Disposeable pets

[Fierce Critter]

Let me preface this by stating that this is in no way an indictment of anyone who has had to rehome a pet for serious, legitimate reasons. It happens.

I'm on a couple dozen Yahoo groups related to Freecycle (giving away and receiving things you'd otherwise throw away), and buy/sell/trade items (online garage sales basically).

Every week, it seems there's someone posting something like the following, which just hit my inbox:

I have to get rid of this dog. She is very good with kids but we dont

have the room for her and my kids allergies have started to get bad.

She will be taken to the pound if no one wants her. Have a pic if you

request it.

I can recall ones that are similar, such as the people "getting rid of" a dog they had for over 7 years because "they couldn't take it with them when they moved".

Another one I wish I had a copy of. It was worded in such a way that you could tell they just got bored with their pet and didn't want to mess with it anymore. A fellow poster and I wondered privately to each other what they'd do with their kids if they "bored of them."

OMG. We moved with 16 pets. We're waaaaaay low on the income scale. I have allergies beyond belief. I take the time to work with troubled & special needs pets rather than "give up" and discard them.

And before bringing each and every animal into our home, we pre-considered thing such as space, allergies, living arrangements, income, etc. so that we'd never have to be in a position to "discard" a pet.

I just don't understand it. It's so disheartening. :tear =(

[Guest Megalicious]

I know it's so sad =( All the animals I have had have been like family, like my little children, there is no way I could just discard them, and I don't see how other people can do it either.

[The Rod]

yeah the whole "couldn't take the pet with them" line is complete and utter bullshit. anyone with a brain knows that half the apartments out there (and plenty of houses, etc) accept pets into the home. and if you actually cared about your pet then you'd take that extra step to assure you could take them with you. i'm going through that right now actually... i have a cat, she's my baby, and so what if i have to put another $100 deposit down and $20 more a month, i can't leave my baby behind...

[DJ Nocker]

its not sad if they are cats....sorry, i hate cats

[Fierce Critter]

I'd prefer not to turn this thread into a "I hate cats/dogs/marmots/etc." war.

I'm not particularly fond of certain other types of pets. But I still find it sad when people discard them hither and yon.

[Brenda Starrr]

its not sad if they are cats....sorry, i hate cats

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd prefer not to turn this thread into a "I hate cats/dogs/marmots/etc." war.

I'm not particularly fond of certain other types of pets. But I still find it sad when people discard them hither and yon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with you, FC. Because, I could REALLY go off.

[Aralis]

I had a friend a long time back who would get all excited and beg for a certain pet and her boyfriend would get it for her and then a few months later she was bored with it..not taking care of it and bitching about it constantly. That is how I ended up with my chinchilla. I feel like I rescued him. He was kept in a small dog cage in the corner of the house in the dark and was living in his own piss. He had a bend in his tail from my friend's daughter slamming it in the door.

I took proper care of him and got him the right type of cage and he was a different animal within a few months. I still have the little furball and he is as cute as ever.

Anyways I feel bad for animals...people coming up with excuses to get rid of them and not wanting them anymore. I know some people have legit reasons but most people just want to dump them on someone else and want the easy way out.

I got my beautiful tortie calico from a nice family who had bought a persian kitten and claimed that the kitten and the tortie were not getting along. The kitten was constantly bugging the tortie and wanting to play and she did not like this. So they were looking for a good home for her. They found one and I spoil this cat like no other. She is so beautiful and different looking...I have no clue how they could of given her up.

[Guest Megalicious]

  That is how I ended up with my chinchilla.  I feel like I rescued him.  He was kept in a small dog cage in the corner of the house in the dark and was living in his own piss.  He had a bend in his tail from my friend's daughter slamming it in the door.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

=( You feel like you rescued him? YOU DID.

That being said you have a chinchilla!!! YAY!! They are so cute and soooo soft =)

[Aralis]

Yes! He is the softest thing ever!

[Onyx]

I'd prefer not to turn this thread into a "I hate cats/dogs/marmots/etc." war.

I'm not particularly fond of certain other types of pets. But I still find it sad when people discard them hither and yon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, there are several types of animals I am not really fond of to have as a pet, but I would never wish them to be abandoned. It's hard for me to understand how someone could be so cruel as to just throw an animal away like that, particularly when they chose to make a pet out of the creature.

It's a good thing I'm not omnipotent or there would be nothing left of certain people but a smoldering pile of ashes. All my cats have been rescues.

[Rayne]

:tear

Now I feel bad. When I moved in here with Phee, I couldn't bring my pitbull. I had to find another home for him. I loved him. I'm such a dog person. This is actually the first time I haven't had a dog.

Reason's I couldn't bring him:

1. No fenced yard here for him to run and play in.

2. I had him illegally in one city (they had a city ordinance against pitbull ownership) so I'd have to lie to get him licensed here, IF they don't have a city ordinance against pitbulls (which I still don't know).

3. Phee was extremely nervous about having a pitbull (mixed with coyote) around his daughter ... even though he'd been raised with my kids, Phee hadn't been around him all that much.

4. Doesn't get along well with other dogs, there's two dogs in a rather small pen that get out often next door. My dog surely would have attacked one of their dogs if that happened.

I miss my dog. I had to find another home for him and found out recently he died there.

The last thing I wanted to do was get rid of my dog.

... Thanks for making me feel like shit.

[Guest Megalicious]

:tear

Now I feel bad. When I moved in here with Phee, I couldn't bring my pitbull. I had to find another home for him. I loved him. I'm such a dog person. This is actually the first time I haven't had a dog.

