Quote:
Originally posted by Rottnlove
There are SOMETIMES good reasons to give up a pet. |
I agree...but there is never a good reason to give up a pet without finding that pet a new GOOD home.
The majority of reasons that I see for people giving up a pet are "can't handle any more" (that was the reason that Buddy's former owner gave for dumping him at the shelter at nine months old). Say what? What did they do to *try* to handle the dog? And even if that's true, then it's their responsibility as the pet's owner to find the pet a new home. Personally, I have a hundred "good reasons" for giving up Miller, the nine-year old yellow lab I "adopted" last year through a now-ex-boyfriend.
The only good thing I can say about Miller's former owners is that they did try to find Miller a new home instead of dumping him at a shelter. There have been some hard times with Miller and once or twice the thought entered my mind that maybe I'd like to find him a new home....
But I dealt with the hard times, and now it's smooth sailing (knock wood) and I wouldn't in a million years dump Miller somewhere now, at the dignified age of nine years, in some place to fend for himself. Even though I did not expect to have him in my house for the rest of his life, it is the right thing to do and I've made some adjustments. I believe that is my responsibilty for taking him at all in the first place. If I had no conscience, when I broke up with my ex, i would have dumped Miller on him since the only reason I took Miller in was the ex. But that would be making the innocent dog pay for the mistakes of the humans: not something I'm willing to do if I can help it.
Anyway, my point is that there might be good reasons to give up a pet, but there is never a good reason to dump the pet. You have to give up a pet: then *you* find the pet a new, GOOD, home. That's it.