Puppy Love

Normally I post about crimes against humanity like ignorance, intolerance, bigotry, hatred, racism, etc. (usually inflicted by the likes of Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, and Dr,. Laura Schlessinger).  However, today's lesson boys and girls, is all about crimes against creatures who can't even engage in such abhorrent behavior and responsible pet ownership.  Let me just start by saying I LOVE my babies.  All three of them.  And if anything ever happened to one of them I would be devastated.  I have no children although I would love to have one.  That being the case I make up for not having kids by doting on my pups.  There are only two ways my pups will ever leave me. One is by going to that great puppy beach in the sky and the other is if by some unforeseen reason I ever become unable to give them everything they could possibly need. Then I would want them to be in a better place where they could have everything they need or want. But I don't see that ever happening.

I see too many pets (especially the area where I live) that are not taken care of the way they should be because their owners couldn't afford to get them in the first place, don't get them spayed/neutered and don't keep up with their shots because a vet is too much money for them.  If you can't afford the vet, you shouldn't have a pet. It is just like having children and never taking them to get shots or even to a doctor for a check up. It pisses me off that people do that to their pets. And there isn't a whole hell of a lot I can do about it. I wish I had the time and money to take all of them in but unfortunately, I don't.  So many puppies die out here in the country and that is unacceptable. Please make sure you can afford a pet before you get one.  The sad thing about this whole situation is that if I call animal control or a shelter about all of the neglected pets I see roaming our back roads they would most likely be picked up and put down. A staggering 75% of the animals in animal shelters down here in the south are put to death. Despite that disgustingly high percentage, there are still pet breeders down here and folks who will only buy from breeders.  How on earth could anyone even consider buying a bred pet with so many precious creatures in our shelters down here? 

I've recently started watching the show "Last Chance Highway" on Animal Planet. The woman on there is amazing. She is based out of Tennessee and she spends about $75,000 of her own money every year rescuing, caring for and placing animals in homes in the Northeast (where there is a shortage of pets to adopt if you can believe it).  If you live in the Northeast and are interested in pet adoption, please consider helping with the pet over-population down here in the south.  You can go here to check it out.  They're through petfinder.

And just so that I can end a happy and inspirational note, take a look at this video.  It will make you smile the whole way through. :o)