“How much is that puppy in the window?”
If you have ever been tempted by a cuddly kitten or puppy in the pet store window, please think again.
Pets do not make good gifts, especially not at Christmas-time. One reason is that the holiday season is so hectic, full of excitement and lacking in routine, that it causes high levels of stress in us and in our own companion animals!
A new animal needs the exact opposite of this: she needs a quiet and calm environment where her new family can pay special attention to helping her settle into her new home. Establishing definite patterns and expectations is the best way to help everyone make a good start.
It’s especially important not to give an animal as an unexpected gift. Taking on a companion animal requires thought about which breed of animal will fit best in your household and realism about the level of commitment involved: the animal will not only change your routines, he will cost you money for years. Expenses for feeding and housing and regular vet care, without any emergencies, can easily run to $1500-$2000 a year. And your kitten or puppy could live to be 15 or even 20 years old.
And a kitten or puppy purchased from a pet store or online is very likely to come from a kitten or puppy mill, where the mothers are bred till they are worn out and then disposed of. Below is a poem from the website greyhoundmuses.com, reproduced with permission, which expresses the tragedy of puppy mills.
A better option is to adopt a cat or dog from a rescue organisation. Huge numbers of healthy cats and dogs are euthanised every single week in Canada and the U.S. because no one offers them a home. Your Christmas gift to the animals could be to help end irresponsible breeding and to work towards a world of no-kill animal shelters. That’s my challenge to you. With best wishes for the holiday season and 2017!
How much is that puppy in the window?
By Kathy Coffman
My bones ache, my muscles are sore, so tired I have grown,
I sit within the small confines of this tiny cage I call home.
Many friends surround me, lots of different breeds,
They too share my aches and pains, with no humans to tend our needs.
I am a bitch or so they call me, I hear it’s not a bad name,
Lots of puppies I have whelped, to them its just a game.
I sit and watch day after day, so many puppies being born,
Where do they go, what happens to them, when from their Moms they’re torn?
I can see the grass growing tall and green, I long to sniff and feel it.
I’ve never walked upon that field nor have they let me near it.
Instead I walk upon this screen, so hard, so rough, so cold.
My feet ache, my toes are sore, I’m exhausted and feel so old.
My friends have told me they lived in places, long before this one,
Where humans touched them every day and with children they could run.
I long to have just one human pet and kiss me, and maybe play a game.
I know it will never happen, but I wish it all the same.
Instead they bring another dog and toss him in with me,
Another litter I must bear, there’s no end that I can see.
The little girl that sits beside me, cried out the other day,
She screamed out loud then she went limp and the pups were taken away.
She was gone but just a day, when her sister was beside me,
She too had some more puppies, so small and weak and tiny.
The other day they came and checked me, while my puppies were being born,
“This one’s too big, she’s no use now, her insides are too torn.”
They scooped me up, it hurt so bad, my blood was everywhere,
They never tried to help me, they didn’t seem to care.
They took me to that big green field and laid me on the ground,
The smell was heaven and the ground so soft, I tried to look around.
They covered me with more soft soil, I had nothing to fear.
I closed my eyes and just relaxed, I knew the end was near.
No longer do I imagine the feel of human touch,
Or how it feels to run and play, here I have so much.
There is a great big colored bridge, and fields that go on forever,
I’m happy, I’m home, I’m someone’s friend. It couldn’t get much better.
