The other day I saw the second of two Pedigree dog food commercials that literally brought me to tears. The first one came out at the end of last year and had a dog in a shelter cage with the narrator speaking for him-"I don't know why I'm here...I am a good dog..." Every single time I saw that ad I was saddened. The most recent one shows this happy shaggy dog again in a shelter who gets all excited as a couple of people pause in front of his crate, then gets real still when these people move on...It is actually so touching but sad too.
Every dog I have ever had as an adult has come from a shelter. Hailey that we had to give away when Brian and I split up. Then there was our beloved Red who was nuts but you couldn't not adore him despite his psychosis. Now I have Lucky. Patrik and I were tossing around the idea of getting another dog about a year and a half after we gave Red to some people with wide open spaces for him to roam in. So I packed up Julia and Emma and we went to the shelter. I WAS JUST GOING TO LOOK. I swear. But those shelters just break my heart, all those dogs left behind. Not knowing why, what they did that was so bad to earn them a cage all alone. Lucky was the only younger dog at the shelter that day. We took her out and played with her a little and because Patrik and I had not totally agreed to get a dog, we left without her. And her face haunted me all night. I couldn't get her off my mind. I kept going on the website to see if she'd been adopted that day and wondered if she was scared, if she was cold....
The next morning the girls and I were back at the shelter the minute they opened and adopted this goofy dog. Julia named her Lucky and she is now a beloved part of our family. When I called Patrik after we got home with her I said, "So I have this dog..." and he said "I thought you were just looking!" But we all love her. She is a good fit for us, not too big, playful, protective, smart and loving, and doesn't mind being crated.
I appreciate pure bred dogs. Some of them are beautiful and if I could have afforded one we probably would have ended up with a golden lab. But fate is a funny thing...if we had a lab what would have become of little Lucky? I encourage people to adopt when they are looking for pets. If not for the girls I would have liked to adopt an older dog because I feel most badly for them...like infant children, puppies are more easily adopted. But I had to be sure of a limited history because I didn't want something to trigger something in an older dog to make having one around small grabby kids unsafe. I can't imagine an older dog who has spent his faithful life with someone being dumped off to end his life at a shelter.
Thousands and thousands of dogs and cats are euthanized every year. They are tossing around a mandatory spay and neuter ordinance here and I'm all for it. There is no reason to add more heartache to an animal's life.
Lucky will be with us until her time comes. And when she is gone I already know our next dog will again be a shelter dog.
Because I feel they need us and the love we have to offer more.
Every dog I have ever had as an adult has come from a shelter. Hailey that we had to give away when Brian and I split up. Then there was our beloved Red who was nuts but you couldn't not adore him despite his psychosis. Now I have Lucky. Patrik and I were tossing around the idea of getting another dog about a year and a half after we gave Red to some people with wide open spaces for him to roam in. So I packed up Julia and Emma and we went to the shelter. I WAS JUST GOING TO LOOK. I swear. But those shelters just break my heart, all those dogs left behind. Not knowing why, what they did that was so bad to earn them a cage all alone. Lucky was the only younger dog at the shelter that day. We took her out and played with her a little and because Patrik and I had not totally agreed to get a dog, we left without her. And her face haunted me all night. I couldn't get her off my mind. I kept going on the website to see if she'd been adopted that day and wondered if she was scared, if she was cold....
The next morning the girls and I were back at the shelter the minute they opened and adopted this goofy dog. Julia named her Lucky and she is now a beloved part of our family. When I called Patrik after we got home with her I said, "So I have this dog..." and he said "I thought you were just looking!" But we all love her. She is a good fit for us, not too big, playful, protective, smart and loving, and doesn't mind being crated.
I appreciate pure bred dogs. Some of them are beautiful and if I could have afforded one we probably would have ended up with a golden lab. But fate is a funny thing...if we had a lab what would have become of little Lucky? I encourage people to adopt when they are looking for pets. If not for the girls I would have liked to adopt an older dog because I feel most badly for them...like infant children, puppies are more easily adopted. But I had to be sure of a limited history because I didn't want something to trigger something in an older dog to make having one around small grabby kids unsafe. I can't imagine an older dog who has spent his faithful life with someone being dumped off to end his life at a shelter.
Thousands and thousands of dogs and cats are euthanized every year. They are tossing around a mandatory spay and neuter ordinance here and I'm all for it. There is no reason to add more heartache to an animal's life.
Lucky will be with us until her time comes. And when she is gone I already know our next dog will again be a shelter dog.
Because I feel they need us and the love we have to offer more.
7 comments:
I was looking at a Great Dane rescue site the other day and thought hmmmmmm....!
My dearest susan...if you get a Great Dane, you WILL hve to move. Or be commited. Love your gentle heart..
Les
Dear Out-of-your-mind Susan, If you get a great dane I will have you committed!!!!!!!!!!! Mary Lee
I don't want to get started on dogs and puppy mills because I will go off on a tantrum. All anyone needs to do is be with little Midge and see all her hang-ups and fears, and know that she spent 7 1/2 years in an Amish puppy mill having litter after litter, and you will want to cry and cry and cry. Write your representatives, senators, councilmen, etc. and tell them to make stronger rules for kennels and put the people behind bars who run puppy mills with dogs stacked crate upon crate upon crate high.
Everytime I hear the Amish refered to as "gentle, plain people" I want to get on a soap box!
Mom
PS I had a dream last night about a new puppy. It was a cross between a coyote and a spaniel! No, no more puppies....I am still saving for Sadie's eye!
I avoid shelters because it's all so sad. Every cat I've ever had came from a shelter. It doesn't mean that pet shop pets are any less sad though.
It's true, Joe that all the cases are somewhat sad, but I think at least in a smaller pet shop they get more attention and will eventually find a home. No euthanasia there.
But all those puppy shop puppies probably came from miserable Amish puppy mills where a dog is kept in a cage constantly and bred over and over again for years. Like poor little Midge. That said, both of my dogs are from pet stores!
; )
Post a Comment