Thursday, August 27, 2009

Respect the Shelter

I have a respect for animal shelters - even the ones that have a policy of putting animals to sleep.
When I visit the Johnson City Animal shelter, I am always amazed at how clean the cages are. The litter boxes are clean - I don't know how they do it! All the cats have a clean blanket or sweater or rug or bedspread to sleep on. They all have a toy in their cage as well as clean water and food.
The same is true at the Unicoi Animal shelter. I even noticed that they use white blankets in their cat cages. White! And the blankets never look dirty. I bet they change them out everyday!
It's a given that I'm an animal lover, but I don't hold it against shelters that aren't "no-kill." I wish they were all "no-kill" shelters, but I'm a realist. Despite all the public education campaigns about spay and neutering and the low cost spay/neuter clinics that are held, there are people who will not get their pets "fixed."
I am sooo glad that we have shelters so all the unwanted animals at least get a chance to find a home. And it's downright hard to find a home for them. I've asked just about everyone that I can think of that would want a cat. I can't find anyone that needs or wants another cat. Most people already have one or two already. Some people are allergic. Some people prefer dogs. Some people want one, but it's just not the right time for them to have a pet. I respect all those reasons.
Right this minute, January is sitting on my shoulder with her nose stuck in my ear - purring away. January and August have an appointment this week to get "fixed."
As Bob Barker always said, "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered."

No comments:

Post a Comment