next »

[aandsdean]

I've vented about this elsewhere before, but must again.

As many of you know, we live out in the country on an acreage with six dogs.  It's a highly rural area.  We live on a gravel road two miles from the nearest (very small) town.

Today, our neighbor brought by a little black Chihuahua girl he'd almost run over on the road out front of the house.  She's just a puppy, still has her baby teeth.  My wife took her in and put her in a cat carrier and locked her in a room away from the aandsdogs, for whom she'd be a morsel, not a friend.

Anyhow, this is a cute little helpless purebred dog who must have cost a good bit of money.  No collar, no tags.  She was so scared she shook and shook and shook.  Our wonderful (though slightly crazed) shelter lady said a small dog like a Chihuahua will almost never survive a night out here, because if the cars, trucks and implements don't get her, the coyotes will.  (I believe this--we have a lot of them, plus an occasional fox, who could undoubtedly take a Chihauhua.)

Anyhow, this is a sweet little dog.   She pretty obviously was dumped, as the nearest neighbors are a mile away and I don't think that kind of dog will go X-country at that distance.  

This is the second dog in a year we've found dumped.  The previous one was an elderly crippled white dog who was left by the nearby hog confinement in the -20 February weather.  I took her to the vet and she ultimately was euthanized, which was probably an OK outcome for her, but it was still terrible.

We don't have kids, which probably has some impact on how we feel about this issue, but I literally lie awake at night sometimes worrying about our dogs.  I just can't imagine the callousness of people who just dump a helpless little animal someplace where she'll almost surely die, either quickly or in a hideous fashion.  Plus our neighbor almost drove his F250 into a ditch avoiding the dog, which could obviously have dire implications.

I just don't understand.  Truly, I don't.  I think people suck.

PS:  The Chihuahua is safe at the wonderful local (no kill) shelter.  But it's good that she's small, because there's no room for a big dog there right now.

[lizzy]

I know where you're coming from Aandsedean. I live in a relatively rural area bordering on a large park, and cats and dogs are routinely dumped here. We have one cat, and my kids have allergies, so there is no way I can take in more animals, as much as I'd like to. We have the shelter on speed dial. It's heartbreaking and a hard lesson about human nature for my children, who dote on their cat.

[zarathustra]

So glad you could find a shelter to take the little black Chihuahua.  Our neighborhood has become a place to dump unwanted pets.  I've placed 6 cats so far.  We must look "rich enough" to be able take in/relocate unwanted pets.  My zarapup was apparently abandoned with her sister, which is weird considering she seems to be a purebred that had her dewclaws clipped and everything.  

I was just thinking a few hours ago about the Katrina 5th year thread---I can talk about peoples' sufferings with relative stoicism, but the minute I think about all the dogs and cats that had to be left behind because of Katrina, I lose it.    

[aandsdean]

So glad you could find a shelter to take the little black Chihuahua.  Our neighborhood has become a place to dump unwanted pets.  I've placed 6 cats so far.  We must look "rich enough" to be able take in/relocate unwanted pets.  My zarapup was apparently abandoned with her sister, which is weird considering she seems to be a purebred that had her dewclaws clipped and everything.  

I was just thinking a few hours ago about the Katrina 5th year thread---I can talk about peoples' sufferings with relative stoicism, but the minute I think about all the dogs and cats that had to be left behind because of Katrina, I lose it.    

I've thought a good deal about the Katrina pets, too.  I assume you've looked at that book about rescuing the pets?  I looked at it once but couldn't bear to look again.

Of course it's fatuous to say this because we're (relatively) rich and have access to resources and opportunities that many Katrina victims didn't, but I don't think we'd have left the dogs.  Honestly, I think we'd have stayed with them and died together if that's what would have ended up happening.

[voxprincipalis]

I am most definitely not a dog person, but even I would have gladly taken in that little dog rather than let it be alone out there. I agree that pet abandonment is cruel, and (this is going to sound weird) I only hope that those people who are doing it are doing it because they have been pushed beyond all other limits and they cannot see any other way out.

(This is not to say that I hope that that is happening to anyone -- only that I'd be even more upset if it were born out of "you know, I decided I just don't want a dog, so I think I'll abandon it.")

VP
going to hug her cats right now

[prytania3]

Unfortunately, a lot of people have been abandoning both cats and dogs due to the economy.

There was a sad article about the gulf. Many people were having to bring their pets to shelter because they had no money to feed them.

[aandsdean]

Unfortunately, a lot of people have been abandoning both cats and dogs due to the economy.

There was a sad article about the gulf. Many people were having to bring their pets to shelter because they had no money to feed them.

It's a true disaster.  It's a tragedy for the animals, but it's also a tragedy for the people who love them and just can't keep them.

I have a lot of sympathy for people who have the guts, at least, to own up to it and take the animal to a shelter, even if it's not a no-kill shelter.  It's the roadside dumpers that are beyond the pale.

