How Could You?

Call me cheesy, but I actually got a little misty reading this...

**A man in Grand Rapids, Michigan incredibly took out a $7,000. full page ad in the paper to present the following essay to the people of his community.

HOW COULD YOU? By Jim Willis, 2001

When I was a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child, and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?"-but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housebreaking took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed and listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect.

We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs" you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.

She, now your wife, is not a "dog person"-still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate.

Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love." As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears, and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch-because your touch was now so infrequent-and I would've defended them with my life if need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams, and together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway.

There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf. Now, you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog, even one with "papers." You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life.

You gave me a good-bye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too. After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you that you had changed your mind-that this was all a bad dream... or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me.

When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited. I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day, and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table and rubbed my ears, and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days.

As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her, and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood. She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured "How could you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry." She hugged me, and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself - a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place.

And with my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not directed at her. It was directed at you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of you. I will think of you and wait for you forever. May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.




A Note from the Author: If "How Could You?" brought tears to your eyes as you read it, as it did to mine as I wrote it, it is because it is the composite story of the millions of formerly "owned" pets who die each year in animal shelters.
Anyone is welcome to distribute the essay for a noncommercial purpose, as long as it is properly attributed with the copyright notice. Please use it to help educate, on your websites, in newsletters, on animal shelter and vet office bulletin boards. Tell the public that the decision to add a pet to the family is an important one for life, that animals deserve our love and sensible care, that finding another appropriate home for your animal is your responsibility and any local humane society or animal welfare league can offer you good advice, and that all life is precious.

Please do your part to stop the killing, and encourage all spay & neuter campaigns in order to prevent unwanted animals. - Jim Willis

I am bawling like a baby as I read this.

ok, the problem i feel about all thr spaying and neutering is that 1, it wont solve the problem, people will still buy dogs from breeders and then dump them..

it may work on feral animals. but not ones from breeders.

2, if you can only buy dogs from breeders, then they will be able to charge more for them, £400 for a spanial.. £1000 for a british bulldog. all this spaying and neutering will do is create more wealth, and since there will be more demand for dogs (since you cant breed them and have to go to someone).. then more and more puppy farms will open up to make more money, therefore possibly creating more dangerous and violent genetic problems in dogs.. like the blindness in dalmations, the psychotic streak in spanials.. disk disease in daschunds , von willibrands disease and so on.. these unscrupulous breeders have been known to lie about pedigree's and potential problems..

this can also be used for cats..theres genetic problems occuring from over breeding close related cats and dogs..

THIS will NOT stop irresponsible parents from dumping cats and dogs.. it will only make the vets, the breeders more money.. how will spaying your cat stop cats from being dumped.. it wont, it will stop them breeding in the wild.. but thats it..

but i agree its an upsetting story, and if i could i would have dozens of dogs, and dozens of cats so long as we had the room. some would be genetically related, because i want the continuity that goes along with them. and i would only give them away to vetted people and spay those but only given to good people we personally know., if we gave any away at all. i have always lived with dogs(and how hard is it to keep female dogs away from male dogs during their time), and its always been a shame we couldnt have the great grandkids of our first wonderfull dog. who was the gentlest and kindest dog, or our second who tried to lick a poor recently dead bird back to life, and didnt try to eat it.. or our 3rd who was a little love, who was happy to see us, or our 2 ones now, who are just so precious beyond words.. (each dog lived to at least 12 some to 15.).. i much prefer animals to humans. hell i would love to wipe out all humanity and leave the animals alone and in peace.. i just have to question some of the idealogy of spaying and neutering.. and how that will stop unwanted animals being dumped (they could already be spayed and they would still be dumped)

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

The point of sterilizing animals isn't simply to stop them from being dumped, it's to decrease the number of homeless pets. Most shelters are horribly overcrowded, and there are already exponentially more homeless pets than there are homes with responsible owners. People will always dump pets, but it's much easier for a shelter to only have to take in and pay for food, medical treatment, toys, training and find a good home for one animal instead of an entire litter.

