I see a lot of animals, dogs in particular, that need homes, linked on Facebook and other places, every day.
I see so many it's hard for me to even view my newsfeed, because it just makes my heart hurt to see so many lives that I can't help.
It is important to note that owning a pet is a responsibility reminiscent of having a child. You have to feed them, bathe them, shelter them, and kiss their boo-boos when they're hurt (or pay a veterinarian to do that).
Animals feel pain, happiness, joy and sorrow just like we do, but they can't tell you this with words because unfortunately they don't have lips and vocal chords to form words the way we do. So what they do is bark and growl and whine and cry instead. Or meow, in the case of cats. :-)
I love animals and I hope to live to see the day that there AREN'T millions of dogs being put down in so-called "shelters" every year. But I fear I won't live to see that happen.
In the meantime, I hope to help as many individuals I can by networking them and finding them homes. Networking on Facebook itself has been only semi-successful for me, for it to work better, you need to have other people re-posting what you post as well, and while I love my friends, they aren't doing that. Threatening to throw chairs at them to make them do it isn't working either.... I think they assume I'm kidding (I might be....might). If you ever see a dog in need of adopting, and you decide you want that one but it's far away from you... don't let distance deter you! There are transportation networks set up sometimes, and I know of some people who are willing to drive an animal many, many miles to spare them being killed in a cold and loveless shelter. If I get my car in a trust-worthy state I may have to take part in this practice myself.
I would like to take this moment to say always, always, always, ALWAYS! spay or neuter ALL of your pets! Yes, puppies and kitties are inconceivably adorable. But they get bigger, and while I personally don't ever stop finding them adorable, that is to say, big dogs are JUST as cute as little ones or young ones (even the slobbery kinds...) other people don't feel the same way. So when you give away or sell that puppy to someone, there's a good chance that by the time that puppy becomes a dog, that person won't like it anymore, and they'll either mistreat it and/or neglect it, or they'll take it to a shelter where it's only going to have about a 20% chance (I think that's the statistic but if anyone wants to point out I'm wrong with proof then go ahead...if you don't have proof though I don't want to hear it) to make it out alive. Plus animals are generally more content without having hormones raging...but aren't we all.
The most important thing is to ADOPT! DON'T SHOP! Because most any dog or cat you get from a pet store is from a breeding facility, or "puppy mill" or "kitten mill" where they are severely neglected and mistreated. Always adopt from a shelter or rescue, never buy from a pet store!
