If Only People Knew

If only people knew….I find myself saying that a lot.

I really think the general population wants what’s best for animals, so for me it’s especially frustrating that in most cases, the difference between polar opposite endings to a dogs life story is a matter of ignorance. Let’s have a little hypothetical story time. It’s will be fun….like a choose your own adventure book. For all you 90s kids, you may have to google that one….

You find a litter of puppies, say….under a shed. You love animals. You have always heard that shelters are crowded cold places with bloodthirsty animal control officers that eat kittens on rye sandwiches for lunch, and you don’t want that, so you look to Craigslist or the Facebook yard sale page. You post a sad picture with a “I don’t want them to end up at the shelter”… so what happens. Every bleeding heart in the city begs to take one home without the slightest bit of foresight as to what kind of dedication puppies actually take. We will say their are 5 puppies.

Statistically this is what happens.

Puppy number one goes to a family with 4 kids. They claim they have been thinking about getting a puppy for a little while now….or at least they saw balto on Netflix last week so that’s kind of the same. They take him home. Flood him with attention until the novelty wears off. With less attention, he begins chewing little expensive shoes. The more he chews, the more hours they crate him, the crazier he is when he is released. Eventually they give him to the neighbor who “loves dogs” which leaves their conscience free and clear. There, he takes all the bad habits he has learned and makes up some new ones given the total lack of consistency. Now he is 5 months, not cute, no manners, and no real bond with anyone. Eventually he gets dumped at the shelter and is just another teenaged obnoxious “family failure” who is passed his puppy cuteness stage but still has all the puppy imperfections.

Puppy number two goes to a farm where they feed her and love her but never spay her. She has 4 litters in her lifetime…all given away to “loving homes” for a total of 26 more unwanted dogs in the universe.

Puppy number three is adopted by a college kid who is still living at home and doesn’t ask his parents for permission about the new addition. That puppy doesn’t even make it out of the car before his dad freaks out, tells him he absolutely cannot have a dog and to get rid of it NOW. Kid drops it in a friendly looking neighborhood and hopes for the best. Puppy three lives under someone’s shed, wandering and eating cat food from a feral colony near by and does just fine for himself for a while. One day he is picked up by animal control and unfortunately has NO social skills having been on his own and is terrified with any human contact. I think you can use your imagination on that ending.

Puppy number four is adopted again by a person who no practical knowledge about puppies and all the work they entail. She grew larger than what the person really wanted in the home and is eventually tied outside most every day where her life consisted of 15 square feet of dirt and chasing the same squirrel over and over again. If it’s cold she is brought in the basement and occasionally she slips out of her collar for a run, but her life, overall, is very empty.

Puppy number five is adopted by a loving and patient home, vaccinated, altered and cherished.

Some things are great when done spontaneously. Take a weekend vacation. Splurge on a second pair of shoes when they are buy one get one- even though you only planned for one pair. But please….please. Don’t get a puppy on impulse. That’s why we require an application and take a few days usually to follow up. We want you to think about it. This is a living breathing creature. It doesn’t belong on a yard sale page like a pair of second hand sneakers or a used kitchen oven. The shelter is not your enemy. If you find a dog, here’s my advice for what it’s worth.

Option one. Contact the shelter and report him missing. Legally you cannot give away an animal without reporting him found for a legal “stray hold” period. Have him scanned for a microchip. Make an effort to find his family utilizing technology. If you can keep him and contact a rescue so as to not clog the shelters, great! We, or someone like us, will try to help!

Option two. Take him to your local shelter.

That’s it. There is no option three. Period.

This is one of our littles, Bourbon. He is with a foster family learning life skills like cooking and doing the laundry. No. really we will just be happy with pooping in the grass😂😂😂😍. We are currently accepting applications at www.cvrrescue.org. He’s a shy guy who will
Need a patient hand. ❤️

Laura