This is going to be a preachy post, so if you don’t want to read about animal overpopulation and a little bit of politics, skip over this entry.
This is Buddy, who was rescued from the Devore, CA shelter in 2010. He was only 3 months old and sentenced to death.
I’ve been frequenting the dog park here in Long Beach ever since I was first able to bring Buddy with me, and let me tell you, I’ve met a lot of really crazy people.
I know that I’m crazy about my dogs. I honestly do not care what people think of my obsession at this point, because it makes me happy. Not everyone understands this deep obsession, so the dog park is almost like a support group for those of us who share this same affliction. It’s usually filled with kindred spirits.
Sometimes we get the designer dog owners who dress their chihuahuas in sweaters in 80 degree weather and insist they are “cold. ” Other times, it’s people who don’t want their pooch to get dirty because they just got them back from the groomer. There is one woman who gets her mini poodle’s nails painted, and has her hair done like Diana Ross. Others are afraid to let their dog off the leash in the off leash dog park because they are afraid their dog is going to go on some kind of crazy rampage. A woman once yelled at me because Buddy was following his natural instinct and trying to dominate her dog by humping her.
The little brown dog on the left was my very first foster dog. He was rescued from under a truck during a very rainy season here in Southern California. He now goes as “Mr Fox” and lives a very spoiled life with my best friend, who became his person.
I kid you not. Us dog lovers are some whacked out people. We treat our dogs like family, because they ARE.
I don’t mind being part of this group. We’re all varying levels of crazy but we all have a mutual understanding. Most of the above people “rescued” their dog – when this is announced by the dog’s owner, you can almost guarantee a collective happy sigh will come out of the group. We are aware of the problems with breeders and it hurts us to think about.
Then, there are a whole group of other people in the dog world, who seem to be completely oblivious or just flat out not care about the animal overpopulation problem. They want to profit from these animals.
*CUE SARAH MCLAUHLAN MUSIC*
This is my latest foster, Bebe, who, in her last home, was a victim of an unwanted doggie pregnancy that broke her front leg. They kept her puppies and were going to send her to the kill shelter.
Don’t worry. I’m not going to post sad photos of dirty and miserable looking pups. Those commercials are just as inhumane as the treatment those animals have received.
If you’ve ever visited a county run shelter in Southern California, you have seen first hand what breeding does. These are “high kill” shelters. The cages are often filled with Pitbulls and Chihuahuas. Did you know there are cages that are not shown to the public? Of dogs that aren’t good enough for homes according to Animal Control?
On top of that, if you drive around low income neighborhoods in South Los Angeles, you will see stray dogs running all over the place. If you’ve seen “Pit Boss,” you’ve seen just a portion of what is really going on here.
Some of these animals are forked over to rescues (or saved from the streets by rescue organizations before they even reach a shelter). Animal Rescuers face the daunting task of trying to find foster homes or adopters, but most of these animals will die in the shelters. There are just too many of them and not enough help. Not to mention laws making it difficult for people to have dogs in their homes if they are not home owners.
Too many people don’t get their animals fixed. When dogs breed, the overcrowding problem in shelters increases exponentially.
Part of this problems is due to owner ignorance. People have not been educated on how easy it truly is to get your animal neutered or spayed.
Others don’t spay or neuter their animals on purpose – usually they plan to breed their dog (because of the dog’s coloring or temperament, or breed) and then make “big bucks” on the puppies.
The people that are out for profit from the breeding and fighting of dogs and other pets REALLY bother me. Yes. There is something to be said to get a puppy who has been well socialized and is healthy and has papers, etc. But what about all of these other dogs that are dying and being thrown into abusive situations? Should we just allow this to continue?
This isn’t only a problem with dogs- we have a problem in Southern California with cats and bunnies also!
I unfortunately do not usually have the time to actually get out in the community and volunteer, but I was able to finally give back and create a logo for Fix Long Beach!
However, there is a solution. Education. Spaying and neutering is very affordable.My opinion is that if you own a pet, you should be able to afford to spay or neuter them – but if you can’t, it turns out there is help out there.
There are clinics all over the Southern California area, and now there is a new group in Long Beach called “Fix Long Beach.” They are a group of volunteers dedicated to spreading the word about spaying and neutering and even offering low cost clinics in the area.
If you want to search for low cost spay & neuter clinics in your area, you can use the handy tool on PetSmart’s website: http://www.petsmartcharities.org/spay-neuter/locator/
Buddy Sez: Not every dog can be as lucky as me! Don’t be part of the animal over population problem – be part of the solution!
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