Feeling For The Dogs

Dog adoptions and conventions are particularly emotional experiences for me.  Saturday and Sunday I spent all day with Goldie, while hundreds (or thousands?) of people walked by our rescue group's booth at the Pet Expo.  I'm always happy to answer questions about the dogs.  Kids like to pet them and some folks like to take a glance and move on.  It's hard sometimes not to feel rejected when people breeze by the dogs as if they weren't there.  I'll feel like an idiot saying, "This is Goldie..." and before I finish, the person looks away and is gone.

I'm aware that a lot of people scorn rescuers for not catering to their every need and being too picky with applications and home checks.  However, the more events I attend, the more I realize that my time to find Goldie a home is limited and I cannot waste my time with what my rescue friends call "energy vampires".  These are the people who ask you every type of question about your dog: age, medical history, temperament, food preference, and then they say, "Oh, I wish I could have a dog but I have five already".  Or, "I love dogs but my fiance is allergic".  Meanwhile, ten potential adopters have passed me by because they thought I was too busy.

I hate to be rude, but I also have a goal in mind: finding a home for my death-row dog.  Rescuers have saved these animals to place them in good homes.  These dogs are our passion, not our jobs.  I have spent about $2000 for Goldie's care since January.  I've recovered less than half that amount from donations, but the money isn't important.  The people that argue with a $150 adoption fee will never adopt a dog from me, unless they are the most loving home in the world and actually cannot afford to pay the fee.  I can work with them.  95% of people that shun the adoption fee just want a bargain and think that rescue dogs should be free because no one else wants them.  I tell them that for about $50 bucks or less they can rescue the dog of their dreams from any local pound.

The Pet Expo in Costa Mesa was overall a great experience.  My personal friends managed to adopt out over 20 dogs, which is incredible.  These were not cute little puppies either; the majority were the bottom of the barrel dogs that had been abused, abandoned, and left to die.  Some were missing an eye or a leg, but not one was missing its heart.

Every day there is a dog holocaust in the world and I cannot imagine how anyone can breed a dog or support breeders with their patronage while perfectly adoptable dogs and puppies suffer and die in shelters.

It is my belief that if you buy a dog from a breeder, knowing the plague of dog overpopulation, then you might love your dog...but you have no right to call yourself a dog lover.

Jon