Pets

Over the past month, I've talked (and read quite a bit) to several people who are having pet issues.  There are various things going on, but it all boils down to being unwilling to be responsible for their pet.

Let me state my history with pets:  in the cat world, there has been Patchy, Hana, Red, Shiloh, Smokey, Cloud, Cuddles, Donut, and Cookie (our current cat).  In the dog world, there has been Belle.  With the cats, when I was still with my parents, we'd just collar them and call them ours after we adopted them.  They were never fixed, never licensed, and rarely collared.  They wandered in and out of the house all around our yard, which ultimately led to most of their deaths (the neighbor would feed them antifreeze, the damn cat hater).  With the cats I've had since being on my own, we've kept them collared, tagged, micro-chipped, up to date on shots, and done our best to keep them happy, fed, and loved.  Donut ultimately had to go after being with us for six months because she peed on everything and hated Cookie, but Cookie has always been slow in the head and we've had to deal with all that.  Ugh.  Belle was taken to obedience training soon after we adopted her, has always been collared, tagged, licensed, micro-chipped, up to date on shots, and had a yard to run around in.  She gets a fair amount of exercise with the girls, and (sadly) gets walked about once a month.  However, she runs around the yard all day long, and it keeps her tubby self in fairly decent shape.  We've always made sure all our animals are taken care of if we're not around, that they are in a safe environment from which they can't get out (coyotes, javelina, scorpions, etc. to prey on them?  i think not), and that they get proper food and care for what they need.  If they misbehave (e.g. crap in the hallway), they get punished with a whap on the nose and stuck in isolation (the bathroom) for awhile.  As much as they may drive me crazy at times, they are loved members of our family.

So, when I read about people considering getting rid of their pets because their work schedule changed, I get appalled.  When I was working three jobs after the husband and I first got married, I'd come home between jobs 1 and 2 to feed Belle, walk her, and make sure the cat hadn't thrown a party.  You adjust yourself to make sure your pets are taken care of.  You wouldn't just give away your child if it didn't fit your schedule, would you?  Also, provide them a safe place to spend time!  If they can go places that aren't safe, you need to change something so that they can't go to those places.  Bigger fence, longer rope, not letting them outside - whatever it takes.  Finally, if you let your pet run all over you and spoil them rotten, expect repercussions.  If you can't draw a line between what is allowable by a pet and what isn't, you can probably expect people to be unwilling to watch your pet for you or unwilling to meet all the gazillion things needed to keep your pet happy.  Deal.  There is such a thing as a high-maintenance pet!

Okay, I've said my piece.  Be responsible, and if you complain about something that's your fault, don't expect any sympathy from me.  I'll just tell you to do what you need to do (from my point of view), whether you like it or not.  It takes time, money, resources, and a lot of love to care for a pet - if you're unwilling to provide any one of those items, give up the pet or don't adopt one.