Open Letter to a Few Irresponsible and Uncaring Pet Owners

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Nancy Houser

Open letter to all individuals who have had to surrender their pets:

We at Way Cool Dogs wish to speak to all of you who have been forced to surrend your pets. We cannot speak for other shelter rescuers or volunteers, or even foster family for unwanted or homeless pets, but we understand from the bottom of our heart why people cannot keep their pets in today’s times. But who we can speak for is ourself, and we can speak for the pets we have accepted for one reason or another at our place. Some are our own, some have come from other places, and some we have simply picked up due to being abandoned in front of our place. And from all of us, we thank those of you who have been responsible for turning over your pets to someplace who would care for them.

Our country is full of inquiries and requests toward shelters and pet communities. Already overly-filled, volunteers are taxed to the utmost in the care of an overwhelming number of pets. We ourselves live a 24/7 and cannot leave for long periods of time due to the number of animals we have here to care for. This is all on a volunteer basis as we do not get paid for our work. Unlike most people, we at Way Cool Dogs is not a non-profit organization. We pay for our animals out of pocket and assistance from caring people around us. Like most of the shelter volunteers and volunteer families, we would choose no other life.

I have found the following letter written at Heroes Waggin Train, an anonymous letter written to “Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner”. I feel it is important enough to reprint here in a world where one-size fits all has become a way of life. We need to remember that not every pet owner surrenders their pet out of choice but out of desperate need. Yet there are many people who have chosen this route when there have been alternative routes open to them.

Thank you.

Way Cool Dogs

1. Do not say that you are “CONSIDERING finding a good home” for your pet, or that you, “feel you MIGHT be forced to,” or that you “really THINK it would be better if” you unloaded the poor beast. Ninety-five percent of you have already got your minds stone-cold made up that the animal WILL be out of your life by the weekend at the latest. Say so. If you don’t, I’m going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you’re going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn’t possibly work for you. For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won’t let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you’re getting rid of the cat.

2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your co-worker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don’t like people who “get rid of” their animals. “Get rid of” is my least favorite phrase in any language. I hope someone “gets rid of” YOU someday. I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist. After all, for your ADHD daughter, you can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are unpaid, overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don’t tell me this big long story about how, “We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed

that cost $50, and it is just KILLING us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we’ve tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can’t . . .” You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you’re going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don’t waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.

3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don’t care if you taught him to sit. I don’t care if she’s a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals who need help, and I have no room to foster-house your pet. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn’t that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn’t be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home. Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old Shepherd-Lab mix. I am not lying when I tell you that big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost completely unadoptable, and I don’t care if they can whistle Dixie or send semaphore signals with their blankies. What you don’t realize is that, though you’re trying to lie to me, you’re actually telling the truth: Your pet IS a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, YOU do not care, and I can’t fix that problem.

All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing that they were indeed very, very special.

4. Finally, just, for pity’ s sake, for the animal’s sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think that if you just mumble that your cat is “high-strung,” I will say, “Okey-doke! No problemo!” and take it into foster care? No, I will start a asking questions and uncover the truth, which is that your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me that you “can’t” crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more of our time.

And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: “Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine.” Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully that he is a good dog or cat, telling him truthfully that we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life.We at Way Cool Dogs wish to speak to some of you who have chosen to surrender your pets unfairly. We cannot speak for other shelter rescuers or volunteers, or even foster families that care for unwanted or homeless pets. What we can understand from the bottom of our hearts is why so many people cannot keep their pets in today’s times. What we cannot understand is why uncaring pet owners get rid of one dog while turning around to get one after another.

I have found the following letter written at the website Heroes Waggin Train in an anonymous letter written to “Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner”. I feel it is important enough to reprint here in a world where a few people have forgotten how to love and care for pets, forcing those of us who do love and care for them to take on more than we can handle.

***************************************

To all uncaring or unloving pet owners…

Do not say that you are “CONSIDERING finding a good home” for your pet, or that you, “feel you MIGHT be forced to,” or that you “really THINK it would be better if” you unloaded the poor beast.

