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"According to The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie’s Fund, of the eight million pets that enter animal shelters and rescue groups every year, approximately three million of these healthy and treatable pets are euthanized due to a lack of adoption."
Good Grief. It's heartbreaking when you see the actual number of animals that go in and out of shelters and rescue groups each year ... 8 million animals enter; 3 million healthy ones euthanized. That is a hell of a lot of animals. Could you imagine what those numbers would be like if people started to spay/neuter their pets??
When you look at numbers like that it is very easy to shrug it off with a "well I can't fix it" attitude. Take that attitude and toss it out the door. While you may not be able to help those millions of animals today, you can make a difference.
The next time you are out at the grocery store and see one of those rescues peddling for coin, drop in a dollar. If each person in your community donated one dollar can you imagine how many pets they could help? Ontario's population alone is an estimated 13,014,000 (as of Apr 1, 2009) ... if each of those people donated one dollar ... well, that's a lot of money!
The next time you are looking for a new pet go to your local shelter. If you are looking for a specific breed, go to a breed rescue. Many breed rescues have puppies/kittens as well as adults and seniors.
If you can't adopt, go spend an hour of your time volunteering at your local shelter. (WARNING ... Don't get into the politics!!) Clean cat boxes, scoop out dog runs or take a dog for a long walk. To those animals you have just made a difference.
Talk to your friends, neighbours and co-workers about adopting from a shelter or rescue. Explain to them that there are some really great dogs/cats out there just waiting for a home. Many people think that the dogs/cats at the shelter have behavioural problems, but most are simply nice animals down on their luck.
And for goodness'sake ... please Spay and Neuter your pets people! I will begin regularly posting low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinics on my blog, Drowning In Cats, so you may be able to find an alternative in your area.
Check out The Shelter Pet Project website and help make a difference. Together we can change the world ... Together we can.
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