Reason's I couldn't bring him:

1. No fenced yard here for him to run and play in.

2. I had him illegally in one city (they had a city ordinance against pitbull ownership) so I'd have to lie to get him licensed here, IF they don't have a city ordinance against pitbulls (which I still don't know).

3. Phee was extremely nervous about having a pitbull (mixed with coyote) around his daughter ... even though he'd been raised with my kids, Phee hadn't been around him all that much.

4. Doesn't get along well with other dogs, there's two dogs in a rather small pen that get out often next door. My dog surely would have attacked one of their dogs if that happened.

I miss my dog. I had to find another home for him and found out recently he died there.

The last thing I wanted to do was get rid of my dog.

    ... Thanks for making me feel like shit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know how you feel =( When I moved here I had to leave my baby, my muddy cat =( I knew he wouldnt like it here (him being a Cali cat ) I was set on bring him but my grandfather begged me not to. I think it was due to the fact that my grandfather had grown very attached to him =) The sad thing is I said yes, I figured I come to Detroit for a while and then return home or somewhere else that was more suitable for my baby, However he died shortly after I moved here =( Im glad I left him there because I belive the 3,000 mile trip would have stressed him out even more and he would have died in a horrible panic, not to mention I would have freaked out in the middle of nowhere stoping to try and find a vet =( I miss my baby =(

But Rayne you loved your doggy =( You didnt want to see him go but you had to =( there is a big difference between that and discarding an animal like a piece of garbage =( .... I dont understand ppl =( ANIMALS HAVE FEELINGS TOO! You have no reason to feel bad =( He went to a good home because you loved him .. you didnt just leave him at a pound ... or even worse in a box in a parkinglot (thats how I found my muddy cat =( can you believe that ? What kind of person does that to a poor little helpless kitten =( )

[Steven]

its not really so suprising that people toss their pets as if they ar an old outdated armchair.

the thrill of having the animal is gone once they realize that actual work and a relationship go with the critter.

And most people who cant handle their pets or need to get rid fo their pets simply cannot stand their pets because they raised a pet with bad habits or high anxiety or whatever.

its sort of the same thing we do to our children nowadays.

[Onyx]

It seems there is some misunderstanding of this thread. I didn't think Critter was referring to anyone who had to find a new home for their pet for a good reason.

I've seen people do just as was described above, get a pet, keep it awhile and get rid of it when it got inconvenient, more than once. My ex husband is a good example of that. It's a continuing cycle with him. Makes me ill.

[Fierce Critter]

Onyx is right, Rayne. I wasn't referring to your type of situation. You had damned good reason, and you did what you could to ensure the dog found a good home. Not your fault he died.

The type of thing I'm referring to has been described by others here. I'm so sick of people who have had these animals for years saying, "if I don't find a home in 2 days, it goes to the pound." Like they didn't know a baby was on it's way for 9 months, or didn't know a move was pending for a year, or didn't research the breed first to know that a beagle bays loudly or a border collie requires constant working to be happy, or that a Siamese is very vocal & attention-hogging?

They can't take a month or so to actually find the animal a home, rather than doom it to the pound with just a few days effort to keep it alive? What the hell is that?

[Homicidalheathen]

I don't abandoned them but....have a story to tell. We have a hampster that the vet thought was totally RAVAGED by cancer. He was shitting on himself and bleeding rectally and swollen. So I was going to pay the 20 bucks to have him put out of his misery but my kids said NOOOO mom don't kill my pet! So I didn't. You know what?

He is getting better.

Mouse miracles!

[Rayne]

They can't take a month or so to actually find the animal a home, rather than doom it to the pound with just a few days effort to keep it alive? What the hell is that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Okay, It did take a month to find a home for my dog. I did have that.

[kellygrrrrrl]

It is very sad.

I have been conciodering becoming a dog and people trainer for dogs.

But I need to be all certified.

I need money for that.

Which I don't have.

[The Rod]

Yeah I should clarify that I didn't intend to say that there's no good reasons to have to keep a pet behind... Some reasons are quite valid such as yours, and you did indeed think out all the options prior to the move. Your not taking the pet with you was probably actually better for the pet in your situation because of the circumstances that could've came about after-the-fact. I'm sorry if I may have hurt your feelings before...

[Aralis]

In certain situations I can understand having to leave a pet behind or finding a new home for it.

Alot of people though don't have good reasons for wanting to get rid of their pet and don't want to put any time or effort into taking care of their pet or finding it a good home. They take the easy way out and just decide I am getting rid of it.

[The_Dark]

Well.. Not everyone values a pets life even half as much as a humans. Infact, I would bet that most people value animal life somwwhat below human life.

You really a baby isn't more important than a dog or cat?

[Shade Everdark]

Well.. Not everyone values a pets life even half as much as a humans. Infact, I would bet that most people value animal life somwwhat below human life.

You really a baby isn't more important than a dog or cat?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, I know this opinion is going to be popular, but as far as I can tell about myself, it's true. If I had to choose between saving the life of some random baby, and the life of my cat, my cat wins.

Deal with it.

[The_Dark]

Well, in that case the courts would. That would be Negligent Homicide and while you were in prison you cat would go to the pound and be put to sleep anyway.

[Fierce Critter]

Obviously, some of us feel quite strongly for non-human species.

And some of us don't.

Please don't make this thread ugly. If you want to debate the value of human vs. animal - create a thread for that purpose.

Thanks.

[The_Dark]

I wasn't trying to do that... I was just pointing out that this is a touchy subject because everyone values an animals life differently. Not everyone values a cat over a human let alone as an equal.