Consider the Consequences

I don't have a whole lot going on today and last night was pretty typical as well. I've just been busy all day working on year end statistics for work. I did come into work this morning to find a wonderful suprise waiting for me in my chair. It was a Christmas/Birthday gift from my friend Kim. She gave me all of the hardback editions that I didn't have of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

They are all in the original release cover too!! WHEEEE!!! What a real treat!! That's my favorite series of book.....EVER!!! You all that have been with me a while, will remember my fast and furious posts about being addicted to the series. Anyway Kim, a shout out to you for SUCH a TERRIFIC gift!! I'm also a little happier about the weather today. It is a little colder tonight. I'll enjoy it for the 2 days it is supposed to last.

I'm borrowing a post that I found over on Chrissy's blog. I think she found it somewhere else, but it bears repeating this time of year especially. There are a lot of puppies and kittens given as Christmas gifts that find themselves abandoned this time of year.

Pet Keepers

I've always had pets. I haven't always been a responsible pet owner, but wisdom comes with age. I have cats. I'm not averse to dogs at all, but I have a lifestyle which would not be fair to a dog. Fairly often I work late or have to be gone for a few days. Give cats a source of water and food, and have somebody drop by and clean out the litter box, and they're okay. I have multiple cats, and they keep each other company quite well. But they stay indoors all the time. They're all female, and all except one are neutered. And she's gonna get it.

Here's my tirade against irresponsibility with pets: owners who keep pets outdoors, un-neutered. I volunteer on occasion with the Humane Society. The place is filled with sweet little kittens and puppies that are dropped off at the Society. Some find homes. I have one.

But many don't. They're euthanized. And the reason is that a lot of pet owners are irresponsible.

If Miss Kitty or Miss Puppy is left outside un-neutered, pregnancy is the inevitable result. And the world is seldom ready to provide a home for another litter of mixed-breed dogs or cats. Of this sad bunch, the LUCKY ones end up at the shelter. All too many are unceremoniously dumped to fend for themselves where their lives are savage and short. They die from disease, malnutrition, predator or traffic.

While these stray abandoned images of our favored pets are trying to make it in the world, they're nuisances. The worst is the cat. Feral cats will decimate local wildlife: birds, squirrels, small mammals. Dog packs in the country will attack livestock and ravage garbage cans.

Growing up in the country on a lonely road, our doorstep found more than one poor little dog looking for a home. We tried finding homes for some, but usually Dad had the Animal Control truck haul them away. Coyotes took care of a lot. Life for a dumped dog or cat in the country is not long or pleasant.

Our Humane Society and most responsible adoption agencies now have policy requiring neutering for all pets they adopt out. After all, we're not talking about breeding pedigreed animals for sale here. But let's take it a step further. If you're going to adopt a cat or dog from a private source, YOU should be the one who takes the little thing in for neutering, right along with that first vet checkup and shots. Prices are reasonable, especially if you shop around.

For those few people for whom the price of neutering is an unbearable expense, aside from the obvious question as to whether the cost of a pet isn't already too big a burden, then a lot of pet societies have reduced rate arrangements for neutering.

I'm realistic about this post. I'd imagine that most of my readers are intelligent enough to care properly for their little companions. All I'm asking is to help get the word out to folks who haven't thought the question out clearly. Don't breed them unless you've got homes for the offspring.