Look at your own pets - by not breeding your own animals and keeping their puppies, you were able to help dogs who were already born find a loving home they wouldn't have had otherwise. Dogs that you love just as much, right? Just by doing that you made a difference.... Unless you bought your new dogs from a breeder, in which case you're just one of the people who're contributing to the problem...

we did buy them from a breeder of show dogs, but they are too small to be bred from, and would have been put down, so we saved them that way.. they are ex champions, we have always tried to get animals that were already adopted but for some reason they didnt want them.. so we rescued them (and they werent that expensive).. they would die or have to have a ceasarian if we wanted them to have puppies.. and once again keep the animals indoors during that time.. its that simple, but people would keep them outside all year long, thats a symptom of NOT caring, having an animal where you cant hold it, cuddle it..

**The point of sterilizing animals isn't simply to stop them from being dumped, it's to decrease the number of homeless pets**

but it wont do that, if a person dumps a dog or a cat at a shelter, then thats the owners responsibility, even if its taken from a breeder, or a back door person.. the effects are the same (and anyway how easy is it to keep the animal inside during that time or year).. all the steriliztion will do is put more power and more money into vets, and into the breeders of dogs and cats.

but i say again how will it stop the over crowding, people are equally likely to dump ones bought from breeders, than those who dont.. (our first second dog muffin wasnt interested in girl dogs, or boy dogs, he just wanted to run about and play.. so he was childfree).. irresponsible people will dump dogs, regardless of spaying or neutering. it will NOT stop the dumping of animals.

this is 2 things, but they are mixed up in most peoples minds..

1. people who dump animals, will dump them no matter what happens if they are spayed or not.

2. spaying and neutering in animals give more power and money to a lot more people. and who controls the quality of the animals.. if you make it so that only a limited amount of people can produce a product.. they will charge a lot more, and less scrupulous people will join in for the money..

it turns animals into pure money, for the breeders.

now i know people will scream at me, and shout, but this is how i feel. and if you think about it, you will see i am right.. its the irresponsible people we need to sort out.. not the animals.. animals are not the problem.. people are..

where i live the nearest pet shelter is abut 18 miles away, and its only open during the day, not at the weekends, not after 5pm... so how can you get the animals from there.. i would have to travel by bus, or mum to take a day off.

animals will be dumped whatever we do. should we drown and kill all cats and dogs, or make sure there is only 1 official breeder to charge whatever they want. (some animals its unavoidable i admit that, but generally).. to have bad people using animals as just a cash resource.. thats the sick part of all this idea of spaying and neutering. vets and breeders wanting more and more money..

now some will scream at me, how dare i say things like this. but i see more possible abuses, i would love to have more dogs and cats, hundreds of them if i could.. rescued or bred by me for me.. so i love animals possibly more than most. and i see the dangers of some of the policies that are promoted. even if you cant

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

even this cat charity wants to charge you.. so essentially, they are just as bad as the ones who charge for kittens or dogs..

http://www.cpsthelens.org.uk/homing.html

As a charity we don’t charge a fixed cost for adopting a cat. All that we ask is for is a generous donation to help towards our costs. The average donation we receive is around £40 - £50 per cat/kitten. We have already saved you a lot of money with the care that we have already given to the cats and kittens and incurred a lot more than this to try and ensure that you are taking a healthy cat.

Sorry we don’t believe in giving away cats and kittens away for free, if you are unable to afford a reasonable donation it is hard for us to accept that you will be able to afford to look after a cat.

http://freshfieldsrescue.org.uk/

this one is about 18-20 miles away.. so yes adopting animals would be good. this is just another way to gouge animal lovers..

Adoption fees for puppies and neutered adults are £85. This includes vaccination, microchiping and any other medical issues dealt with.

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

Where did you see anyone say that spaying/neutering will stop people from dumping animals? It said that it will prevent unwanted animals. People will always dump pets, that's a fact - but think about this: if a person dumps a pet and it's picked up by a non-profit shelter, will it be easier for the shelter to take care of and find a home for just the one dog or an entire litter? Sterilizing won't stop all animals from being dumped, and it won't end the problem of all unwanted animals - but every little bit helps.

