We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.”
― César Chávez
Have you ever stopped to think what it must be like for an animal that suddenly gets abandoned by its owner? All throughout their life they have loved only one person and then one day out of the blue their owner decides to abandon them. The worst part is the owners don’t even have the courtesy to leave their animals in shelter homes; they just dump them in faraway places or in ditches or forests. How can people be so inhuman? Did they not love their pets at all or is their heart made of stone? It’s not only cats and dogs that people abandon, all kinds of pets are abandoned by people. Whether it is a guinea pig or a teacup pig, a turtle or an owl people leave them in an unfamiliar environment and move on without a second thought.
The most common reason for this is that people try to follow movies and celebrities. If a movie or a celebrity showed a particular kind of animal as the new must have people rush to buy that animal. They forget to realize the fact that animals are not fashion accessories but real living and breathing things. You can’t just get one when you feel like it and then abandon it when you are bored. Other reasons which people cite for leaving their pets are “landlord does not allow cats and dogs”, “ moving out of state for work”, “no space in new house for pets” and the most common of them all “ a family member developed allergies”. If you decide to bring home a pet you must think about the future. Bringing home a pet then keeping it for a year or two and then dumping your pet on the streets because you are leaving the country or a new family member developed allergies is not right. If this is not animal cruelty then what is. Since your pet is used to the comforts of your house how do you think it will survive outside, alone and hungry?
The saddest part is even in pet shelters, animals are given a few days to live during which if they are not adopted, they are euthanized. Some dogs and cats become aggressive after they are abandoned and some are abandoned because they suffer from some terminal illness or an injury. Don’t these animals deserve a second chance? Most aggressive animals are euthanized early because the chances of them finding a new home are next to impossible.
A lot of people abandoned their animals in their previous homes which have been foreclosed. The animals are left in these houses without food and water and when the people from the bank enter the premises they find either dead or highly dehydrated pets. This is done as an act of defiance against the people who took away their homes. People who do such things to their pets must be punished. Anti cruelty laws must be made and anyone who dares to commit such crimes must be prosecuted. Why torture poor animals just because you are angry at the bank authorities? This is unacceptable. In times like these you must love your pets more and keep them close to you. Even if everyone in the world leaves you, your pets never will. They will love you and look up to you even if you are the worst person if the history of the world.
BEFORE ABANDONING YOUT PET, EXHAUST ALL YOUR OPTIONS.
If you are thinking of moving to a place with a no pets policy, and you will have to abandon your pet before you move then don’t move. You can always find places that allow you to keep pets. If you have to move no matter what ,then ask a family member to look after your pet dog or cat till you find a home which allows you to live with your pet. When you have brought a pet home it depends on you, so giving up is not an option.
If you lost your job and cannot afford to keep your pet anymore make a budget and see what exactly are the things that your pet absolutely needs. A healthy diet with lots of exercise and its vaccinations on time are the only important things. The rest can wait. So don’t give up on your pet so easily.
If you are having a baby and you are worried that having a dog in the house is dangerous then you are mistaken. If your dog is well behaved then there is nothing to be worried about. In fact dogs make the best companions for children. This way you can teach your child to respect animals from an early age.
Always remember that animals are never like they are shown in movies. They are living entities and should never be treated as fashion accessories. After the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’ series got over thousands of turtles were abandoned in the rivers, the same goes for all the Harry Potter fans that abandoned many owls because they realized that the owls weren’t like Hedwig.
It’s about time people realized that abandoning their animals or torturing them is not the solution to their problems. When we bring an animal home we are making a lifelong commitment to love and protect it and under no circumstances should be break our oath to them.