My daughter has lost two of her dogs this last year and it was heartbreaking. One was an older rat terrier and he was grumpy but loveable. The other was a mixed breed rescue dog that came from a terrible hoarding situation and had many issues because of it.
We loved these two very much and miss them to this day; but I think my daughter is finally ready to get another dog or two and has been viewing rescues, shelters, and the pounds on the internet looking for just the right one.
I have been appalled at the sheer number of dogs that are currently looking for homes just in our area of this state. It breaks my heart that so many dogs need a forever home. These are all good dogs, but do not have pedigrees so they are viewed as less-than worthy.
I have always had rescue dogs my whole life. I currently have two; they are getting up there in years and I worry about losing them but for now they are mine and I love them so much. I cannot tell you how much love and entertainment you get from a dog. It seems that rescue dogs, unlike pedigree dogs, seem to realize how lucky they are when they find a forever home and they give back in large amounts of love.
In this current time, there just is no reason for so many dogs, cats, and other animals to be waiting for homes. If people would just spay and neuter their pets, we could completely erase this problem. However, for some reason, there are so many people who refuse to spay or neuter their pets.
Maybe it is a money thing; but if so there are numerous low and no cost spay/neuter clinics around. Maybe they are misinformed about the overburdened pet population in our country and don't see the issue of having puppies all the time. If so, there are so many ways to learn about how to be a responsible pet owner that you wonder why they don't already know this.
I firmly believe that we need to become a "No Kill" country and with a concerted effort by us all we could make that happen. No Kill supports shelters and rescues in spay and neuter for their animals. Trap-Neuter-Return programs catch feral cats and spay or neuter them then return them to their home communities to live out the rest of their lives without offspring.
It is doable sometime in the future that we could have a No Kill country. That is my prayer and hope.