Ninety-five percent of you have already got your minds stone-cold made up that the animal WILL be out of your life by the weekend at the latest. Say so. If you don’t, I’m going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you’re going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn’t possibly work for you.

For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won’t let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you’re getting rid of the cat.

Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your co-worker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don’t like people who “get rid of” their animals. “Get rid of” is my least favorite phrase in any language.

I hope someone “gets rid of” YOU someday. I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist. After all, for your ADHD daughter, you can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are unpaid, overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized.

So don’t tell me this big long story about how, “We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just KILLING us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we’ve tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can’t . . .”

You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you’re going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don’t waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.

Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don’t care if you taught him to sit. I don’t care if she’s a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals who need help, and I have no room to foster-house your pet.

Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn’t that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn’t be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home.

Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old Shepherd-Lab mix. I am not lying when I tell you that big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost completely unadoptable, and I don’t care if they can whistle Dixie or send semaphore signals with their blankies.

What you don’t realize is that, though you’re trying to lie to me, you’re actually telling the truth: Your pet IS a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, YOU do not care, and I can’t fix that problem.

All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing that they were indeed very, very special.

Finally, just, for pity’ s sake, for the animal’s sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think that if you just mumble that your cat is “high-strung,” I will say, “Okey-doke! No problemo!” and take it into foster care?

No, I will start a asking questions and uncover the truth, which is that your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me that you “can’t” crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more of our time.

And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: “Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine.”

Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully that he is a good dog or cat, telling him truthfully that we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life because he or she is unable to find a home where quality is as important as quantity of life.

Please sign our Petition Against Illegal Use of Shock Collars on Animals!

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This post is filed in: As The Kennel Turns, Dog Stories
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6 Responses:

Nancy Houser (author comment)

- 30th Aug, 09 02:08pm

from June:
Hi Nancy
the open letter to a few uncaring and irresponsible pet owners is probably something I could have used last night.

Since opening myself completely to the Universe and allowing it to push and pull me where I’m needed or where there is something that I need it called again late last night, I didn’t want to go but off I went, when dogs want walking they want it now , I certainly didn’t learn any patience from my dogs LOL

anyway there is a little shihpoo in the neighborhood who is a vicious little thing and I’ve saved her from the road numerous times well last night I didn’t want to go that way, but the universe did and I am so glad, she’d been left in the fenced in front yard with her harness on, thankfully not the shock collar anymore ! but she’s tried to get out and was now on her back with the collar twisted. and she wouldn’t let me touch her, teeth and spit and screaming at me, but after 28 years in the vet prof I take no offense to dogs who don’t like me LOL I got her free, found her bowl of water and with ever ounce of anger I had wrote them a long letter, why was I walking so late at night with a pen and a big piece of paper in my pocket?? to finally say the things to this family,that I’ve wanted for ages.

thanks for doing what you do…keep it up

ALL LIFE IS ENERGY…STOP AND FEEL IT DAILY…BECAUSE, IT FEELS YOU !

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Marita (author comment)

- 27th Aug, 09 10:08am

Some people consider their dog to be alive solely to make them happy. They feed the dog whenever they get around to it, kick him when he’s in the way, keep him locked in the house all day (or worse: on a hot balcony), don’t teach him anything and then call him stupid, and finally give him up when the dog becomes ‘inconvenient’.

Ignorant owners make these dog’s lives into a living hell until a bitter end. And they aren’t even aware of it.

Has anyone heard this quote before:

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

Reply to this comment
Danny

- 26th Aug, 09 09:08pm

I once had a girlfriend who couldn’t take care of her dog. She had trouble accepting that dogs need to go outside more than once a day, play and have fun. To her, the dog was something she could cuddle with and take outside every once in a while when she felt like it. She ended up leaving it at a shelter, putting it up for adoption. A few weeks later she changed her mind, and went back to see if she could get her dog back. The people there had put it down just days earlier.

The worst part is how she comes over to my house, expecting sympathy. In her mind she had done nothing wrong and the volounteers at the animal shelter where monsters who killed their dog. I flat out told her that she had herself to blame. That was the only break-up I ever felt good about.

People like her shouldn’t be allowed to exist.

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