And how do you figure that shelters are as bad as breeders because they charge fees? Most of those organizations are fully operated by volunteers and their only source of funding is donations and small adoption fees. They have to pay to have every single animal they take in fed, groomed, checked out by a vet, treated for any conditions, vaccinated, chipped, supplied with a decent bed & toys, training - everything. I would think that a person would be more willing to pay $50 to adopt a pet, knowing that money would go to helping other animals, than $1500 to a breeder who's just out to make profit and doesn't care about anything other than money.

well the first article is about dumping pets, but at the very end, it says about spaying ansd neutering. so if it says on the bottom its a link to the top story.. so there is a causal link to spaying and neutering, from the story..


its only when shelters say, we will check to see if you will have a cat or dog, and this fee is to pay us back.. shouldnt the prospective owner be the one to decide.. i want a cat, if i go to the rspca, i can get a kitten or an older cat for less.. same animals..

I will say how dare you. How dare you judge the shelter system, vets or anyone who works FOR the benefit of animals. Please, feel free to take the time to put a little thought into the process.

Yes, of course people will always dump animals, because alot of people see animals as someTHING as opposed to someONE. The problem isn't in the animals, it's in the people. Encouraging sterilization programs is good because it keeps unattended/escaped pets from "accidentally" making a litter which will end up in the shelter. Sterilization programs have no effect on the number of breeders. Sterilization programs have everything to do with educating the pet owning public.

The only real duty of breeders is to breed animals for a profit. They don't spay/neuter their animals because their business is baby animals. Undesirable animals are either euthenized or sold at a cheaper price. Breeders engage in "forced" breeding of animals, which we have discussed here before. Breeders are what bring about the term "puppy mill", wherein viable female animals are bred continually in order to have a constant stream of puppies. Already, alot of the 'purebreds' have congenital problems that are directly due to a lack of diversity in the line. Breeders have longer hours because they can. The only duty of a breeder is to give an animal to someone who is willing to pay money for it, not to ensure that animal goes into a proper home. This has nothing to do with spay/nuter programs and everything to do with people and their desire for a living, breathing status symbol.

Shelters are non-profit organizations run, for the most part, on donations only. Shelters DO NOT BREED ANIMALS, and have little to do with adding more animals to the population. Shelters have limited hours because they are staffed by volunteers who also have lives outside the shelter to pay for. Shelters have a duty to ensure their animals go into responsible, caring and perminant homes. The fee is considered a "donation" which is used to maintain the facility, provide vet care for the animals, possibly "resocialize" abused/feral animals, pay what few staff there are, and to provide a decent quality of life for the animals. Generally when a person gets an animal from the shelter, it has had all it's shots, has been sterlized and possibly "resocialized" all of which costs money. No shelter gives their animals away for free because those "fees" are what support the shelter, and the animals that they continue to take in...think of it as social security for unwanted animals if you wish. And yes, it does keep people who can't affort to properly care for an animal from getting one from the shelter, and I don't really see the problem in that.

Sterilization also makes pet ownership easier. Most people are less likely to retain a pet who goes into heat and urinates or bleeds on everything, and/or keeps them awake for nights on end on a regular basis. Sterilized animals are generally calmer and easier to manage. Again, this has no real impact on breeders, and vets approve of it because the reason people become animal docs is because they love animals and want them to be happy in the homes they're in.

I should also add that it's sort of "tradition" in the US to include an encouragement to spay/neuter your pets at the end of any sort of piece focusing on pet shelters, whether or not the animals written about would have been saved from the shelter due to sterilization.

People do DECIDE whether or not to pay the fee that the shelters charge, if they don't want to pay the fee, they don't have to go to the shelter. It's kind of like people making the decision to support a breeder by paying upwards of $500 or more for a purebred pet.

