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Want Anxiety Relief: Adopt A Dog Or Cat Today!
The U.S. has a growing stray animal problem that won't go away until we fix it. I believe a great deal of this is due to lack of education. Some cities and municipalities put a lot of funding behind spaying and neutering education. Many communities have no-kill shelters, and a lot of other good is being done. If we educate ourselves, we can make a big difference. Just one person can make a huge difference in his or her own community.
For every American baby born there are seven cats born. A female cat and her offspring can (and usually does) produce nearly a half-million kittens within seven years. One female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years (and usually does).As many as 25% of dogs entering shelters each year are purebreds. Approximately 61% of all dogs are killed in animal shelters. Approximately seventy-five percent of all cats entering shelters are killed.It costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed, and eventually kill each stray animal and paid by, you know who, the taxpayer.
So it is rather easy to see the urgency of becoming educated regarding spaying and neutering pets? The Doris Day Animal League has a wonderful program which can give you a great bit of important information. The SPCA has great info in your own home town.
I do not sit in judgment Though I owned pets all my life, I truly did not understand true pet care until I reached my adulthood. I only knew what my parents taught me which was very limited. As a upper-middle class child, like other upper-middle class kids, my parents bought me "the dog du jour" or what was trendy from a recent movie. From Irish Setters to Golden Retrievers to Great Danes to Sheepdogs. And only from the finest breeders. There is nothing wrong with that. Those animals need homes as well, and I feel good about every animal I learned to take care of as a child (from wherever they derived). Later I wanted cats, and had my share. This was a great education for me and I still utilize that knowledge today.
It has taken me almost eight months to get past the loss of my last dog "Thor" , who "found me" in the mid '90's, lived to be close to twenty two years old, was with me twelve years. I fed him the b.a.r.f. (raw foods diet). He was very unhealthy when I found him, not at a shelter, (though I feel confident I would have adopted this magnificent creature had I found him there), but he was lost in the woods of rural Ms. He showed up with several other weather-beaten dogs. It was tornado season and there was one in the vicinity.
It surprised me that a stray mutt "Thor" could be my inspiration, the living soul on earth who would teach me about unconditional love. He turned out to be my best friend, therapist, and confidant.
I have taken in probably 20 stray dogs and cats since I've had Thor but found them all homes. Thor does not like to share his space with me, and at his age, he is the boss. I don't want him feeling "replaced". I encourage you to run by the shelter and take a look at some of the gorgeous sweet animals desperate for a home. Most shelters are not no-kill so most of them are on death row. You can be a hero to them, and believe me the payback is a million times over. Don't believe me? Give it a try.
About the Author Cartoonist.E-entrepreneur Rick London, founder of Londons Times Cartoons also owns
several funny gift stores online that feature dog and cat cartoon merchandise.
A percentage of all sales benefits various animal causes.
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