So Many Dogs

So many dogs.

I follow my city's animal control page online, and it always makes me so very sad to see the never-ending parade of dogs either up for adoption or being held as strays. Sometimes the dogs are there through no fault of their own. Perhaps the owner has died, or had to go into a nursing home. Then there are those given to the shelter because the owner has "no time" for a dog, the puppy is too rambunctious or got too big, or the owner has decided to move someplace that doesn't allow dogs. Even worse are the people who dump a dog in the trash, or abandon it in the desert or the forest, or tie it to a tree in a remote area. Those people should be tracked down and spend the next 10 years in jail.

I know. People sometimes have to move. But I have moved with up to three dogs, from California to Texas to California to New Mexico. Never would I consider a move without my dogs. 

It just makes me so sad to see so many dogs in need of homes. (I'm not a cat person due to allergies, but I feel the same way about cats). Animals aren't disposable items that we get rid of when we tire of them. I've seen the faces of too many depressed, sad, given-up-hope dogs to ever find it acceptable to surrender a dog for a frivolous reason. And in my mind, most reasons are frivolous

Most painful of all is reading about an elderly dog, perhaps 10 or 15 years old, that suddenly finds itself locked away from the only family, the only home, it has ever known. And let's face it, people aren't exactly lining up to adopt an old dog.

Rescue organizations and individuals, as well as animal shelters, work tirelessly to rescue and rehome these sad, confused animals. But until puppy mills stop mass producing puppies for pet stores and online sales, and until people stop buying dogs from these sources, the unnecessary deaths of millions of dogs will continue. And that, quite simply, is not acceptable. How can we in the 21st century allow the deaths of millions of dogs every year, year after year, simply because there aren't enough homes for them, and because people continue to be irresponsible? It is unconscionable. 

If you are looking to add a canine member to your family, please visit an animal shelter or a rescue group, or a reputable breeder of the dog breed of your choice. Reputable breeders care about the dogs they produce. They have health checks done on the parents to minimize the chances of their passing on genetic diseases. They will take back for any reason any puppy they sell. Pet stores and backyard breeders care only about the money they get on each sale. I have adopted five purebred golden retrievers from rescues, all of them adults, and all of them wonderful animals.

Dogs are not commodities. They are not gifts. They are not something to get on a whim and then discard when they get old or sick or become inconvenient or too much work. They are living, breathing, feeling animals. They experience fear, pain, loss and depression just as humans do. 

If you care about dogs, please consider volunteering at a rescue or animal shelter. Donate food or new toys or beds or old towels. Donate money if you can. Above all, Adopt Don't Shop!