Please read!! Considering a new puppy?

Thank you guys very much for the positive response.

I am happy there are so many caring people here. I hope this thread takes off and ends up on the front page.

More people need to read this first person response to the animal shelter problems.

A life is a life, I know plenty of animals that are more deserving than people.

Pred...

reply to post by SassyCat


Oh I agree.

Could you imagine when you start getting sick if your family took you to a mortuary?

I also agree with bad pet owners getting sterilized, and that's putting it nicely.

I think anybody that drops an animal off at a shelter should have to be in the room when another animal is put down, sounds like a far exchange.

Thanks for the response.

Pred...

I couldn't finish reading the article.. it was just too depressing.

I adore animals and it sickens me to my core whenever I hear of irresponsibility or abuse that has been inflicted upon them. I actually believe that many people lack compassion and sympathy. Most of all compassion. Sympathy is at least giving the issue recognition; identifying with another on the most basic of levels. Compassion is having the heart to do something about it; it's deeper and more fervent. That is a personal perspective.

I have actually been considering buying a new puppy of late. This thread has made me think twice about approaching a pet shop before an animal shelter...

People really seem to place animals on such a low pedestal compared to human beings. I don't see things that way.

I never have and never will take a pet to a shelter. I do not fool myself into thinking that there will be a happy ending. The moment I chose to bring that pet home with me, I become her/his custodian on earth.
I have had many cats and some dogs through the years and many I have rescued from pounds and shelters.
I took over a Jack Russell 3 years ago and that was the closest I had ever come to acting on a whim. I thought I would be prepared for his energy and exuberance. We had a big yard, plenty of space and I would put him in training. But he was out of control often and several times when he tried to nip my toddler son, I actually thought maybe I should find him a new home. I could tolerate a lot, but not the nipping. I was worried one day he would bite his face. I had put time and energy into training him but he was not responding well.
Sadly I began to put ads on CL because I knew I would never take him to a shelter. I wanted him to find a good home, maybe without young kids.
One day I was typing a reply to an interested adopter. I looked down and he was sitting quietly, looking at me inquisitively. I stared into those dark brown doggy eyes, the eyes that I had never quite warmed up to. He did a little doggy sigh and just leaned against me and a little shudder went through his body almost like he knew what was going on.
I was wracked with guilt and knew I could not follow through. I had never given up on a pet before and I would not start now. I threw myself into his training again and now, 2 years after that incident we have a pretty well trained and much more mellow JR. I knew had I given him away, I would have felt guilt the rest of my life. He is still a butt sometimes but I make sure to give him lots of exercise and at the end of the day, a contented Jack Russell snoring against my legs.

I literally started to get teary eyed when reading this. I love animals sooo much, If I could I'd keep every animal I came encounter with, but I can't. I wish more people knew about how animals truly get treated in shelters and how they have a slim chance of getting adopted and found a home.

My puppy is my life, my everything, he's like my child, and I'd never want him to go through that. When I lost my dog before getting this puppy I was heartbroken. I had him for 10 years, he was like my brother and apart of the family. A lot of people didn't understand, they thought he was "just a dog, get over it", but animals are more than just an animal...I fought for him but it was just his time to go. Just throwing this out there, I really wanted to adopt a dog or whatever and save ONE life but my parents wanted a brand new puppy from a breeder. The previous dog however, was taken from my dad's friend because he could no longer keep him, so we kept him.

Star and flag for you even though this is a semi older post.