this will make you think how you treat you animals

[Nobody Special's wife]

"HOW COULD YOU?"
> When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh.
> You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple
> of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad,"
> you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" -- but then you'd
> relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.
>
> My housetraining took a little longer than expected, because you were
> terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of
> nuzzling you in bed, listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I
> believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks
> and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone
> because "ice cream is bad for dogs," you said), and I took long naps in the
> sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.
>
> Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and
> more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted
> you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad
> decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in
> love.
>
> She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" -- still I welcomed her into our
> home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you
> were happy.
>
> Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was
> fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother
> them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent
> most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I
> wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love." As they began to
> grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up
> on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears and gave me
> kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch -- because
> your touch was now so infrequent -- and I would have defended them with my
> life if need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries
> and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the
> driveway.
>
> There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you
> produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me.
> These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I
> had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog," and you resented every
> expenditure on my behalf.
>
> Now you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they
> will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the
> right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only
> family. I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal
> shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled
> out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They
> shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a
> middle-aged dog or cat, even one with "papers."
>
> You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No,
> Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what
> lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love
> and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a goodbye
> pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar
> and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.
>
> After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your
> upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home.
> They shook their heads and asked, "How could you?" They are as attentive to
> us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of
> course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed
> my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you -- that you had changed
> your mind -- that this was all a bad dream... or I hoped it would at least
> be someone who cared, anyone who might save me. When I realized I could not
> compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to
> their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.
>
> I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day and I padded
> along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She
> placed me on the table, rubbed my ears and told me not to worry. My heart
> pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of
> relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days. As is my nature, I was
> more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her
> and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.
>
> She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her
> cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many
> years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt
> the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down
> sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured, "How could you?" Perhaps
> because she understood my dogspeak, she said, "I'm so sorry." She hugged me
> and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better
> place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend
> for myself -- a place of love and light so very different from this earthly
> place.
>
> With my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my
> tail that my "How could you?" was not meant for her. It was you, My Beloved
> Master, I was thinking of. I will think of you and wait for you forever.
> May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty. -- Jim
> Willis
>

 

[Dre]

Ahhhh man, that's sad. *sniffle*

 

[Guest]

its sad that know one has bother to post on this

bump

 

[cybergirly]

I recently was in a similar situation. I had a golden retriever that I had had for nearly 8 years. I loved her, she went through alot with me. She was always there for me when I was happy, when I was sad. I to had to move, she couldn't come. I did however take the time to find her a new "good home" and I do keep in contact with the people I gave her to. So although I still miss her an awful lot. I know that she is happy.

 

[Starfish]

People do this sort of thing ALL of the time.

Animals are not expendible items. It is so unfortuneate that people don't realize that with some adjustments, moves can be made with animals.

You don't HAVE to move to a place that won't allow pets. That is a personal choice. It is unfortuneate that so many people are that fucking lazy.



Our local county shelter is a NO kill facility. No matter what. They try to place mild mannered mature animals in nursing homes and hospitals to give love to the sick and elderly.

There are alternatives to just shrugging off animals.

 

[SleepingWarrior]

I'll admit the story was very sad and almost had me in tears but come on, people let PEOPLE starve and live on the streets. Why is it regarded to be so much worse here that someone would give up a pet. I've had pets all of my life, never had to give any up but wouldn't you think it is better for the animal to at least have a chance to get into a loving home rather than stay with the adults who didn't give a shit what happened to it. I have personally had to hold 2 of my pets when they were put to sleep and I cried for them, but I am still more concerned about the humans we throw in the trash than the ANIMALS we do.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Very powerful

Very sad too.

Even realizing how the "story" was going to end, I felt compelled to continue reading it. Fortunately, I have never taken advantage of having an animal, and plan to adopt another as soon as my circumstances are settled for me.

