Life really can be quite a roller coaster ride, can’t it? One minute, you hear a wonderful story that makes your heart swell and the next, you read something terrible.
That can be especially true if you spend a lot of time on social media.
I’ll never forget a few years ago there was a story from northeastern Pennsylvania where a dog had been found in a creek tied to a rock. The water was rising and if a passerby hadn’t noticed what has happening, the dog would have drowned.
Can you imagine this? The man who saved the dog said the leash was actually hooked to a rock at the bottom of the creek – not in a way that could have happened naturally. Whoever did it must have known the dog would not survive once the water rose.
Absolutely unbelievable to me.
At the shelter, a few years ago, we had a call about an abandoned dog that had been tied to a pole in town. The poor dog was undernourished and frightened, but still terribly sweet.
We got him back to the shelter, gave him food and a warm blanket and wondered, like we do sometimes on a daily basis at CVAS, what in the world is wrong with people.
Look, I know times are tough. Especially right now. The pandemic may be over, but we are all still very much feeling the effects. Costs are rising all over the place and that can make life incredibly difficult. I get that. I do.
But, really, if you can’t take care of your pet anymore, surely there are better ways to handle the situation than tying him somewhere on his own? I almost typed “to fend for himself” but realized just the act of being bound to an object – be it a pole or a rock in the bottom of a creek – means the animal can’t actually fend for himself.
The poor soul wasn’t really even given a fighting chance.
There are organizations, like shelters and rescues, that are here to help. Yes, we will sometimes ask owners to wait when surrendering a pet until space opens up, but if you know the time is coming (and let’s face it, when times get bad, people have a sense that the next cost-saving measure is saying goodbye to the family pet) plan ahead.
I’m a “fly by the seat of your pants” gal as much as the next person, but when it comes to the welfare of your family – any member of your family – planning ahead is really the only way to go.
