A good friend recently brought to my attention that some pet owners should frankly not be pet owners. I'm an animal lover and I believe that every animal, no matter what kind, deserves to be loved, have a safe home to live in and be part of a family. My family and I have had three dogs and two cats, and currently we have a cockapoo named Henry. He's a curly-haired black dog with a white patch on his chest. He was abused as a puppy and he's afraid of his own shadow but we still love him to the end of the earth. Henry has it perfect now. He's spoiled and is part of our family; I call him my brother and my mom is his mom. But unfortunately, some animals don't have the privilege to live the life many other animals do.
I can't speak for any humane society workers or volunteers. I don't know what they see during the day or what they have to endure while handling dogs and cats that don't want to be there. The animals at the shelter can be strays or surrenders. Some are sick with heartworm or FIV, and some spend their last moments at the shelter surrounded by the amazing workers.
It's unfortunate that animals are surrendered by owners, people that have owned these animals for only a few years or many years. Just the thought of these animals being surrendered by their families breaks my heart. I believe that there are valid reasons as to why someone would surrender their animal. There was a woman that recently lost her husband and she suffered with depression and found she couldn't take care of her dog unless she was able to take care of herself. But recently there have been a string of surrenders that haven't been all that rational and are, honestly, really ridiculous.
A couple recently surrendered their 12-year-old cat because they had a baby. Instead of acclimating Sassy to their child and teaching their child how to treat the cat, they surrendered their cat who had been with them all her life. Another woman had two cats, and she was going to surrender one because it wasn't as pretty as the other. Yes, you read that right. She was going to surrender a cat because it wasn't as pretty.
Some workers and volunteers have noticed an unsettling trend of surrendered animals. The owners simply feel that it's okay to give up an animal that they've had for many years. They seem to find it easy to just drop their animals off in a foreign environment. The animals are unsure where they are or what might happen to them, but the owners are not phased by what they are doing to their animals.
Sadly, Sassy the 12-year-old cat stopped eating when she was surrendered and because she was quite a large, the fat and muscle started to deteriorate in her body. After a couple months, Sassy's liver started to fail her and she had to be put down. The trauma of being in a shelter cannot be easy for animals that have been blessed with the comfort of a home for many years. They often shut down, don't eat, and get hostile and scared. The workers and volunteers try and try again to work with them but sometimes it just doesn't work.
Now I'm not calling out those crappy former owners. I'm simply reminding people that your pets are your family. They find comfort in the home they live, the beds they sleep in and the treats they are given. They find comfort when you come home after a long day and lay on the ground and cuddle with them. But most importantly, your pets love you to the end of the earth, more than you could possibly know.