My last dog turned 13 years old, and was diagosed with liver cancer. One of the fortunate things about losing my job was being able to spend quality time with her in her final days. The vet had explained that it would progress quickly, and as soon as she showed the signs he had warned me about, I was able to arrange for a vet to come in and put her to rest.

It was the most unselfish thing I have ever done, but like the "thump" of the tail described in the story, she wagged hers and touched me when her moment arrived.

I'll be thrilled to see her again when my time arrives!

Thanks for posting this, NSW

 

[naudiz]

When you bring an animal into your home, you are taking on a responsibility. That animal is wholly dependent on you to provide food, shelter, companionship, and all the necessities of a happy and healthy life. If someone isn't willing to follow through on that responsibility, it should never be shouldered in the first place. The fact that people are suffering in the world doesn't suddenly make it less abominable to treat all life with disrespect, nor does it make it less revolting to reward loyalty and companionship with abandonment and death.

I can only speak for myself. So. I don't like watching people get tossed out either. The cold reality here is that I'm not going to take responsibility for something I didn't do, and I've never turned a person out of his/her home. I would indeed like to help people. Unfortunately, I can't give them all a home or a job. I can give to my local mission, food bank, and other charitable resources -- and I do. I can help out my fellow human beings when I've got the money to spare. It's not that I value animal life over human life. I have never thrown out either. The thing that bugs me in this scenario is that an innocent suffers for a selfish person's lack of responsibility.

Is the message here that you can't care about animals until you ache for the entire human race first? I think both situations are symptoms of the same rotten social disease. It's not an accurate assumption to say someone whose heart goes out to those creatures that depend upon us wholly doesn't care about his/her fellow human being. On the contrary, I believe that, in a good number of cases, the same people who are so cavalier about abandoning a pet probably aren't busting their asses trying to help homeless people, either.

Let's not be so quick to judge compassion. It's a rare enough thing in this world that it should be nurtured wherever it dwells.

 

[SleepingWarrior]

When you bring an animal into your home, you are taking on a responsibility. That animal is wholly dependent on you to provide food, shelter, companionship, and all the necessities of a happy and healthy life. If someone isn't willing to follow through on that responsibility, it should never be shouldered in the first place.

So it is totally out of the realm of possibility that things changed so much in a persons life, things that they couldn't foresee, that would make it ok to give up an animal. Things can happen in life that can make it very very hard to keep an animal. To me anyway, the people in the story didn't just toss out the animal without a care. If they didn't care about the animal they would have let it go in the country or even in the city or would have got rid of it right away when the mother/wife didn't want it. The fact that they gave it to a shelter makes it ok, the dog had a chance.
If people are going to get blamed and judged about giving away the animal then the same should go for those people that go to the shelters and pass them by, but that doesn't happen does it.

 

[Starfish]

... but I am still more concerned about the humans we throw in the trash than the ANIMALS we do.

This may seem like I am picking on you too much, and I am sorry. I am not trying to harass and stalk you, I swear.

You aren't out of touch or anything, and I don't mean any disrespect, but people have a choice to stay on the street or not. I know this first hand being that I chose for some time to be homeless. Help is out there. Addiction, apathy, and sheer laziness are the reason people STAY on the street, not because they have no choice and others are kicking them when they are down.

Animals do not have this choice. Humans are THE ONLY reason domesticated animals exist in the first place. We've created them, and for the most part, we determine their fate.

This is not my opinion. This is just they way it is.

Try to make a bum get a job, live in a shelter till they can afford their own home, if they don't want one.
Try to take a stray dog off the street and put it in a good home and see if it complains about having it's meals fed to it rather than having to scrounge for it.

It is very cut and dry. We have a choice, and they don't.

 

[SleepingWarrior]

This may seem like I am picking on you too much, and I am sorry. I am not trying to harass and stalk you, I swear.

