Unwanted Pets...

People do not take responsibility for such as this as they should. It's a shame they don't. my dog was fixed as soon as i got her because i did not want puppies. I know this is a serious topic but what even bothers me more is people who keep having children & not looking after them. That is a crying shame that they do this. The more they have the more they can draw all the freebies, DISGUSTING!!!!

There is another side to the homeless pet issue. People are loosing their houses in the housing crisis slash bubble burst. Even those with prime mortgages are not safe from job loss which leads to home loss. If those families are lucky, they end up in apartments that do not allow pets. Beloved Fido ends up at the pound; there is no choice. If the family is not lucky, they are in a tent in a tent city for the homeless or living in a friend's garage on the hush, or maybe moving from place to place like driftwood. * Some of those pets are displaced by natural disasters and imported from places like New Orleans or places that flooded more recently. Animals are being shuffled around like cards. * Yes, people need to take responsibility for the pets they obtain. Yet when the fan gets hit by economic tornadoes the pets are usually the first to get hit. As are vulnerable families. You are seeing the four legged refugees of the recession mixed in with irresponsibility of the "Me" generation.

yes have them fixed so this dont happen . Like Bob Barker always said at the end of his show Remeber to have you animals fixed not exact words but close.

I don't have a pet, well except for one fish, but when I did have them I either had them fixed or found homes for the litters when they arrived. For the most part over the years I've had mostly male pets though so didn't have to deal with the little ones too many times :) A few years back my mon had an expectant cat dropped off at her house. She took her to the animal shelter but they wouldn't take her so mom took her back home but after she had the kittens the shelter gave her coupons to give to people who took the mom and kittens - discounts on shots and fixing.

My pets are fixed and I tell people this is what needs to be done.I am like you I wish I had a farm, so I could take some in and save their life. We need to be concerned about our pets, they are part of our families. Have a blessed day.

I know a person who takes complete responsibility in fixing these strays. In my colony there are these stray dogs and cats that are homeless. She treats them and takes them in for a while and arranges for a Vet to come and check them once in a while.

A friend of mine is considering doing something really smart with the last litter of kittens her cat had. She's thinking of selling them for a small fee, instead of giving them away for free. She is going to make it known that the fee for the kitties will go towards having their mother cat spayed. I think it's a great idea, and if I were in the market for a kitten, I'd definitely be willing to pay a bit of money for one, if that was the case.

I think if someone owns a pet, they need to take care of it. They should have the spayed or neutered if they are going to be around other pets also. That would keep the population down. They could also keep them indoors and away from other animals also.

If more people would take responsibility for their animals then we would not have this problem. Maybe it could be because in many places it is expensive to spay or neuter animals. I could not afford to have mine done these days. I am sad to see how many animals end up in shelters because they are not wanted. Some are lucky and go to a no kill shelter but others are not so lucky. I wish there was a way we could make this more affordable and efficient but with animals it is hard because there is no control. So many animals are strays that continue to breed we can not keep up.

my pets are all fixed,that's the first thing i do when i adopt them. my last two,a brother and sister are both polydactyl and i hurried before the thought even might of occured to them.incest aside,that was prime for more defects. i do encourage it.the aforementioned pair,their mom was barely 2 years old,and had yet another litter directly after theirs..and of course they asked me if i wanted more kittens.i was so mad at my friend for letting her get pregnant again so fast. most states really need to set up better low cost spay programs. getting these two neutered all told was 240 dollars,very pricey for some.

I have two cats, one was fixed before I was given it and the other one I had fixed after I found it. I didn't want 2 cats, but somebody must be couldn't afford this one and dropped it off. I always encourage others to have their pets fixed. Elderly people on fixed incomes and poor people are without a doubt the hardest to convince. But my family will go without to have an animal spayed or neutered.

This kind of things makes me so sad and disgusted as well. I just hate the fact that people think of pets as "throw aways". I am the proud (??) owner of 3 cats. And am in the process of taking in two kittens that a neighbor couldn't "get rid of" from a surprise litter (as you spoke about), so that they won't be "taken care of" in a negative way. I absolutely agree, that I would LOVE to see vets and vet clinics have discounted or free fixes - even if for low income, or job challenged (as a lot of us are in this economy) households. All of the animals I have had have always been spayed/neutered. I have had the farm wish as well (and if I don't keep taking animals in I may be forced to find somewhere!!)! I just wish we could educate people, but more importantly find a way to get them to care enough to do it!

