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We hope that you enjoy the DOT posts and the different views from everyone included. We promise lots of cute pictures, laughter, maybe a tear or two, and some information. Please note that the views and opinions expressed here are each author's own and do not necessarily represent DOT as a whole.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

No More Homeless Animals

Hello again and happy Dogs on Thursday. Please be aware that any opinions expressed in this post are mine and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of the other hosts of this blog.

I had my post for this week all prepared. I was going to talk about first aid for our pets, but Nichole brought it to my attention that February 24 is National Spay Day and so I decided to talk about the animals in need.
We all have dogs and cats that we love as members of our families and many of those pets were rescued from shelters or rescue organizations.

In good economic times there are more dogs and cats, puppies and kittens than there are safe, loving homes to care for them. Now, in hard economic times, too many families are losing jobs, homes, health insurance and are desperate to just keep the human family together. They are making the terrible choice to give up beloved pets.


Shelters across the country are overwhelmed with the numbers of animals they're receiving daily. Many of these pets are older or have health problems that make it harder to place them. These dogs and cats that have spent their lives in homes where they were cared for and loved, now find themselves in cages or pens with dozens of other homeless pets. They're confused and depressed. They don't understand what they did wrong to wind up in this situation.

Most shelters still need food, blankets and other supplies, but what they need most are foster families that can relieve the load until permanent homes can be found. They need volunteers to help walk and play with these animals that are desperate for human contact. Of course, they need money.

What we all need to think about is long range planning. We know there are already more pups and kittens than homes. Now we need to be responsible and spay and neuter our pets. We need to be part of the solution, not add to the problem. Many shelters will help with the cost of surgery. Check with your veterinarian for information on what to expect from the surgery and costs involved.



There are many great rescue groups that will welcome your help. Contact one today and help a scared homeless pet have a bright happy future.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post Sue. I totally agree with you and thank you for bringing it to our attention.
We must take responsibly!!
Let's hope more dogs and cats have a good
DOT day.
Love Claudie
P.S. Do you still have a Mr. Linky? or is that gone now?

GoldenTracks said...

Yes, Sue. Great post. I am totally for spaying and neutering of pets.......but a word of caution. We must be careful in what we wish for. North Carolina legislators are currently trying to severely limit or halt all breeding.....thanks to some deplorable puppy mill arrests having been made; rather than severely prosecute them on animal cruelty charges and legislation of more severe punishment for cruelty. Somewhere there must be a happy medium or if the HSUS has their way we will have no dogs to love. If you don't believe it; read their stand in it's entirety not just the polite PSA's.
OK...just MHO and everyone does have one. Didn't mean to step on anyone's toes. Just want to make sure everyone understands the importance of paying attention to their local legislation.

Dawn said...

Great post!

Sue said...

You're absolutely right. We all need to fight forced spay neuter legislation. The responsible pet owners are already doing the right things. It's the bad owners that make it hard for everyone. By not taking responsibility, they are causing local governments to impose these terrible, often breed specific laws on all of us.

Anonymous said...

Our Katie is both a rescue and is spayed. Sadly in the wintertime she was thrown out while pregnant but everyone has loving homes now. Even when we were on hard times, we searched and found someone to help us pay for a spay for the dog we had at the time.

Lapdog Creations said...

Excellent post Sue!!!!!!!

SissySees said...

Great post Sue!

Raquel Sabino Pereira said...

Fabulous!
My Dog (Kuka Girl) has her own blog (she's quite intelligent), where she talks about this problem affecting Dogs and People...

She is daughter of an abandonned dog who was rescued by a Friend... He sent out an s.o.s. (the referred dog had many puppies) and then Kuka chose my Mother! She is really clever and she is one of my best friends EVER!

restoration42 said...

Thanks for posting on behalf of all the ones who are waiting for their forever homes. Stella and Lena were both rescue dogs and they have enriched my life beyond measure.

Happy DOT!

Cherie

Sonya said...

Very important info. I hope lots of people read it.

Dot O said...

Your post is near and dear to my heart. It just so happens that my pics feature a stray we took in. A friend found her on a highway, tried to return her but the owner didn't want her. Six weeks into our taking her into our home, we found out why... However, for almost 2 years we continued to work with her and with a behaviorist. Sometimes, all the love in the world can't fix a problem.

As nasty as she was, we loved her and miss her to this day. I will rescue again one day....

She's the smaller of the two beagles featured in my post - she went to Rainbow Bridge on 8/7/08.