bad pet owners

[ILVROTTIS]

im not sure if this is the correct spot for this, but i need to get this off my chest. while i was in school today i started talking to a women who is also a rotti owner, she has a 11 m.o male. She also has a 3 y.o yellow lab. well today she asks me if i know someone who wants her rotti, because he chewed her new couch to pieces, so i said is he crated during the day? no she says i don't believe in that! i was floored but you do believe in loving and taking care of a pet for that long and then disposing of it???? she goes on to say her husband(apparently a bigger jerk than her) says the dogs have to go! they even got rid of the lab who is very laid back, they have had her for 3 years! no problems...she also said this is the first incident that the rotti has really done, pretty much he is a good dog. i was so upset i wanted to cry, how can you have animals and they do something wrong and you get rid of them. Crate them!!!!! they will get used to it. it is not cruel (her words) my friend then says do you want to get rid of them just because your husband says so....she seemed to think the husband is really mean and she(wife) is scared. i am still fuming!!!! i said i would check around, she said her friend got her the rottweiler rescue number for our area but she hasn't got a call back yet. i pretty much begged her not to take him to the spca. then she says well he has a tail so.....i cut her off at that point...so what!!!! alot of rottis have tails, she seemed ok with disposing of her pets....i just don't get it...i don't know what i'd do without phoebe 4y.o cat and mia 5 m.o rotti around. how can people do this????? am i the crazy one????? she was kinda taken aback when i started getting ticked off. sorry this is so long, i just had to vent! thanks

[whitney greenway]

ILVROTTIS,

People like this are all over the place. I really can't say anything surprises me anymore.

Disposeable pets....will it ever end?

Probably not!:(

I can't understand why someone would get an animal and not take the time it needs to actually raise the animal.

A LIFELONG COMMITMENT!

[Soapie&Buddy'sMom]

Originally posted by whitney greenway
I
I can't understand why someone would get an animal and not take the time it needs to actually raise the animal.

It always mystifies me too. People bring animals into their lives 100% by choice. No one is forcing them to take in a dog. So why does anyone take a dog, or cat, or whatever, in if they don't want the responsibility?

[Rottnlove]

There are SOMETIMES good reasons to give up a pet. Most of the time people have horrible excuses and when you get down to it, they just don't want the dog anymore. They make excuses or they blame the dog. In reality, it's there fault for not wanting to take the time to train it and are just flat out lazy! SO as long as we have lazy ignorant people, well have this problem. I don't see an end to it anytime soon. :(

[Soapie&Buddy'sMom]

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.

[DixieGrl113]

A lot of people just don't understand how much WORK and MONEY and TIME you have to invest to keep an animal humanely and keep it healthy. (Emotionally & Physically) I'm not saying you have to be unemployed and a millionaire to keep a pet. But you do HAVE to set aside the time to do the work(feeding, bathing, exercise, training, bonding) and spend money for good quality supplies (Food, grooming equipment, toys, collars, leashes) and medical care. (preventative care and veterinary treatment when needed). If you can't dedicate any and all of this for the care of a pet, you shouldn't have one. JMO. Unfortunetly, in the real world, a lot of people don't give a rip about any of the above. They don't take the time to research their pup much less research the requirments and nessessities of caring fo one properly. Some of them are willing to learn, and they can be taught by those of us who go through the effort of providing the above. I've had friends visit who see my commitment to my dogs and it rubs off on them. They start to see that there is more to owning a pet than going out in the back yard where the dog is kept or chained and putting a cup of food in the bowl everyday, or when they remember. And that most behavior problems can be solved with training and consistantcy and time and COMMITMENT. This applies to all breeds. Not just Rotts.
ILVROTTIS, give her hell. Don't let her make excuses for dumping her pets. I think you did the right thing by letting her know you were upset. People need to know THIS IS WRONG. I agree that there are good reasons for giving up a pet, chewing up a couch is NOT one of them.

[Rottnlove]

Originally posted by Soapie&Buddy'sMom


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.

Yes, I agree with this 100%! If someone is in dire need of giving up there dog, they need to find the right home. If people would be responsible pet owners, we could cut the amount of pets that go to the shelters. Too bad they're too "busy" to do it... And they act like this is a good excuse!!!! :(

[codglvr]

I know the feeling you all are going through. My cousins who were renting bought two dogs(we all know where from) but they weren't allowed to have dogs. So they ask me to help find homes. I do, and awesome homes at that. But then the story changes and they are demanding money, I say no way will I ask these people for that kind of money to take dogs off their hands. So they take the poor dogs to the pound, I never heard about it in time to tell the other people that they had been surrendered and they could go adopt from the pound. Some people are just soo stupid.:(