Don’t get a pet that is going to end up in a box freezing
A Facebook post about a momma dog and her newborn puppies, abandoned in a cardboard box in Clearlake was hard to take. If they had not been found, the puppies would have frozen to death. Even though they have been rescued, they are so young that their lives may still be in danger.
Why do people abandon their pets? The reasons are mixed: Discovering they can’t afford to care for the puppy or kitten; pets are more work than expected; they don’t have a pet-friendly place to live. For some, when the glow of that cute puppy or kitten turns into the weight of responsibility, it’s easier to just walk away.
It’s Christmas! Some parents are looking forward to surprising their kids with the long begged for puppy or kitten. What a wonderful Christmas morning that will be! The joyful, tearful, “thank you” with hugs and kisses, choosing a name for the new puppy or kitten, and unwrapping the toys and treats for the new pet.
It’s a Christmas no one will forget—until the reality of pet ownership sinks in:
- The cost of veterinary care, including vaccinations, spay/neuter, and emergencies.
- Puppies and kittens need special food and proper nutrition for their growing bodies.
- What seems like endless watchfulness to teach the puppy to potty outside.
- Kitty grows up (in four to six months), and wanders the neighborhood coming home pregnant, or injured.
- Puppy starts getting out of the yard and wandering the neighborhood, coming home with wounds, pregnant (as young as 6 months old), or broken bones from being hit by a car.
- Kitty and Puppy pick up illnesses and parasites from an infected animal or eat something toxic.
- There is no extra money in the family budget to spay or neuter Puppy or Kitty, and now there are more puppies and kittens.
The American Kennel Club has published an article about the lifetime cost of having a dog. Depending on the size and lifespan, the cost can range from $15,000 and upwards. That’s a minimum of $1250 a year for a small, healthy dog that has been spayed or neutered. Larger dogs are more expensive.
Before you pick out that cute puppy or kitten from the box of freebies at the shopping center, adopt from your local shelter, or even buy a puppy or kitty, be absolutely sure you are committed, emotionally and financially, to that pet for its lifetime, through good and bad.
Please don’t get a puppy or kitten that’s going to wind up in a cardboard box in freezing weather. It’s okay to wait until your family is financially and temperamentally ready.
—Jackie Iddings, Clearlake
Have Peace
God did not expect nor intend us to master or meddle with the forces of nature. If we lift our problems up over our heads and throw them up in the air as high as we can, they will be taken by the wind and carried off far from our worries and fears and where they fall, everything will be restored to perfect order. Such is the case with all things. We need not interfere or intervene with that which is beyond our control. We need only to have faith and to believe with all our heart.
Have peace my friends
—Howard Glasser, Kelseyville
