We used to not see nearly as many posts for lost pets in a day, week or month, and now there are gorgeous animals being picked up every single day that I'd never have thought would be dropped off on the side of a road....and yet they aren't being reclaimed. They are sitting in a shelter, hoping to get noticed, in a sea of hundreds of other animals all in the same boat. It's not sustainable friends.....it's only going to get worse. Spaying and neutering is the number one way to prevent more unwanted animals, but for the thousands of pets being given up each week, the future is bleak.
Why are we here? Things have changed greatly in our society over the last twenty years in regards to committing to a "forever family member" - lots of folks get tired of a pet or lose interest - and our world today with it's focus on instant gratification has set a terrible standard for the way people once viewed living, breathing, creatures. Growing up, my family and everyone else I knew adopted dogs and cats and there was NEVER, EVER, a question of "well, if we get tired of it", or "we'll take it for now" - those animals became our family for life! That is how folks used to think and act, but in recent years there's become such a focus on greed, and "things", and along with the lack of "stick to it" type of thinking, animals seem to be the ones suffering the most. Yes, there are a few legitimate reasons for needing to give up a pet (moving overseas, military, etc), but most reasons are not that dire; there are simply a lot of animals who "aren't well trained", who bark or misbehave, or which due to owner error, have turned aggressive and unmanageable. It is those last few reasons which have led to an unprecedented flood of cats and dogs being abandoned, surrendered, given away (which is very often a dangerous and unsuitable option), or just dumped in a box by a trash can or on the side of the road.
The numbers are staggering; the shelter workers and volunteers are exhausted; the amount of animals turning up each day is beyond comprehension. Unless society takes responsibility and begins to realize that a discarded problem is nothing more than someone else's problem, nothing will get better, and will in fact, begin getting even worse. So what can be done? Well....short of reprogramming humans to go back to the way most of us grew up, which was most often working towards desired results, making real commitments to living creatures, putting in the time and effort, and understanding that there are no quick fixes to life's problems, we're faced with just US, and what WE can do. I can absolutely confirm that many of the animals which are dumped are due to reasons which ARE FIXABLE; behavior related, lack of training, uneducated owners, etc. So, how could some of us help combat this overwhelming problem? Here are some ideas:
* Do you know of a situation where you can help? If your neighbor has a dog they cannot manage, is there a way to offer assistance, training suggestions, or provide guidance for a difficult scenario? Many bad behaviors stem from lack of exercise and owners failing to be the one in charge, and I believe a lot of people are hesitant or unsure how to go about that. No, this doesn't mean being cruel or hurtful to any animal! It means that a reactive dog may benefit from regular training sessions, the use of an appropriate leash and collar or harness, an owner who learns to correct and teach proper manners. Training is so often all that is needed, along with TIME and plenty of exercise, which many dogs do not get each day.
* Could you invite friends to start walking with you to help socialize and get bored dogs out so they will be less hyper or out of control? (that's a very common reason for surrendering a pet, by the way, the reason that "they are too high energy" or rambunctious, when in fact some pets simply don't get the time or excise they need.
* What about explaining how to crate train a destructive dog? A lot of people believe crates are cruel and awful and terrible to use, but as someone who once thought that, I can PROMISE you that's not the case! Crates provide a safe place for any dog, a haven and a den-like atmosphere which becomes their nap zone, comfort space, and helps established needed boundaries for an untrained animal who requires structure. After we had our first two young dogs years ago, for which we did use crates for potty training purposes, we basically quit crating our dogs. Fast forward ten years and you have a dog which needs to be on crate rest following an injury or surgery, and suddenly you're facing with a pup that is barking at being confined because they have been free-roaming your house for years. Regular use of a size-appropriate crate is not just brilliant, it's responsible ownership and helping your pet have skills for life. An out of control dog does no favors to anyone, because everyone else will avoid that animal so it can never be socialized, and the owner will probably cease working with it all together; learning about "down time", food activity toys and puzzles and bones are brilliant strategies some people may not know about. (later topic)
* Would it be a solution to exchange contact info with neighbors and consider trading services? Maybe you could let a dog out during the day when a first responder is working their three 12-hour days in a row, so their pet can still have time and social interaction and not be alone so long. Maybe their teenager could help rake your leaves or somehow trade offers of assistance?
* Is the cat failing to use the litterbox or scratching everything in the house? Those are other big reasons people dump felines, but as with most behaviors, there are solutions. Maybe you could help someone understand having a safe place for the litterbox or put up a gate to keep dogs out of the area; trim claws and help make a scratching post. (I can tell you when money was tight and we couldn't afford fancy cat trees, we learned to make simple posts just out of scrap wood and rope, so a solution could be just that simple).
* Barking dog? Over the years I've become queen of the squirt bottle along with the element of surprise when dealing with chronic barkers....and that might be all your friend needs to solve their problem too. Teaching a crated dog not to bark can be literally as simple as exiting the front door as if leaving, standing outside with the water bottle and then popping back in when the barking begins. Or it might be a much more lengthy process, one which requires gradual steps and a time-intensive strategy......but barking is almost always a problem which can be corrected (back to the the "is the dog getting enough exercise?" question.....a tired dog will rest and sleep, whereas a terribly bored one will act out).
I'm not saying we - you, me, and them over there - can fix the problem of unwanted animals. It goes so much further than the simple things i've mentioned here. It's a massive-scale problem which can't be solved today, or next year, but animals are being euthanized each day, simply because no one trained them, set boundaries, cared enough to make the time, or committed to them for life. If there is anything each of us could do to start a ripple effect of respectful and loving pet ownership, I believe we all have that responsibility to do something. Please, consider reaching out, lending a hand, or assisting in some way. Your efforts just might be enough to keep a few more pets from being discarded, and could ultimately change how someone sees the creature they promised to love and care for, forever.
Thanks for your time in reading this.
I will always believe that #TogetherWeAchieveMore <3
Established in 2011 as Delmarva's original lost pet network, we now cover Sussex County, Delaware along with the lower eastern shore of Maryland and Accomack & Northampton Counties in Virginia.
