anxiously for their master to toss it for them. They will not be able to greet their favorite loved one at the door after a long day at work. They will not live to see another day... that is the plain hard truth that many of us choose to ignore.
At some point during your visit you will be overwhelmed as you look into the pleading eyes of the doomed animals. You will feel helpless as yearning hearts look at you begging to be your new best friend. You will be filled with sorrow for all the neglected unwanted animals that I promise you. Your heart will break for the litter of puppies barely old enough to eat , their only crime was being born. Your soul will ache for the little kitten who was thrown out by the curb because her owner could not give her away. Your soul will scream out for the old crippled dog who's only infraction was that he was just getting too old. The endless reasons an animal ends up at the shelter goes on and on. The reasons to me are not justified . The responsibility lies totally with the people.
We as caring people need to adopt animals from the shelters instead of buying from breeders. When we buy from irresponsible breeders who are in it just for the money then we are adding to the problem. A person should really think about the many animals on death row who await execution before they go and buy from a breeder or puppy mill. The doomed animals deserve a fair chance to. Why not give one of them a get out of jail free card? You can adopt from a shelter or a rescue for a fraction of what an animal from a breeder would cost. Also people should be aware that many purebred animals end up in shelters and that neglect and disregard turns a blind eye to pure blood and pedigree papers.
We as humans can do better by our pets and the animals of the world. All it takes is time and education of the public. The first and most important step is to educate the public about spaying and neutering of our animals. I have heard so many excuses from people about why they can't spay/neuter their animals and the most common one is “ I can not afford the surgery for my pet". To me this one really bothers me and is often times without merit. If a person can not afford to pay for a one time procedure that is so important why do they even own a pet? If it is looked at it this way it all comes in to perspective. If a person can buy a pack of cigarettes per day for a month they can pay for spay/neuter. Cigarettes cost almost $3.00 per pack that is $21.00 per week which in turn equals $88.00 per month that is normally enough to neuter any male animal and spay a small female animal. If a person pays a cell phone bill every month that averages $100 per month then they could sacrifice a months service to take care of their animal. If a person goes out to eat once a week at a nice restaurant then they probably spend around $25.00 that totals out to $100.00 per month. Can you give up some of your luxuries to do the right thing by your pet? It's only fair that you do. A person should be aware that one unspayed female can result in 50,000 to 350,000 offspring in only 5 years. A person should burn those numbers in their memory and think about them daily. Just consider all the suffering that will result when most of those animals die by being gassed at the pound.
Another step in spay/neuter education is spreading the word about low cost spay/neuter programs for those who really need help financially. You can get a list of low cost services in the US at the web site Love The Cat http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html#states . You can also find options at the local Humane Society in your area. You can find a listing of Humane Societies on the web site Green People. Org at http://www.greenpeople.org/humanesociety.htm .
We can also help support services like the FREE animal placement services such as 4 The Luv Of A Critter at 4-the-luv-of-a-critter.com. They offer assistance with placing an unwanted pet in another home. They list any animal no matter the location or type of animal on their website for free. In turn those looking for a specific type of animal can search the database for a listing in their area. The founder funds the website and all efforts herself with no expectations of being paid for her service. Her vision is to help make pet owners aware there is other options out there for their unwanted animals instead of dumping them off at the pound. The shelters are over crowded as it is and the truth of the fact is about 85% of all animals sent to the pound do not make it out alive. They leave on the back of a truck to be dumped at the local landfill.
We can help raise awareness of animal care,rescue & over population by creating an on line presence. The more information that is out there the better. People should not under estimate the power of the Internet to get a message to a broad array of audiences. So if you do rescue work I would suggest that you have some one to design a website or do it yourself. With most rescues being on a limited budget you could employ services such as the one Techbydesign offers at http://www.techbydesign.org . They are located in Ararat Va. They offer low affordable prices on webdesign and webhosting. They sell & donate webdesign services and also offer webhosting options for those who want to build their own site. Where their webdesign services are different is the fact that they include the webhosting and website updates in one low price. Their prices for webdesign starts at the low price of $175.00 for 4 pages designed and that includes hosting, updates, website marketing and a free domain name for the year. They have a package to suit any budget and they will even finance webdesign if a person or rescue needs help with the financial aspect. They even offer FREE webhosting accounts in some instances for their clients who come to them in search of a dependable webhosting service. They have webhosting plans that start at only $3 per month and they go up to only $10 per month. Their webhosting accounts include an easy to use website builder, free website templates,FREE DOMAIN NAME, domain email accounts, webmail accounts, free shopping carts, SQL database,and much more. They offer prepay discounts and discounts to animal rescues on all their web services. The staff at Techbydesign are always willing to help tutor anyone who may need help with any aspect of designing a website. A person should realize that creating an online presence is not that expensive. It could go a long way toward getting the word out about your animal cause.
We as humans owe the animals of the world respect and compassion. Together we as animal lovers can unite together and make a better life for all the animals of the world. We can commit to educating the public on ways to help prevent over population. We can educate people on ways to re home unwanted animals other than sending them to the pound. Last but not least we should never turn a blind eye to an animal in need !
Animals are the reason I live and breathe...without them in my life I would just as soon be dead! ~ ~ quote Betty Sue Haynes
» left by Carolyn Waller from Grayson County, VA (1 year 208 days ago.)
This article was excellent. I just wish there was a way to get this message read by every human on this planet. I live in a rural area and on my drive into town I see at least one animal, and usually more than one, abandoned on these lonely roads. My heart goes out to each and every one of them. I bring as many home as I can and re-home them. Finding a good, loving home for a no longer wanted pet is usually very easy. This is a social problem for us, and to neglect our animals is no different than to neglect our own children. Wake up people!! Respond to this comment
» left by Betty Haynes from Ararat Va (1 year 185 days ago.)
Thank you very much Carolyn. I agree with you 100% Respond to this comment
» left by Mary Van Everbroeck from Warminster, PA (1 year 152 days ago.)
Betty writes in a way that places you right there with the animal in the facility as she is describing their plight. She is right on target with the issue in regards to breeding, pet stores and the like. My difficulty as someone similar to Betty who loves animals is that a 'life is a life, is a life'. All animals regardless of how they come to be need to be saved. It is the people who we must work at getting to stop their actions. In the meantime although as a public charity that is involved in rescue work, I am happy when any animal can be saved including those that are bred. As we know so many puppies are destroyed due to non-conforming to breed standards. So yes even the lives of bred ones need rescuing. I enjoyed reading your article Betty. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and beliefs. Respond to this comment
» left by Ruby from Durham NC (304 days 11 hours ago.)
This is all so true. I am getting involved with the rescue community myself and am staggered by the scope of the problem - even just here in NC! Respond to this comment
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