In My Opinion…

This is an interesting article

In a nutshell, this author addresses a guilty feeling she gets from owning pets.  She calls herself a “pet-addict”, which I can completely relate to.  I have yet to meet an animal I don’t like (I thought it was horses, until I met one that I LOVE last weekend).  Obviously, if you have read this blog at all, you know that I enjoy the companionship of animals and sharing my life with them – to the extreme.  But, occasionally, I am struck with a bit of contention, wondering if they get as much out of our relationship as I do.  After a lot of reflection, I think the guilt is appropriately placed with some animals… but it shouldn’t apply to responsible dog and cat owners.  While, I really enjoy this author and read her blog posts on a regular basis, I think her perspective or how she presents it is off.

Of course, I applaud the majority of her article, especially when she mentions many of the reasons that we are SO careful to choose the right family to adopt our foster dogs.  Her points about the newness of a pet wearing off, the neglect they receive and owners suddenly realizing that they don’t have time to care for their pets is something we hear about in dog rescue all of the time.  These are classic examples of the excuses we hear from people surrendering their dog.  My favorite is when she points out that people say, “I really don’t want to take it to the shelter…” – this statement always makes my blood boil.  The owner shifts his/her guilt for shirking responsibility – onto me.  Suddenly, I feel badly that the dog is going to the shelter because I won’t take it in… forgetting that the dog is going to the shelter because THEY are giving up.

She makes also some excellent points about parents and pets.  Parents that get pets for their children are idiots, that simple.  How many toys do children beg and plead for, only to forget all about them several weeks later?  What makes someone think that a pet will be any different?  Most children have to be reminded to brush their teeth, they cannot be expected to care for a LIFE!   I believe that most of these parents want the pet themselves, getting it for their child to look less selfish… as it does when they give the pet away and blame it on their child’s lack of interest.  I’m not suggesting that no parent should ever get a pet, but they should never adopt a pet thinking that it is for a child.  Parents are the grown-ups, they need to act like it.

However, there are arguments where she is wrong.  First of all, this quote irritates me:  “There are at least 8700 large pet retail stores in the U.S., but only 3500 animal shelters.  We need fewer pet stores or more shelters, one or the other.”  This is highly misleading because most of the major pet store chains do not sell cats and dogs.  In fact, they work closely with rescue groups to encourage rescue and adoption, even offering training and proper veterinary care right at their stores.  Our rescue group regularly attends adoption fairs at Petsmart, the store she specifically calls out.  In reality, it is the smaller, single location pet stores (like the two near my house) that pedal unhealthy, puppy mill dogs… sacrificing animals for profit.  Even if she meant to refer to the small animals, birds, fish and reptiles that large stores sell (the article does not read that way), then she should not mention the need for more shelters, because few shelters are able to take animals like that in.

I am the last person to say that we don’t need more shelters… in fact, I am helping create a new canine rescue group at this exact time.  However, the real dog/cat overpopulation problem stems far more from greedy breeders like the old lady at the Flea Market, irresponsible pet owners that do not have their animals altered and the general public failing to get involved.  It is up to each person, individually, to reflect upon the impact he/she wants to have on the world and the beings in it.  This article is a great start and I hope it will get people thinking about that.  But, it was a big mistake to place blame on large pet stores in regards to the cat/dog problem (their treatment of other animals needs to be a different discussion).

As for feeling guilty, no responsible dog/cat owner should feel guilty.  Cats and dogs are highly domesticated animals.  Most of them would not survive without human assistance.  Can you imagine Tuck in the wild?  She weighs 10 pounds, gets five medications a day and spends most of her life laying on her back, her belly in the air… waiting for it to be rubbed.  Five minutes in the wild and she would be carried away by a bird, eaten by a mouse or stepped on by a large insect.  Once she realized that she would not longer get the bite of cheese she expects every morning, she would probably walk into traffic just to avoid the misery of a life without cheddar!  Other, more “equipped” dogs don’t fare well in the wild either.  Consider our feral dog pack in town (the one we believe Spirit came from).  Occasionally, we come across a dog from this pack.  They are usually very difficult to adopt out because our “standard idea” of what a pet dog should be like.  Sometimes, that results in a safety issue and the need for euthanasia.  However, the alternative is that the dog stays in the wild where he suffers from starvation, intestinal worms/parasites, poisoning, car strikes, fights with other dogs/wild animals, rabies, anemia (from flea infestations), heartworms, freezing temperatures, dehydration and other things that eventually end their very short and difficult life.  In the worst case scenario, a home gives them a full belly and lots of attention until they leave this world in a peaceful way.

Not properly caring for a pet or worse, committing the horrible abuses she mentions, are a completely different story.  But, providing a safe and loving home to a dog or cat that would otherwise life a difficult life is no reason to feel guilty.  If you really feel badly about your pet addiction, then find a way to help.  As the author said, the world needs more shelters – so maybe she needs to become one!