I have always loved animals, and I love being surrounded by them. I felt I had to write a blog post on this because I see more and more news articles about people who hoard animals, animal cruelty, and just plain stupidity on the part of people. I myself am more of a dog person than a cat person, but I do have two cats.
What bothered me most this week was an article about a woman who adopted a Great Dane and kept it in a cage that for most of its life. The dog outgrew the cage and had its bones deformed to the point where it could barely walk. Why torture an animal because of your ignorance to research the needs of the breed and their needs? I love dogs, but would not own a Great Dane because I cannot provide it with the type of environment it needs.
With that being said, please also consider adopting your pets from an animal shelter. There are breeders out there that are scrupulous and honest, and genuinely have the welfare of their animals as their primary concern, but there are also breeders that only care about their profit margin. Many shelters are kill shelters; meaning that animals that cannot be placed in a certain time frame must be euthanized. There is no compassion in killing a perfectly healthy animal simply because it has not been adopted, so do your part, and look to a shelter first. It just may be one of the best choices you will ever make.
P.S. Marty the dog and Danny the cat thank you.
