September 15th is Responsible Dog Ownership Day. How will you celebrate?
After watching, for years, the never ending stream of dogs, some of them in sad, miserable condition, come through our shelter, I realize that something needs badly to be changed. Accidents and unfortunate circumstances can happen occasionally but when every shelter in North America is overflowing the brim and has no room for the thousands of animals being put to sleep, something is seriously wrong. I believe it all boils down to an epidemic of irresponsible people. People who, on a whim, decide it might be nice to have a dog to play with for awhile but when the new wears off and they get tired of feeding and cleaning up after him, he goes to the pound to die. Dog owners who have to move and, instead of searching for dog-friendly homes, take what's convenient and leave the dog behind. People who carelessly allow their dogs to breed for no reason or breed their cute dogs, thinking they will sell cute puppies and make a few bucks, are only making fewer homes available for the abandoned dogs already at the shelter. The bottom line is that pets are not toys to be tossed out when we're tired of them. They are living, breathing, feeling beings and we have to take responsibility for our actions when we allow them to be born. Only awareness, aggressive spay/neuter programs, and strong committment to the pets we already have will end this sad story of homeless pets. Saturday, Sept 15th is Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Some are planning a day of volunteer work. Some are planning fundraisers for shelters. What will you do?
