Hi darling. Whew! So. My last hours of working in the kennel are finally over. It wasn't the most strenuous activity I had ever done in my life, but it was pretty tough to scrub down kennel walls, hose off poop and clumps of fur, and squeegee the floors of doggy kennels. I think the worst part about it for me was not really being able to interact with the dogs... Some of them were in such need of attention or affection.. or both. I felt so sad for them all the time. I'd at least try to pet them through the bars and stuff for a while... most of them are so sweet. It would really upset me if I started thinking about what would happen to them if they didn't find homes.. =(
What's all this nonsense about obtaining purebred dogs from pet stores or even breeders? You can even find purebreds at the shelter. But that is not usually the first option that people tend to lean towards. I understand puppies also tend to be rather cute... but it can't be the only option for your future pet can it? Why won't more people consider getting an older pet? In some ways it can be more of a hassle, and in other ways it can be better on temperment and such. Whether your companion is a puppy, teenager or adult... there is give and take in all of the phases.
The more pressing issue is the fact that there are so many homeless animals out there. Seeing the fact for me... makes me feel worse. It no longer matters to me about getting a puppy or purebred. I'm very much interested in dogs and dog breeds, but I don't find any more of a need for breeders who breed for a living. Why? Because there is no need to. There are already an abundance of dogs that need homes. Why direct people to that option when there are dogs that are much more in need... It's a hard thing to argue.. but what it boils down to is numbers. Numbers that grow and multiply with no control and people that don't know what to do about it. Shelters do what they can.. but this is simply not enough.
Some people say that they won't go into shelters because it makes them too sad to look at the animals that need homes... How can they say that they even care about these animals by choosing to ignore them? Do actions actually reflect thought and opinion? I think they should. But people want to turn away from what they don't want to see. Instead of helping the situation, they ignore it. And that makes me really sad. Really.. if all of society could partake a little in shelter animals.. whether it's adopting one, donating a little money, donating time by volunteering.. it would be such a tremendous affect. It's not all about fixing the problem. It would be more about creating awareness and taking action based on the knowledge of what is simply truth. If the mentality was there as much as it is with society and fast food, or society and shopping... than adopting a shelter pet might become the first option for most people wanting a pet. And think about what an affect that would have on the animals that need homes.. Even if it doesn't make a HUGE difference, even if it doesn't fix the problem, even if it was only one animal more that was adopted because of it... it would still make a difference for that one animal. You would change that animal's entire existance by your action. Everyone is only one person. My mom is only one person and if she disappeared from the face of this earth tomorrow, she wouldn't make a dent in the human population in terms of numbers.. but her whole life and existance would be gone.. not just for her but for the people that knew her.
Think about your own life and how important you think it is... shelter animals have a life to live too and I think it's such a waste to have to euthanize one just because there was no more room at the shelter left or because somebody would rather have a purebred dog from a breeder instead. I realize that life isn't fair... but that doesn't mean that we have to grow a heart of stone just to make our lives more comfortable and "happier". Shelter animals are at the bottom of the list that have the most pressing need for a home in terms of what little time they have left to become adopted.
I remember that one day I got very angry while I was cleaning out the small dog kennels at the shelter because the hose didn't have the adaptor at the end that lets you turn off and on the hose easily. So I had to keep walking back to the knob to turn it on and off and ended up getting soaked because it was difficult to turn off. In that moment, I was unhappy and angry. I was so irritated that I blamed it on the dogs. I was tired of hearing them barking at nothing and crying for attention. I finished my work there and left the kennel for the day without even looking back because I was tired, soaked and just wanted to go home. When I got home and cleaned up, I realized something. I realized that those dogs were still there at the shelter. I realized that those animals didn't have a home to go to at the end of the day. I realized that at the end of a long day, I get to go home to a nice warm bed and all the necessities of life that I could ever ask for. While I go home and worry about the petty things in life: what I'm going to eat for dinner, what I'm going to do for the weekend, getting cleaned up so that I can feel better... some of those animals have nothing but the shelter and their lives will simply end there. Thinking about that made me feel so horrible for getting so angry just because I got my feet a little wet. After I thought about that, I saw that cleaning kennels out was not really such a bad thing. Most people wouldn't enjoy cleaning out dog poop from kennels for volunteer work, I wouldn't say that I enjoyed cleaning out dog kennels either. But I didn't mind in the end doing the job because they really needed it. They needed it so badly that I WANTED to clean out the kennels.
I'm not saying that people should be depressed and worrying about the welfare of these animals continuously... I don't think people have to go home and cry for these animals that don't have homes. Being happy with your life and living it doesn't mean that you ignore all the problems of the world. But I think that people's actions can address the problem at hand and in turn, those actions will have an effect on the lives of shelter animals. I think the best thing that anyone could ever do for a shelter animal is to adopt one. Please take that into consideration when you are thinking about a future pet! Most shelters have dogs, cats, rabbits, sometimes even reptiles and rodents too. At least every county has a shelter if not every city. And please spay or neuter your pet to reduce the number of homeless animals!
<3 Karen
Moving - Sunday, Mar. 02, 2008
Rambles and Kansas! - Thursday, Feb. 07, 2008
In Manhattan, Kansas! - Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008
Minnesota! - Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008
First Interview!!! - Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