What I've never understood, is why the animal shelters do not have a cooperative effort with veterinary staff and cover the cost of people spaying and neutering their pets. Surely in the long run that is cheaper that having to house and then put to sleep many of the potential offspring over the span of that pets life? The cost of running animal shelters is paid for by taxpayers, so ultimately it would be our savings.

I too am an animal lover, I have a cat who just turned a year old this month, and a dog who will be 7 this year. Both of my pets are indoor pets, I just don't feel safe leaving them alone outside. My cat goes outside with us on a leash and my dog never leaves the yard without a leash. I think that there are a lot of irresponsible pet owners out there today. Like you said it is very important to get our animals fixed, unfortunately you were also right about the cost. For some families, getting their pets fixed is not an option as they do not have the money to do so. Most vets require payment upfront with no payment plans or other options. Another problem is that not a lot of people qualify for sudsidy, meaning that they can't even get help with the operation. I think it is very sad that vets have made this procedure so expensive, everyone talks about how it is the pet owners responsibilty to have their pets fixed, but no one is willing to help those people. I personally got my cat after he was fixed, otherwise I would not have been able to afford the procedure. My dog however is not fixed, he doesn't go out anywhere without me so I really haven't felt the need to pay for something he doesn't need. I feel sorry for the families who have pets and can't afford to get their pets fixed, while I agree that there are a lot of people out there that just don't care, there are some who care dearly but just don't have the means to get it done. I know someone like that, my best friend had a cat that she loved dearly, she couldn't get the operation done. Unfortunately her cat got out of the house and when she came back, she was pregnant. My friend couldn't afford to keep the kittens even though she wanted to, so instead she was forced to find friends who were willing and able to keep them. I think that the state that the animal shelters are in, are just horrible. When I first got my cat I wasn't aware of how sneaky he could be, he got out and ran away. I called all the vets in the area looking for him, walked the area putting up flyers and then finally went to my local shelter. I was made to walk through the back room looking for my cat, he wasn't there. What I saw there broke my heart. There were so many beautiful lonely animals that were lost or unwanted and I knew what would happen to them if they didn't find homes. I wanted to take them all home with me but unfortunately I have two children and a dog which doesn't leave me with the time or money I would need to take care of more pets. When I left the shelter I was crying like a baby, thankfully my mom was with me and she was able to tell the clerk that my cat was not there. I cried all the way home, I was sad that my cat wasn't there and that he could be out there hurt somewhere. Thankfully he came home a few days later on his own, needless to say, he now gets put in the basement when I have people over so that they don't let him out, I also make sure that he is on a leash before he goes outside so that he doesn't sneak off again. I just wish that all pet owners could take care of their pets. I think that it is great that you are taking such good care of your pets and that you even managed to get your mom to do the same. I think that you are making a big difference just by starting this discussion because you are raising awareness. Kepp up the good work. Happy mylotting.

you know I agree with you - all except those who are too young to get fixed are fixed in my house AND people that DON'T fix their pets are why I've got so many!

I figure if you really love your pet, you have it spayed or neutered. Did you know that one female cat and her offspring can produce 100-400 cats in seven years?! Those are poor little strays who starve and eat garbage, have worms and fleas and breed more kitties to suffer living in the streets or the woods. Same with dogs. It's not fair to an animal not to sterilize it. There are plenty of breeders out there that can keep up the population.

Hi there! It is really sad if pets are needed to be put to sleep. But it's the best thing to do if there are no homes to take them in rather than having them just to live in the street and eat food from the garbage, get hit by a car or just suffer. Here in the Philippines, people are being educated to have their pets, especially cats be spayed. I don't know the statistics of pet owners who had their pets spayed but at least there are organizations trying to educate them. It's a good start. I have 2 dogs and they are both male. I chose to have both male to avoid pregnancy.

A really moving and touching article, Tears were at the brim of my eyes, I know killing pets is not good, but I didn't ever feel so much of pain in my heart when I thought about it as of now after having read the article. My tongue is bound, I have no words :(