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An Open Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner
Please feel free to print this - hang it on your wall or what-ever... I took it from an email on the community groups - modified it a wee bit and posted it...read on:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner:
Thank you for contacting us animal rescuers, shelter volunteers, and
foster-homes about your inability to keep your pet. We receive an
extremely high volume of enquiries and requests to accept surrendered animals (and none of us is getting paid, OK?). To help us expedite your problem as
quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:
1. Do not say that you are "CONSIDERING finding a good home" for your
pet, or that you, "feel you MIGHT be forced to," or that you "really THINK it would be better if" you unloaded the poor beast.
Ninety-five percent of you have already got your minds stone-cold made up that the animal WILL be out of your life by the weekend at the latest. Say so. If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn't possibly work for you.
For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about
nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you
go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a
scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a
squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you
from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the cat.
2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are.
Your co-worker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to
animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who
"get rid of" their animals. "Get rid of" is my least favorite phrase in any
language. I hope someone "gets rid of" YOU someday. I am an animal
advocate, not a people therapist. After all, for your ADHD daughter, you
can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc. Your
pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and
we are unpaid, overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don't tell me
this big long story about how, "We love this dog so much, and we even
bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just KILLING us to
part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time
she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how
hard we've tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can't . .
."You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability,
literally killing your dog, but you're going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight.
Don't waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in
your plight.
3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves
special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit. I don't care
if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or
whacked-out animals who need help, and I have no room to foster-house
your pet. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s
blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he
gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He
really is darling, so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find
him a good home. Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling,
spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of
the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old Shepherd-Lab mix. I am not
lying when I tell you that big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are
almost completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle
Dixie or send semaphore signals with their blankies. What you don't realize is
that, though you're trying to lie to me, you're actually telling the truth:
Your pet IS a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old
world does not care. More importantly, YOU do not care, and I can't fix that
problem.
All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short,
brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing that they
were indeed very, very special.
4. Finally, just, for pity' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the truth,
and the whole truth. Do you think that if you just mumble that your cat
is "high-strung," I will say, "Okey-doke! No problemo!" and take it into
foster care? No, I will start asking questions and uncover the truth,
which is that your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months.
Do not tell me that you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens
when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the
symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to
lying some more, wasting more of our time.
And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do
not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people will take
him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine." Those nice
people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover
serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided
attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we
will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal
in our arms, telling him truthfully that he is a good dog or cat,
telling him truthfully that we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his
life.
How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask? Do not ever
dare to judge us. At least we tried. At least we stuck with him to the end.
At least we never abandoned him to strangers, as you certainly did, didn't
you? In short, this little old rescuer/foster momma has reached the
point where she would prefer you  pet owners to tell her stories like this:
"We went to a car boot sale and picked up a free pet in the parking lot a
couple of years ago. Now we don't want it anymore. We're lazier than we
thought. We've got no patience either. We're starting to suspect the animal is
really smarter than we are, which is giving us self-esteem issues.
Clearly, we can't possibly keep it. Plus, it might be getting sick; it's acting
kind of funny.
"We would like you to take it in eagerly, enthusiastically, and
immediately.
"We hope you'll realize what a deal you're getting and not ask us for a
donation to help defray your costs. After all, this is an (almost)
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This picture was found on www.sled-dogs.co.uk - it seems Gsp’s are much more versatile that we thought !! - I wonder who’s they are...
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pure-bred animal, and we'll send the leftover food along with it. We get
the food at Tesco’s too, and boy, it's a really good deal, price-wise".
"We are very irritated that you haven't shown pity on us in our great
need and picked the animal up already. We thought you people were supposed to be humane! Come and get it today. No, we couldn't possibly bring it to you; the final episode of "Survivor II" is on tonight."
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Pet Owner, for your cooperation.
Author Unknown, but could be any shelter worker or rescuer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My personal feeling is that the above should be prominently placed on
every shelter wall and website and printed up and given or read to just about
anyone who has a pet. Note also that Gsp Rescue SW does not ‘put down’ healthy dogs - ... to the best of my ability I always attempt to find the best home for him or her. Db |
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Walk With An Old Dog
Because you will not be forever,
Hope against time though I may,
Paint your picture in my memory,
Eyes blue with age, muzzle gone grey.
Because you walked with me in Springtime,
Puppy-clumsy, running free.
As you grew, we grew together--
You became a part of me.
Because I shared with you my sorrows,
Not understanding-- simply there.
Often spurring me to laughter--
My friend, you know how much I care.
Because the years have slowed your fleetness,
Though your spirit still is strong.
I promise I will take more time now,
So that you can go along.
Because you do not fear the future,
Living only in the now,
I draw strength from your example--
Yet time keeps slipping by somehow.
Because the day will soon be coming
When I will no longer see
You rise to greet me - but in memory
You will always walk with me.
===================================
FINDING THE PERFECT DOG
There is no such animal. So, stop looking.
By Jon Katz
Slate, Tuesday, May 18, 2004
> >
Americans love animals and know little about them. We are used to
convenience and short cuts; we respond to marketing. Meanwhile, the pet
industry needs to move a lot of animals, so it promotes the idea that there's
a Perfect Dog for everyone.
