As you probably know by now I don't have dogs or cats as pets, I have rats. But my brother has a dog and my mom had a dog. I wondered why a dog was considered man's best friend so I did some research and found out. If you'd like to know the story of How The Dog Became Man's Best Friend... just click the link.
Since it's right after Christmas I thought I would talk a little about pets and how they are a commitment, not just a "I'll take care of it until I get sick of it".
As with any pet, you should never ever adopt or accept an animal unless you plan on keeping them. I've seen it too many times. A family or person in the family decides that they want to adopt a pet and they don't think about the commitment it's going to take to care for the animal and after a while, they give the pet away, take it to a shelter without letting other family members know what they've done.
Thinking that it will be easier on the rest of the family if you lie to them and tell them you gave the animal away to a neighbor, or it ran away when in actuality you took it to the animal shelter without telling the rest of the family because you just couldn't deal with it any longer is not the right thing to do.
The very least you can do is make sure the animal you are getting rid of is going to a forever home and will be happy.
Another thing to consider, especially since Easter is right around the corner is not to get pet bunnies for your niece or nephew without asking the parents. bringing home a cute pet for a family member may seem like a great idea and would make a great gift but if they are willing to take the time to care for the animal..it's a bad idea.
Don't take on an animal without really thinking about the commitment you're going to have to put into this. Animals aren't disposable pets and should be treated with respect.
Yeah it sickens me how easily so many people just treat animals like luggage, toss them when they get bored.
ReplyDeleteMe too. After my mom passed away my brother took in my mom's dog with the understanding that if he couldn't or didn't want to take care of the dog, he would give her to my other brother. Just a little while after taking my mom's dog home, he ended up doing who knows what with her. He said he gave her to a neighbor but we don't know for sure. He did it without asking and it was the most underhanded thing he'd done up until that point. You just don't do things like that to your family.
ReplyDeleteI too have seen so many people do this. It makes me very angry. People love the cute little puppies and kittens but then tire of them like a toy. They are living beings with feelings.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand people who don't think things through before getting one. Our puppy is always our first consideration when we're making plans. She's part of the family not an inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteI've taken in many a pet that neighbors and friends have gotten tired of or parents have bought for their young children only to have the children get bored with them and the parents not want to take care of them. At one time we took in more than 10 hamsters and a rat just from people in our neighborhood because the kids no longer wanted them.
ReplyDeleteI love my dog and the cats who adopted me. I'll be keeping them until they die.
ReplyDeleteI know you will.
ReplyDelete