It's not like people can't get animals for free, no one in my family has ever paid for a cat, myself included. All one really has to do if they want a free dog or cat is to a. let other people know, eventually someone is going to know someone who has a pet they don't want, b. read the want ads in the newspaper, there are always at least a couple "free to a good home" offers and c. read their email, pretty much on a monthly basis I get an email from someone looking to get rid of unwanted pets, or (cat specific) d. keep a dish of food out by the back door, eventually you'll end up being "adopted" by a stray.

Around here it's about $90 to get a cat from the shelter, which is actually a lot cheaper than all my "free" cats who cost at least a couple hundred dollars to vaccinate and sterilize.

this shelter then proceeds to sell you items you dont need, but they wont allow you to take the animal without it, then they sell u high price food $4 worth (thats 1 tin)when you can get the same quality for a quarter the price for it.. and so on.. so your £45, soon becomes over 100.. thats what i object too. you cant use a normal carrier(one you may have bought previously for a prior cat even if you buy it from a vet), you have to buy one from them.. or you wont have a cat.. is that right.. no.. thats what i meant.. we have shelters that dont charge an arm and a leg for stuff you dont need. thats what i mean for that shelter..

like the rspca., like pdsa, like catshome, there are many many that dont charge extra for other items.. but in the Uk its not common to spay and neuter your pets. and we arent over run by cats and dogs. because we generally keep our pets inside.. and before you shout and scream, i donate to pdsa. they dont charge exhorbitant prices for everyday items.. i know this charity, it does do good work, it gets food donations from supermarkets, and the companies.. at least some..

now this is my last word on this subject..

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

That doesn't even make sense. A shelter wants the animals out, generally due to a lack of space and/or lack of desire to euthanize them. As far as my experience goes, unpaid volunteers at shelters love animals and don't want to see them dead thusly it is in their best interests to see to it that the animals go into decent homes with a limited amount of hassle. It doesn't make sense that they would force someone to pony up a bunch more money to take the animal. If one is, that's a problem with the individual shelter, and certianly not an issue with the entire system. If you have a problem with their policies, then bring it up to their board of directors, or executive director.

A shelter requiring an adopter to take a crate even if they already have one isn't unheard of - but it's usually in the case of an animal who's been severely abused or neglected who has an attachment to his shelter-crate - it's a place where they feel safe, sort of a security blanket. The times I've seen it happen it's been done strictly for the mental well-being of the animal, not so the shelter can put the screws to a person. If it happens again, ask them if you can trade in the crate you bought with you in lieu of a fee.

They also sell special-formula pet food for animals with medical conditions that require a special diet. You may have a 50lb bag of generic dry food at home, but if the animal can't eat it they'll ask you to buy a few cans of food to last you until you can go to the store.

Feh's right about how the staff at shelters love animals and want to see them go to good homes - they aren't trying to hassle potential adopters, they're just trying to do what's in the best interest of the animal.

I noticed that this is an older thread, but still. It broke my heart to read that article. I have had to have two cats euthanized, both due to cancer; it is terribly difficult. Still miss those little ones, they were our first cats.

Thank you, Feh and Stephanie, for defending shelter practices. I volunteer at the county shelter as a "socializer," and it's hard when people bring in a critter because it pees in the wrong place or some other halfassed reason. My last cat came from the shelter, and the fee of $75 was well worth it. The shelter workers do a wonderful, and largely unseen, job. I don't begrudge the cost, as they aren't getting rich doing what they do.

Keep this in mind, also, about shelter fees: there are folks who work for labs who go around gathering up all the free animals they can. "Free kittens" ad in the paper? They're there. Sometimes with a story about how much they'll love the animal and care for it. Yeah right. I read an absolutely sickening story years ago about a guy who abused animals--don't even ask me to tell you how, you'll want to throw up--who would also do this. Sometimes he even took his kids along to pick up the animals, to help with his bullshit about it going to a good home. The people believed it--those quoted in the story though noted how they had seen that the kids didn't seem very excited about getting a new pet. Of course not--they knew what was going to happen to it!

Charging for animals not only offsets fees for their care, but also discourages these folks who only want the animals to abuse them.