kaleidoscope

I’m always checking out Craigslist and the MCACC e-lists because, I dunno, I guess I keep telling myself that if the “right” dog came along and me taking it in would keep it from being put down/being put in the pound in the first place, then I’d find room.

In each of these places, I see the same things: 

• puppies — stop fucking breeding your dogs. Get them spayed/neutered. Chances are you’re NOT actually going to make much money breeding your dog because there are so many in the shelter (and they’re cheaper to adopt, come with shots, are already spayed/neutered) and honestly, I don’t know too many people who go throwing around thousands of dollars for purebreds. If you’re not planning on breeding, there’s no point in keeping your dog in-tact. It’s not good for them, it’s not good for you. Also, stop buying puppies! The more you buy, the more people think it’s okay to go ahead and breed.. just go adopt one from the pound. There are PLENTY of puppies, purebreed and mixed breed alike. Admittedly, I have made this mistake before (not that I regret the awesome best friend I ended up with, but I will be adopting from here on out.) 
• kittens — see above. There’s even less of a chance you’ll make money breeding cats (unless you’re breeding some fancy ass designer cat) and I’m assuming a good portion of it is stray litters, but STILL. Fix your animals. Spay/neuter clinics are around for really cheap (I got my girls fixed for $20 and boys for $15).. if you have a friendly stray in your neighborhood, catch it, get it fixed, release it. It’ll be happier, healthier and won’t bring anymore animals into this already overcrowded world. 
• pit bulls — but then again, this all goes back to STOP BREEDING YOUR DOGS. I’m not going to go ahead and say that they’re harder to adopt out because people are under the misconception that they’re unfriendly, because from what I’ve seen, the pitbulls get a lot of love at MCACC, but I think what makes them difficult to adopt out is 1. breed restrictions in rental living arrangements 2. the fact that there are so, so many. 
• older dogs — this one blows my mind. How can you leave an older dog (or cat, of course) at a shelter or try to re-home them to a stranger in general? They’re more prone to stress, to catching something. They’re less appealing to people adopting because most seem to want younger dogs (ones that already trained, but are still young.) AND if this dog has spent most of it’s life with you, how horrible of you to just dump him/her somewhere. This animal has been your companion.. you don’t just do that to friends. 
• ridiculous surrender reasoning — moving? new baby? If you’re moving, there’s a good chance you can take your dog with you. Most of these people are moving out of state, or to another house. If you really can’t keep your dog, there must be a way to re-home him/her with someone you know at least.. animals aren’t disposable! As for new baby and not having enough attention for both.. your dog is part of your family! Shouldn’t he/she be there to watch it grow? 
• strays/lost pets — lock up the gate to your back yard, make sure your pet is wearing a collar and possibly micro-chipped. If you get your dog registered with the state (which is required) they will automatically drive it home if they find him/her running around lost. Save them that trip to the pound and get it done. 

MCACC takes in over 200 pets every day. The e-list for each day is upwards of 20 or 30 dogs judging by the looks of it on Rescue Network Arizona’s Facebook page. Thankfully, they have a lot of volunteers and fosters standing by to try and place these dogs/cats before they’re forced to take their last breath. But really! You can do your part. 

I’m grumpy, I just woke up, but I can’t stop thinking about this.

Animals were not created for us, but here we are, acting like they were.

Man domesticated dogs to serve him. To breed, to sell, to give as gifts and then discard them. To fight, to starve, chain up, leave for dead. To abuse, turn aggressive and then punish for defending themselves. We’re supposed to be compassionate, but often we treat these animals as toys or accessories when we’re their whole world. They should be ours, too.

Please spay/neuter your pets, adopt, foster, report suspected animal abuse, educate your friends and family..