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You Know You Love Me
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Lamenting time shares and Yorkies
We bought a Yorkshire terrier, Gypsy, for our daughter because it was tiny, cute, fluffy and had eyes that beamed into us.
After her purchase, we learned Yorkies are stubborn, aggressive and can live for 30 years.
At the same time, we purchased a time share in Scottsdale thinking we had our oasis in the desert. We learned after its purchase that there were yearly fees to pay, booking fees to pay and that we must book a year in advance to get any dates worth having.
We also couldn't sell it because real-estate agents won't handle time shares and many companies that do are scam artisits.
A time share is like a Yorkie, cute at first but a torment for the next 30 years, or untill death do you part, whichevercomes first.
In both instances: Buyer, beware!
-Karen Ann Bolton Yuma
The Arizona Republic January 4th, 2009
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Dogs
WE LOVE THEM SO
WHY? WE DON’T KNOW
THEY SHAKE OFF THE MUD
AND ALL THE CRUD
RIGHT ON THE FLOOR
AND ON THE DOOR
THEY BARK
THEY EAT BARK
(AND OTHER THINGS UNMENTIONABLE)
THEY’RE UNCONVENTIONAL
BUT, HEY! SO ARE WE
THEY WANT TO BE FREE
WHICH LEADS TO A CHASING SPREE
WHILE THEY CHASE THEIR TAIL AND LOOK VERY FAIR
WE CHASE THE HAIR
WHEN THEY LOOK AT YOU CUTE
YOU GO LOOKING FOR THE POOP CHUTE
(YOU KNOW THAT SOMEWHERE IN THE HOUSE YOU’LL NEED IT)
BUT IT’S FUN TO FEED IT!
KISSES FOR SMALL AND TALL
AND BREATHMINTS FOR ALL
ALL TOYS HAVE BEEN SHREDDED
THEY MUST BE BURIED
TIME FOR MORE
HURT YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT TO THE CORE
CAT PEOPLE WHISPER
HERES THE KICKER
CAT PEOPLE THINK WE’RE INSANE!
MAYBE WE CARE
OR MAYBE JUST SWEAR
THAT DOGS ARE THE REASON
AND CAT LOVERS THINK TREASON
THAT WE ARE WHAT WE ARE
DOG LOVERS
*sluuuurp*
Author Athena Weddle
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I Adopted Your Dog Today
I adopted your dog today
The one you left at the pound
The one you had for seven years
and no longer wanted around.
I adopted your dog today
Do you know that he's lost weight?
Do you know that he is scared and depressed
and has lost all faith?
I adopted your dog today
he has fleas and a cold,
but don't you worry none.
You've unburdened your load.
I adopted your dog today.
He doesn't play or eat much
He is very depressed, but he will
learn to trust.
I adopted your dog today.
And I will give him all that he could
need.
Patience, love security,understanding.
Hopefully he will forget your selfish deed.
Author Unknown
Education people, EDUCATION!! Let's pray that 2009 spares more lives than the 11 million killed this year...
(do not stop reading until you've reached the end)
A Letter from a Shelter Manager:
I think our society needs a huge " Wake-up" call.
As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all. ..a view from the inside if you will.
First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day.
Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore.
So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.
The most common excuses I hear are;
"We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets and why did you choose that place instead of a pet friendly home?
Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get?
"We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10- 12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs!
"She' s tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family?
They always tell me:
"We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog."Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies.
Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps.
It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it.
If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose.
If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted.
It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed.
If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long.
Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment.
If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.
Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down"....
First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk - happy, wagging their tails.
Until, they get to "The Room", every one of them freak out and put the brakes on when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them.
Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are.
Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff".
Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams.
They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.
When it all ends, your pet's corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage.
What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?
I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.
I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much further than the pets you dump at a shelter.
Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.
My point to all of this: DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!
Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is.
I just hope I maybe changed one person's mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog.
I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt." THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT!
PLEASE FORWARD, CROSS POST, CIRCULATE TO YOUR CONTACTS!!!!
My Foster Dog
by Unknown Author
My foster dog stinks to high heaven.
I don't know for sure what breed he is.
His eyes are blank and hard.
He won't let me pet him and growls when I reach for him.
He has
ragged scars and crusty sores on his skin.
His nails are long and his teeth,
which he showed me, are stained. I sigh.
I drove two hours for this.
I carefully maneuver him so that I can stuff him in the crate. Then I
heft
the crate and put it in the car. I am going home with my new foster
dog.
At home I leave him in the crate till all the other dogs are in the
yard. I
get him out of the crate and ask him if he wants "outside." As I
lead him to
the door he hikes his leg on the wall and shows me his stained
teeth again.
When we come in, he goes to the crate because that's the
only safe place he
sees. I offer him food but he won't eat it if I look at
him, so I turn my
back. When I come back, the food is gone.
I ask
again about "outside." When we come back, I pat him before I let
him in the
crate; he jerks away and runs into the crate to show me his
teeth.
The next day I decide I can't stand the stink any longer.
I lead him
into the bath with cheese in my hands. His fear of me is not
quite overcome
by his longing for the cheese.
And well he should fear me, for I will give
him a bath.
After an attempt or two to bail out he is defeated and
stands there. I
have bathed four legged bath squirters for more years than
he has been
alive. His only defense was a show of his stained teeth, that
did not hold
up to a face full of water.
As I wash him, it is almost
as if I wash not only the stink and dirt away
but also some of the hardness.
His eyes look full of sadness now. And he
looks completely pitiful as only a
soap covered dog can.
I tell him that he will! feel better when he is
cleaned. After the soap,
the towels are not too bad, so he lets me rub him
dry.
I take him outside. He runs for joy . . . the joy of not being in
the tub
and the joy of being clean.
I, the bath giver, am allowed to
share the joy. He comes to me and lets me
pet him.
One week later I
have a vet bill. His skin is healing. He likes for me to
pet him ( I think).
I know what color he will be when his hair grows in.
I have found out he
is terrified of other dogs, so I carefully introduce
him to my mildest four
legged brat. It doesn't go well.
Two weeks later a new vet bill for an
infection, that was missed on the
first visit. He plays with the other dogs.
Three weeks later his coat shines, he has gained weight.
He shows
his clean teeth when his tongue lolls out
after he plays chase in the yard
with the gang.
His eyes are soft and filled with life. He loves hugs and
likes to show
off his tricks, if you have the cheese.
Someone called
today and asked about him. They saw the picture I took the
first week. They
asked about his personality, his history, his breed. They
asked if he was
pretty. I asked them lots of questions.
I checked up on them.
I
prayed.
I said yes.
When they saw him the first time they said he
was the most beautiful dog
they had ever seen.
Six months later, I
got a call from his new family.
He is wonderful, smart, well behaved, and
very loving.
How could someone not want him?
I told them I didn't
know.
He is beautiful.
They all are.
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