[mountainguy]

I empathize, Aandsdean. I think it's a combination of (1) the bad economy, and (2) people who don't understand what pet ownership is going to involve. A small but sizable number of people who come through the animal shelter where I volunteer (maybe 1 in every 5 people or 1 in every 6) don't seem to really grasp the idea that pet ownership requires a substantial commitment of time, emotional energy, and financial resources. I haven't adopted any dogs of my own yet (and quite frankly, the landlord's Pepsi Poodle is more than enough), largely because I don't think I have the finances for it yet.

As for the chihuahua, you did a good thing by rescuing her. There have been an increasing number of them abandoned recently due to over-breeding. Why there's overbreeding is a matter of some debate, but the speculation I've heard is that it has to do with media depictions of them (much like the spike in Dalmatians being abandoned after the remake of 101 Dalmatians came out).

[yellowtractor]

Unfortunately, a lot of people have been abandoning both cats and dogs due to the economy.

There was a sad article about the gulf. Many people were having to bring their pets to shelter because they had no money to feed them.

It's a true disaster.  It's a tragedy for the animals, but it's also a tragedy for the people who love them and just can't keep them.

I have a lot of sympathy for people who have the guts, at least, to own up to it and take the animal to a shelter, even if it's not a no-kill shelter.  It's the roadside dumpers that are beyond the pale.

Can we save a guttural for the undergraduates who keep a pet for the school year in their dorm/room/house and then abandon it when they go home for the summer or (especially) graduate?  We find these here every May.

[aandsdean]

Unfortunately, a lot of people have been abandoning both cats and dogs due to the economy.

There was a sad article about the gulf. Many people were having to bring their pets to shelter because they had no money to feed them.

It's a true disaster.  It's a tragedy for the animals, but it's also a tragedy for the people who love them and just can't keep them.

I have a lot of sympathy for people who have the guts, at least, to own up to it and take the animal to a shelter, even if it's not a no-kill shelter.  It's the roadside dumpers that are beyond the pale.

Can we save a guttural for the undergraduates who keep a pet for the school year in their dorm/room/house and then abandon it when they go home for the summer or (especially) graduate?  We find these here every May.

We had two cats at First Job we got this way.  They waxed great and prosperous in our care, though they both died somewhat young (both of kidney failure).  They were good kitties.

[mountainguy]

Oooh, undergraduates who abandon pets deserve a special place in hades. I wonder if these are the same students who don't have the foresight to realize that missing classes will cause them to earn bad grades.

[prytania3]

Actually this happens a lot at the Hamptons of all places.

Rich people buy the dog du jour, keep it for the summer, pack up and go back to Manhattan, and leave the dog strolling on the beach.

Every year, they find all these expensive strays wandering around.

[zarathustra]

Actually this happens a lot at the Hamptons of all places.

Rich people buy the dog du jour, keep it for the summer, pack up and go back to Manhattan, and leave the dog strolling on the beach.

Every year, they find all these expensive strays wandering around.

Maybe I'll have to travel there the next time I want a fancy doggy.  I can have a fab vacation and rescue an animal at the same time!

[southerntransplant]

I was just thinking a few hours ago about the Katrina 5th year thread---I can talk about peoples' sufferings with relative stoicism, but the minute I think about all the dogs and cats that had to be left behind because of Katrina, I lose it.    

There were many. We boarded our husky before we left on our trip and by sheer luck were able to find him again. Our present senior dog was left as a puppy on the side of the road with her littermates right after the storm. She's here while the rest of the litter was adopted by families in Illinois.

What I read about after Hurricane Ike was more chilling. People who, before they evacuated, tied their pets to trees, only to drown in the roiling surge. Why, for God's sake? If you don't want to evacuate with them, let them go find safety on their own. Don't kill them!

[infopri]

How horrible.

Aandsdean, our beloved White Dog was abandoned in our neighborhood.  (He just showed up on our property one day and wouldn't leave.)  He was an expensive dog (purebred), too, and beautiful, and probably only nine to twelve months old.  I live within the city limits, but in a nice neighborhood of single-family owner-occupied homes, with big yards and lots of greenspace in general.  Once we had White Dog and started walking him, we began talking to our neighbors, who were out walking their own dogs.  Much to our surprise, we learned that almost every one of them had gotten their dogs in the same way we got ours: They found them on their property, collars removed.  People apparently figure that, in a neighborhood like ours, someone will take in their unwanted dogs--and, apparently, they're right.  White Dog turned out to be a wonderful companion, and we had him for 14 years before he died last winter.  I suspect that his original owners abandoned him solely because he was an energetic dog, and in his youth he did like to chew things, although he outgrew that pretty quickly.

Also, my first cat here in MyCity was abandoned by an undergraduate.  At least she had the decency to give the cat to a friend of hers, who was my boyfriend at the time, but he didn't really want it.  (He had a dog.)  He took the cat in just to keep it off the street and out of the shelter.  So, I adopted him.  Had he (and then I) not taken the cat, the girl was planning to just "set him free."