No Tears Shed For the Unwanted Animals

 

I’m a long time shelter volunteer, and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a tear shed by the person surrendering their pet. Actually, I think that’s a bit generous on my part.

I won’t go into the usual “how can someone just casually dump their animal” speech. My friend and I used to say that, every time we saw someone get out of their car with a dog or cat.

Although we finally stopped asking the question, (because we realised it’s impossible to understand something that we would never do), that question continues to haunt me.

Like many of you kind and compassionate animal lovers out there, I would move heaven and earth, and sacrifice to keep my animals with me, and I have.

When I’ve looked for places to live that didn’t accept pets, I did what any animal lover would do. I kept on walking. When my husband went to work overseas, I waited months to get the animals’ paperwork together. Although we visited each other, we didn’t live together full time for six months. Of course it was hard, but the animals were family members, and there was never a thought we should dump them.

The day you adopt an animal, is the day you are responsible for that life. So to watch people so casually surrendering their pet, is sickening to me.

What I find the most disturbing is when they bring the kids, and turn it into a family outing. You see the kids walking the dog up to the shelter door like it’s nothing. I’m afraid that’s a poor example to set for children.

Shouldn’t we want kids raised with empathy and compassion? Don’t we want them to be kind to animals, and see them as part of the family? Do we really want them to learn that pets are disposable?

Here are some ideas to help reduce the number of animals being dumped so nonchalantly:

1)Start teaching kids from a very young age that animals are living beings, not to be returned like the sweater they didn’t like.

2)Shelters need to have adoption counsellors, to help prepare owners for what to expect when they bring their new pet home. I’ve seen people return a dog 12 hours after they adopted him because he peed in the house or hid behind the bed, and kittens returned for being too boisterous.  

3)Imagine a hotline for pet owners! A local or nationwide initiative, offering pet owners advice and answers to questions they’re faced with. This may help them feel less alone, and reduce the surrender rate. 

4)How about a partnership between rescues and dog trainers? Groups and shelters would offer free advertising to trainers they have approved, in exchange for one or two complimentary training sessions for each new dog and adopter. A well trained dog means fewer behavior issues, and fewer returns.

5)Encourage veterinary clinics to become more than just a medical office, but also a resource to help people overcome the challenges they sometimes face, as pet owners.

6)Start proving that animals matter. Our society sees animals as disposable, from the light or non-existent sentences for animal abuse, to the horrors suffered by animals in shelters. It’s time we started getting tough. Animal abusers go straight to jail, no second chances. Directors of animal control facilities and shelters where abuse has been noted get fired, immediately. 

Am I naive enough to believe this will change the world? I’m not naïve, and I believe we can and will change the world.