How We Can Help the Unwanted Animals !

I would like to challenge you as an animal lover to visit your local pound and spend a good portion of your day there . As you visit with the animals it will dawn on you that many of societies cast offs will not see another tomorrow. They will not feel the touch of their special owner when they need comfort. They will not be able to chase their favorite tennis ball in the big front yard or wait anxiously for their master to toss it for them. They will not be able to greet their favorite loved one at the door after a long day at work. They will not live to see another day... that is the plain hard truth that many of us choose to ignore.

At some point during your visit you will be overwhelmed as you look into the pleading eyes of the doomed animals. You will feel helpless as yearning hearts look at you begging to be your new best friend. You will be filled with sorrow for all the neglected unwanted animals that I promise you. Your heart will break for the litter of puppies barely old enough to eat , their only crime was being born. Your soul will ache for the little kitten who was thrown out by the curb because her owner could not give her away. Your soul will scream out for the old crippled dog who's only infraction was that he was just getting too old. The endless reasons an animal ends up at the shelter goes on and on. The reasons to me are not justified . The responsibility lies totally with the people.

We as humans can do better by our pets and the animals of the world. All it takes is time and education of the public. The first and most important step is to educate the public about spaying and neutering of our animals. I have heard so many excuses from people about why they can't spay/neuter their animals and the most common one is “ I can not afford the surgery for my pet”. To me this one really bothers me and is often times without merit. If a person can not afford to pay for a one time procedure that is so important why do they even own a pet? If it is looked at it this way it all comes in to perspective. If a person can buy a pack of cigarettes per day for a month they can pay for spay/neuter. Cigarettes cost almost $3.00 per pack that is $21.00 per week which in turn equals $88.00 per month that is normally enough to neuter any male animal and spay a small female animal. If a person pays a cell phone bill every month that averages $100 per month then they could sacrifice a months service to take care of their animal. If a person goes out to eat once a week at a nice restaurant then they probably spend around $25.00 that totals out to $100.00 per month. Can you give up some of your luxuries to do the right thing by your pet? It's only fair that you do. A person should be aware that one unspayed female can result in 50,000 to 350,000 offspring in only 5 years. A person should burn those numbers in their memory and think about them daily. Just consider all the suffering that will result when most of those animals die by being gassed at the pound.

Another step in spay/neuter education is spreading the word about low cost spay/neuter programs for those who really need help financially. You can get a list of low cost services in the US at the web site Love The Cat http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html#states . You can also find options at the local Humane Society in your area. You can find a listing of Humane Societies on the web site Green People. Org at http://www.greenpeople.org/humanesociety.htm.

We can also help support services like the FREE animal placement services such as 4 The Luv Of A Critter at http://www-4-the-luv-of-a-critter.com. They offer assistance with placing an unwanted pet in another home. They list any animal no matter the location or type of animal on their website for free. In turn those looking for a specific type of animal can search the database for a listing in their area. The founder funds the website and all efforts herself with no expectations of being paid for her service. Her vision is to help make pet owners aware there is other options out there for their unwanted animals instead of dumping them off at the pound. The shelters are over crowded as it is and the truth of the fact is about 85% of all animals sent to the pound do not make it out alive. They leave on the back of a truck to be dumped at the local landfill.

We can help raise awareness of animal care,rescue & over population by creating an on line presence. The more information that is out there the better. People should not under estimate the power of the Internet to get a message to a broad array of audiences. So if you do rescue work I would suggest that you have some one to design a website or do it yourself. With most rescues being on a limited budget you could employ services such as the one Techbydesign offers at http://www.techbydesign.org. They offer discounts to animal rescues as well as low affordable prices. They sell & donate design services and also offer webhosting options for those who want to build their own site. They even offer FREE hosting accounts in some instances. The staff at Techbydesign are always willing to help tutor anyone who may need help with any aspect of designing a website. A person should realize that creating an online presence is not that expensive. It could go a long was toward getting the word out about your animal cause.


We as humans owe the animals of the world respect and compassion. Together we as animal lovers can unite together and make a better life for all the animals of the world. We can commit to educating the public on ways to help prevent over population. We can educate people on ways to re home unwanted animals other than sending them to the pound. Last but not least we should never turn a blind eye to an animal in need !

Animals are the reason I live and breathe...without them in my life I would just as soon be dead! ~ ~ quote Betty Sue Haynes