For nearly fifty thousand years, humans have been using cats and dogs to help hunt, work, and to protect property and families, and rid property of pest such as mice. Dogs and cats had become a staple to human life through this time as their uses grew to herding, searching for lost hikers, hunters, criminals and children and even helping the blind or sick.
Today there are many species of dogs and cats around the world, bred and evolved by human discretion to become specialized breeds that are that are instinctively magnificent at one or two special jobs. Border Collies for instance have been bred and bred and bred many times over to the point now that even a Border Collie that has never seen a cow or sheep, has a natural inclination to herd, making them great for families with small children. In this same way Bloodhounds have been selectively bred for traits that make them the best trackers in the world, long ears that drag the ground scoop up scents, wrinkly faces to help hold scents to the face, and nostrils that allow them to smell scents and breathe through their nose at the same time.
For years these were valuable assets to people needing certain animals to help with a job, but as human society has grown, and become more independent from their local environment pets have also become less needed and many have been evolved from tools for man to social symbols, pets for enjoyment and companions. As social companions dogs and cats do well, but now that very few of these animals are a necessity to their owners, there value in the home has dropped significantly. Many take owning an animal with a light heart and will buy or give up animals on a whim and therein lays a major problem today.
According to an estimate by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS,
www.hsus.org) there are between six and eight million pets that are given up to shelters by their owners each year. The HSUS also estimates that annually three to four million animals are adopted from shelters around the United States, with another six hundred thousand to seven hundred and fifty thousand being lost then reclaimed at shelters by their owners. As for the remaining animals, many are killed. Some are deemed to mean or unsocial creating too much of a risk of being around humans where they can do harm. Other would make wonderful pets, but shelters are simply to small and under funded to give each and every animal the time they need to be found by their owner, or potential adopter.
I always wondered why Bob Barker of The Price is Right TV game show was so adamant to remind everyone to have their pets spayed or neutered to help control the pet population, but I see why now. Americans own approximately sixty-five million dogs and seventy-seven million cats (Boucher, 2007) and spend an amazing forty-one billion dollars on pet supplies each year (Heally, Korkki, Lohr, MacFarquhar, Onishi, Wilson, Bilyeu, 2008) yet Cats Magazine reported in a Febuary 1999 article that six to eight million healthy, adoptable animals are euthanized each year (Cats Magazine, 1999).
Many of these animals would not have to die, if responsible owners would have made sure they were never born, and I have learned that really is the message of Bob Barkers familiar game show ending quote. Many people choose not to have animals spayed or neutered for no good reason while others simply never think of it. The issue is many people that love their pet, can’t handle an unwanted, unexpected litter of puppies or kittens so they are sent off to shelters, or even worse; let go into the wilderness to (hopefully) fend for themselves. Obviously, these animals are also not spayed or neutered first and they multiply. A healthy adult cat can have up to eight-teen offspring a year, and a healthy dog can have as many as twenty (
www.hsus.org, 2007). Without human intervention this has grown into an over whelming problem of stray dogs and cats roaming streets, sometimes attacking the public, destroying property and being a nuisance. With many calls to authorities local governments can become overwhelmed with stray pet problems. Animals cost a lot of money to chase, round up, treat, board and put back up for adoption.
All of these problems are the cause of irresponsible owners, breeders and even pop culture which has turned some animals into social symbols and fashion statements. Take the movie Legally Blonde for instance, the main character has an adorable Chihuahua that stays in her purse, cute isn’t he? Soon after the movie’s release Chihuahuas became very popular and every girl that thought she was hip, had to have a Chihuahua in her purse, including everyone’s favorite person, Paris Hilton. When animals are only seen as a fashion statement, many people loose sight of the fact that they are real living, breathing animals that need love and care, even when it’s not fashionable. Sadly, Paris Hilton hasn’t been carrying her Chihuahua in her person lately; I wonder where it is now? Has it been given up to a shelter? Has it been euthanized already? Has it been adopted by someone else? Is Paris still taking care of it?
Many people take animals without considering that you need to be responsible for your animal’s welfare and stay committed to your animal for its entire life, along with making sure it isn’t making new dogs unless you have planned for it ahead of time. With that simple step, over population of unwanted pets could be eradicated in short order.
Other people simply do not educate them selves on their purchase of an animal before they bought it, and then get frustrated with their pets because it was not what they envisioned. The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognizes one-hundred and fifty-five breeds of dogs ranges from two to over one-hundred and fifty pounds, with all types of coats, temperaments, personalities and levels of energy. Within just the one hundred and fifty five AKC recognized breeds, there is at least one dog for everyone, but that also means there may be one hundred and fifty-four breeds that are not for you and that is where many make their first mistake towards adding to the over populated homeless pet population. A very driven, hard working animal may not be the best choice for a laid back owner who is not home a lot. An animal such as this can go crazy with nothing to do and destroy a brand new furniture set during a day alone, getting him sent to the pound in no time, creating another major cause to over population, lack of education before decision.
It’s nice to see people walking their dog, the dog obeying every little command but the last cause of over population is lack of effort on an owners parts. It looks easy to care for a dog as you see a happy dog an owner walk by, but it can take months upon months for a dog and owner to develop the relationship and training it takes to form a cute puppy into a well behaved adult animal. Sadly, some dogs are hard to train and sometimes they are the cutest (my basset hound for instance is adorable, and incredibly stupid or stubborn, I haven’t decided which yet). The cuteness creates the impulse buy which lacks the education to decide if its also the right dog for you, and then the stubborn dog creates the frustration during training that leads many people to abandon their animals once they realize the hard work involved in owning a pet.
Owning a pet and watching it mature, learn, and grow and can be very a rewarding experience, as well as a happy one full of affection from your animal. But as the unwanted pet population grows, many animals are being put down only because they lack a loving, caring home. Many are not born into a home at all being the product of un altered (not spayed/neutered) strays, and many are given up after its breed is out of style, or because their previous owner didn’t educate themselves on their purchase, or didn’t value the life of a animal companion. With spay/neuter campaigns, readily available information about owning pets and a little more thought into what being a pet owner is like, maybe one day all pets will have a home.