The Perfect Dog is an enticing fantasy pooch. It's the dog that instantly
learns to pee outdoors, never menaces or frightens children, plays gently
with other dogs, won't jump on the UPS guy, never rolls in gross things, eats
only the appropriate food at the right time, and never chews anything not meant for him.
This dog does not exist.
(The Perfect Dog is first cousin to the equally yearned-for Disney Dog.
That's the one who loves you alone, who will sacrifice his life to pull your
toddler back from the busy street, who will cross 1,000 miles of towering
snowdrifts to find you if you accidentally leave him behind in the Arctic.
I want such a dog, but I don't have one. Mine would make their way to the
nearest deli and stay there.)
The peddling of Perfect Dogs amounts to a multibillion dollar business in
the United States. You'll never see images of ugly dogs vomiting in the
living room or terrorizing the letter carrier on dog food commercials.
Those > > dogsthe ones we want are always adorable. Their happy owners are not
holding pooper scoopers.
Because people have such ill-informed and unrealistic expectations, dogs
often suffer when their true hungry, messy, and alien natures are revealed.
They get yelled at, irritated by studded chains and zapped by electronic
collars, tethered to trees, hidden away in basements and back yards, or
dumped at shelters and euthanized.
The most important time for you and your dog is the stretch you spend
considering whether, where, and how to get a dog and what sort of dog to get.
Unfortunately, that process lasts only a few minutes for most people. Thus,
much trouble for both species.
Most Americans acquire dogs impulsively and for dubious reasons: as a
Christmas gift for the kids. Because they saw one in a movie. To match
new living-room furniture. Because they moved to the suburbs and see a dog
as part of the package. Because they couldn't resist that wide-eyed puppy in the
mall pet store or the poster published by the local shelter.
Even the scant time it will take to read and mull over the following questions (and some answers) might improve your chances of finding the right dog.
1. Why do I want a dog?
Researchers studying human-animal attachments find we have complex personal
motives for wanting a dog (or cat) and for choosing a particular one at a
given time. It's important to understand some of those impulses, even if it
means picking at psychic scabs. Are you lonely? Sick of people? Unhappy at
work? Re-enacting some familial drama? Drawn to the aesthetics of a beautiful
purebred? Compelled by the idea of rescuing, but not necessarily training, a
dog? Understanding your own motivation doesn't mean getting a dog is wrong,
but it may help you make a better choice of animal or decide that what you
really need doesn't come on four legs.
2. How can I get a well-behaved dog?
You can't. You can only create one. Dogs don't come that way. It's natural
canine behavior to chew on all sorts of things, roll in other animals' droppings, hump and fight other dogs, menace anything that invades the home.
All these behaviors can be curbed, but that takes a lot of work.
Trainers say it requires nearly 2,000 repetitions of a behavior for a dog tocompletely
absorb it.
3. Does it matter what kind of dog I get?
There is a kind of canine communism that suggests all dogs are equal and,
potentially, wonderfully alike. I don't think so. It is both foolish and
irresponsible to know nothing about the characteristics of the animal that
you, your family, and your neighbors will have to live with for years.
Last year, more than 400,000 kids were bitten badly enough by dogs to requirea
hospital visit. Don't add to the number.
4. Is it wrong to buy a purebred when so many dogs face confinement and
death in shelters?
It's about as wrong as having a baby when millions of poor children suffer.
Getting the right dog involves not only moral but practical considerations.
Acquiring a rescue or shelter dog can be incredibly rewarding, but when you
adopt one, you may also acquire behavioral issues caused by previous
mistreatment. You may need to be prepared for even more arduous training
than usual. Raising a dog acquired from a good and reputable breeder, who
understands the dog's temperament and the human's circumstances and can
match the two, is much easier. Working with a Labrador, Standard Poodle, Golden
Retriever, or German Shepherd breeds that have worked with humans for
centuries and whose behavioral traits are well known may mean fewer surprises.
5. How should I get a dog?
There's no one way. Avoid the puppy mill unscrupulous breeders mass-breed
and in-breed dogs and sell them to pet stores. Go to a shelter, rescue group,
or experienced breeder (get some references). Whoever provides the dog should
be skeptical. A good breeder or experienced rescue agency wants you to prove
that you'll be a capable caretaker. The interrogation and screening can be
annoying, but it's also a sign that you're on the right track. A breeder
ought to know if you work long hours away from home, have a fenced yard, have
kids or other animals, or if you have access to parks. Why are there all
those Mastiffs, Rotweilers, and Border Collies in Manhattan? It's what
happens when unscrupulous breeders meet thoughtless customers.
> >
6. Is it a mistake to buy a dog for your child?
Only if you are unrealistic enough to believe your kid's promises that of
course she'll take care of the new puppy. Kids have short attention spans.
They'll coo over the puppy, but in a few months it will be a dog. And who
will be walking it at 6 a.m. on a winter morning? Don't surprise your kids
with a puppy they really might prefer a new computer.
Some romantics see the match between a human and dog as kismet; If they're "right" for one another, or destined to be together, they'll fall in love at
first sight. But most puppies are cute. And few humans like to accept the
idea that the affectionate puppy is as drawn by the food he smells on your
hands as by some mysterious ethereal connection. Be cautious. Go slow. Think
about it.
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Jon Katz's next book, The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An adventure with three dogs,
15 sheep, two donkeys and me, will be published in October. He can be e-mailed at jdkat3@aol.com.
Illustration by Robert Neubecker.
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