Make Me Wanna Holler
I want credit for the not-screaming I just did. I was standing in a local pet store, buying one of the endless accessories my Nothing-more-expensive-than-a-free-cat cats require, when the door opened. First, a very large Staffordshire Terrier came barreling past me with a woman following him. I say him because well, he was very "Him-ish," if you know what I'm saying. We made small talk. I learned:
1. She found the dog running down the street that morning.
2. She intended to keep him.
3. She didn't intend to neuter him, because neutering bothers her.
4. She hoped he got along with her other dog, also a Staffordshire.
5. Who is a female.
6. And not spayed (See #3).
7. She was joyfully anticipating puppies.
I suggested through gritted teeth she go to any nearby shelter and note the rows and rows of adorable and available Staffies, most of whom will end up being euthanized. She blinked at me. I realized I might as well have this conversation with the bag of cat-food I was holding. I said sincerely, "He's a lovely boy," and then added less sincerely, "I hope it all works out well."
Now that I think of it, I meant the second part, too. My definition of "Well," however, might be slightly different than hers. And then I jammed a piece of the Halloween candy from the basket on the counter in front of me and bit down hard. Not-screaming is easier when your incisor is trapped in nougat.
1. She found the dog running down the street that morning.
2. She intended to keep him.
3. She didn't intend to neuter him, because neutering bothers her.
4. She hoped he got along with her other dog, also a Staffordshire.
5. Who is a female.
6. And not spayed (See #3).
7. She was joyfully anticipating puppies.
I suggested through gritted teeth she go to any nearby shelter and note the rows and rows of adorable and available Staffies, most of whom will end up being euthanized. She blinked at me. I realized I might as well have this conversation with the bag of cat-food I was holding. I said sincerely, "He's a lovely boy," and then added less sincerely, "I hope it all works out well."
Now that I think of it, I meant the second part, too. My definition of "Well," however, might be slightly different than hers. And then I jammed a piece of the Halloween candy from the basket on the counter in front of me and bit down hard. Not-screaming is easier when your incisor is trapped in nougat.
posted by Unknown at 12:46 PM
11 Comments:
Er, she didn't plan to advertise that she found a dog? Take it to a vet to see if it had an implanted ID?
Most people do not understand how irresponsible it is to produce puppies while so many healthy dogs get put to death. Me, I think neutering should be free (states, wake up! think how much money you'd save on animal shelters and dog catching!) and that having an unneutered dog or cat should require a very expensive annual license. Period.
um, maybe that dog belonged to someone else? i'd feel really bad if i lost my dog, only to find out that someone wanted to use him for their personal puppy mill.
I admire your self-control. I am so shy that I have been called mute for many times in my life, but I tend to scream and say the wrong things when people are stupid and uncaring about animals or those who are vulnerable. (I have been fired from a job for telling off a woman who was violently hitting her kid.) I think you did the right thing, and I am glad that you tried to help her by conversing on the topic. Although she may not have heard you today, you have made her aware, and that can ricochet in the long-term of waking her up. :)
Sometimes I wish it was actually possible to shake sense into people. Did she not even consider that someone might be missing their pet? What is she planning on doing with the puppies? If she's planning to sell them she won't get much anyway without the male dog's papers and some of them will probably end up at an animal shelter. Responsibility is probably not one of her strong suits. *Sigh* every time I gain some faith in humanity I hear about stuff like this.
Bravo to you on not screaming. I don't know if I would have had the willpower.
Silently screaming right along with you... (And hoping that some family isn't desperately searching for their beloved lost pet.)
weirdly, it makes me understand the possibility of why aliens do anal probing... *awkward laugh* because it makes me wish she would be scooped up and treated like a poor stray so she could understand. i only take in rescues these days, though i've moved into a house with pugs that we have as inheritence from our parents and a brother's crazy ex-wife....rescues of a sort.
she, like so many, need to have a wake up call.
I think you should have screamed.
I just had the same thing happen to me. I do dog rescure 1 dog at a time. I have 4 of my own.
I offered the lady $100 cash got the dog a 60 lb coon hound. I posted him in the lost and found for two weeks. the took the dog to the vet(No Chip)Had him checked over. got all this shots given. Yesterday he was neutered. I'm spending this time to make Hunter the perfect adoptable dog. In a week or two I will turn him over to a local Rescue. I will continue to foster and he will go up on Petfinder.com. I'm sure we will find Hunter the perfect forever home. We had better, I'm starting to fall for him. My consort says 4 80 lb dogs is enough. WHY
I aspire to a dog. I suspect, though, my furniture, er, cats would take issue.
credit grnted for not screaming, i like that expression - i want that credit too, when earned. also, i'd like it pointed it out when i was wrong for not screaming.
We have 2 rescued dogs. Lost our first to a freak accident which broke our hearts.... It makes me want to scream, too. What's worse is that someone would find a dog and not have it checked for a microchip. One of mine got spooked when neighbor kids threw firecrackers over the fence on July 4th one year, and ran off. She was gone for 2 days, and I was frantic - if she were found, would they just keep her? would they be good to her? would they abuse her? Someone out there is out of their minds with worry wondering what is happening to their family member! Sigh.
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