Family Pet

One thing I will never understand is how people can bring a living creature into a home and then abuse and neglect it. Dogs, cats and other furry critters can't speak for themselves. I volunteer at my local animal shelter and have seen dogs come in hurt, scared, hungry and still craving love. A perfect example would be a sweetheart of a pit bull momma with four puppies that were mere hours old. The reason they were brought in? The family was behind on their rent so they moved, leaving the pregnant dog tied up in a shed. 


My opinion has always been that owning a pet is just like having a child. A dog needs rules, boundaries, discipline, positive reinforcement and lots of love. Treat a dog right, train them, give them a sense of love and duty and you will have a friend and companion that will always be there for you.


All of my animals have been rescues and they have all been wonderful pets. I have a Australian Stub-Tailed Cattle dog (a blue heeler) who is quite literally the perfect dog. She is a happy, energetic dog when she's outside, running circles around our older dog. When she's inside, she is calm and quiet, often choosing to hang out quietly in her kennel. She's smart and generally doesn't need a leash. In fact, she is doing her part to train our Norwegian Elkhound puppy. My heeler has done a better job house training the elkhound than I have.


The elkhound herself is a rescue after her and her litter mates were dumped at a house in a rural area. They were only about eight weeks old. And to help do my part prevent over-population, she will be getting spayed in a couple of weeks.


Most people love the idea of having that cute fuzzy face to come home to. But sooner or later, the extent of responsibility sinks in and unfortunately many people just can't handle it. Where I take issue is the people that can not take the necessary responsibility for their decisions. It's ok if you decide you can't handle the animal you took in. It takes a lot to care for a pet and it's not for everyone. What's not ok is neglecting the animal, not feeding it or not giving it the medical attention that it needs. It's not ok to just dump the animal and figure they will be ok.


If you can't care for an animal, surrender it to a rescue group or the Humane Society. Give the animal a chance to find a home that can provide for it. If your local shelter charges to surrender a pet, it would be better to lie and say the animal was a stray to surrender it for free than to dump it to fend for itself. Pets are like toddlers - they depend on us to help them get through this world, to learn their place in it and to love them the way they deserve.