Abandoned Pets

Recently, my parents made the heartbreaking decision to have my old dog Lucy put down. She was a 14 year old Golden Retriever that we have owned since I was 9. I remember the Christmas we got her – she did a large liquid poo under the christmas tree. Unfortunately Retrievers are prone to hip problems and dispite several operations and steroid treatments, the old girl couldn’t walk anymore, or even get to her feet, so the vet decided the best thing would be to put her down.

As a general rule I am very against animal euthanasia. When it is a very old dog like Luce-the-juice then I understand the reasoning behind it, but one issue that really gets to me around Christmas time is the amount of unwanted, abandoned pets given as gifts and then euthanised, or the lost pets whose owners don’t bother to collect them from the pound, or animals that are mistreated and have to be put down when they become aggressive.

My four cats (yes, I have four cats. I am slowly but surely turning into the crazy cat lady from the Simpsons.) were all rescue cases. Jet was at a pet shop near my house. he was the runt of the litter and black, so while all his brothers and sisters found homes, he didn’t and the owners were just going to put him down if he didn’t sell. Luckily a friend of mine who worked at the pet shop rang me to see if I wanted him. When I picked him up he was so tiny hecould fit on my hand. He would suckle at my neck and clothes, a sign he was weaned too early. Now he is an adult cat, but you can tell he was the runt – he eats a lot and is still smaller than my other cats. He has a strange habit of liking to be in boxes, so I leave a few of my grocery boxes around the house for him to sleep and play in.

Gemini is one of those cats who was born simply because his owners were too lazy or broke to sterilise his mother or father. His owners where a group of seedy guys who lived on my street, whose cats where always having litters of fluffy kittens. They simply gave them away to whoever walked past and looked twice. I never saw food left out for any cat there, but the mother and father (and a few grown up uncles) hung around and when I asked the man if I could have Gemini (the smallest and fluffiest) there was 5 kittens and 4 adult cats. Gemini was smothered in fleas – the poor thing could hardly open his eyes without fleas crawling into them. He was undernourished, dehydrated and hadn’t been handled at all. Now he is the fluffiest, most gorgeous cat who is ever so loving.

Momo and Ninja belonged to the sister of a friend of mine. Momo and Ninja’s mother were left behind when a family moved out of their rental house. The girl cat was heavily pregnant. The sister-of-my-friend kept the two and looked after the kittens, which were burmese/persian crosses, until they were ready to go to the pet shop. She then kept one kitten, sold the mother cat (a pure Persian) and asked my friend if she knew anyone that would like MoMo. So my friend bought a sad, frightened MoMo to us. It took him a while to get used to us, three families in a few months is a bit much for any cat! He ran away when we got him desexed, but now he is back and he rules the roost. He is the oldest of my cats, the vet said he is approximately two, and he is certainly the boss.

The latest addition to my furry family is Ninja, the kitten that the sister-of-my-friend originally kept, but then got sick of 6 months later. I’m pretty sure she realised that any time soon Ninja was going to start having kittens and instead of paying for her to be desexed, she just got rid of her. It’s heartbreaking the way people can simply pass on their pets when they are no longer convinient. Ninja is still very timid. If you catch and hold her she will purr and roll over for tickles, but she spends most of her time hinding under chairs and behind the tv cabinet. Adam has found if you feed her salmon at night time she will follow you around the house. We are getting her desexed next month and in the meantime trying to keep her in the house away from any horny tomcats (there are lots around here. I was walking Pepper around the block yesterday and I could swear every second house had a least one cat). It’s kinda hard to take photos of a cat that refuses to come out from under the couch though.

My dog, Pepper, I bought from K9 Dog Rescue, which is our nearest dog shelter. K9 take dogs from the pound and from people who surrender them in. They never euthanise, if a dog is not adopted it simply stays there until the right person comes along. When I used to volunteer at K9 there were dogs that stayed there up to 9 months, but in the end they always found someone who would love them and treat them right. Pepper had already been adopted out once, but the people who took her ‘found her unsuitable’ and bought her back. When I adopted her (only $225) she was small and frightened and still very very sweet natured. I can’t believe that someone would bring her back. Sure – she has dug up my lawn and has to be exercised for 1 1/2 hours a day, is a fussy eater and refuses to come back when called – but I would never give her up as she is adorable, loving and very loyal. And who could refuse those ears?

So that is the story of how I got my pets. I would never consider buying a pet from a pet store when there are so many wonderful cats and dogs waited to be adopted. Plus it’s a lot easier when you get a house trained pet rather than a baby!

There are heaps of places that save unwanted dogs. Close to where I live there is a RSPCA (for all animals, including horses and bunnies), K9 Dog Rescue, The Dog Refuge Home, Animal Protection Society and the Swan Animal Haven. There are also heaps of rescue clubs which rescue dogs of certain breeds from the pound and foster them until they are given new homes. For cat adoption there is Cat Haven and the RSPCA. During the kitten season, there are usually cats and kittens for sale that my local vet too. iPet is a good resource site that has lots of Australia-wide pet adoption agencies.