No offense or anything taken I assure you. Its just a habit of mine to speak from my heart even when I know in my mind exactly how my arguement can be considered wrong or be just plain ol' wrong. When I type on a subject that I have a long standing opinion on I tend not to rationalize exactly what I am typing at the moment. My post wasn't a generalization but I know full well that it can be seen as just that. And thats another habit I have, my typing/thoughts tend to be ambigous and full of things that look like generalizations.

 

[naudiz]

So it is totally out of the realm of possibility that things changed so much in a persons life, things that they couldn't foresee, that would make it ok to give up an animal. Things can happen in life that can make it very very hard to keep an animal. To me anyway, the people in the story didn't just toss out the animal without a care. If they didn't care about the animal they would have let it go in the country or even in the city or would have got rid of it right away when the mother/wife didn't want it. The fact that they gave it to a shelter makes it ok, the dog had a chance.

When I got my kitties, I didn't just go to the shelter on a whim because I was lonely and wanted fuzzy creatures around to amuse me. I thought about this. If I had to move on short notice, would I be able to provide an alternative home for them so that they wouldn't ever have to be abandoned? I checked around, and there are a few people who I know would take them and give them loving homes if I had to part with them for any reason. Yes, I sat down and worked this out -before- I ever brought them home. It was a major part of my decision whether or not I should get a pet.

One can prioritize one's moral outrage however one chooses, but my point is you don't suddenly cease to have a responsibility when that responsibility becomes difficult to maintain. I'm not saying people who abandon their pets to kill-shelters should be hunted down and shot. I'm just saying they shouldn't be pet owners. Is that so horribly unreasonable? Abandonment is abandonment. Speculation about whether or not the abandoned pet has a chance is little more than succor for a guilty conscience. The animal's life continues or ends at the whim of human beings, and that animal can't do a damned thing about it. That doesn't sound like much of a chance to me.

I believe that there is no excuse for shirking responsibility, particularly a responsibility that can easily be avoided by not volunteering for it in the first place. Pet ownership is merely one facet of that. In the end, for me, it all comes down to the fact that if you're not willing to do right by your animals, don't adopt them in the first place. It's that simple. And no, abandoning your pets to a kill-shelter is not even remotely akin to doing right by them. The existence of worse alternatives does not justify bad ones.

If people are going to get blamed and judged about giving away the animal then the same should go for those people that go to the shelters and pass them by, but that doesn't happen does it.

Again, I'm talking about personal responsibility, not moral culpability. The same does not go for people who go to shelters and pass them by because those people did not take on and then abandon the responsibility of owning a pet. I would venture a guess that this is why that doesn't happen. Choosing not to take on a responsibility one can't maintain is not cruelty or selfishness. It's wisdom.

Edit: Seconding Fishie, here. I'm really not trying to harass or stalk you. I'm just trying to be crystal clear on the point I'm trying to make.

 

[Rubyfruit]

When I took in my dogs, I made a committment to them to take care of them for their entire natural life. I would no sooner move into an apartment that didn't allow kids as I would one that didn't allow dogs. My male died 1.5 years ago at age 12. He and his sister have been with me through my single life, getting married, having kids and moving several times, twice across country. My female is 13 now and fading.

 

[Bidin~Time]

Just a little information for anyone who is interested........

Should you ever find yourself in the position that you can't keep an animal, contact your vet or a local breeder or breeders and ask about "breed rescue". This is an alternative to shelters. The animal will be placed by the people at the rescue program. The new owners are generally devoted dog or cat fanciers and the animal will be in competent loving hands. And best of all, no time constraints, so euthanasia is never a consideration.

emi

 

[Bidin~Time]

Oh, one more thing. The animal doesn't have to be "registered" or have "papers" of any kind.

If you can't find out anything locally try the breed associations on the net.



emi

 

[InnocentAngel81]

sniffle sniffle i really miss my s.o dog, she is the greatest, she bugs me to death when i'm there i love the attention too, but miss her when i'm at home, my mom doesnt allow pets. cant believe i was in tears

 

[DevilBoy79]

thats so sad, about to go get my dog and have her sleep up here

 

[Black_Bird]