Wait till you start finding stray dogs in your yard sitting looking for the owner to come back. Breaks your heart. We had one collie that sat a week in my neighbors yard and would not budge just looking and waiting for the owner to come get him. So sad. There’s something about country living that makes people think they can drop off their unwanted pets and they’ll find a good home. I wish I could find these idiots that do this and show them a picture of their pet looking so sad and abandoned. I hope this doesn’t happen to you, but if it does I know the strays will be in good hands till you find them homes. Oh Mary, don’t EVEN get me started. I don’t know if I wrote about this before or not – I meant to, but I don’t think I did – but when we moved into this house, we’d occasionally see two dogs roaming around together. They’d go across the back forty, sometimes drink water out of the pond, but if we called to them, they paid no attention to us at all. We thought perhaps they belonged to someone in the area and had travelling feet. One day I was going out to check the mail, and I glanced over at the church lawn (we live next door to a church), and one of the dogs was laying beside the road. I walked toward him, hoping he was just hurt and I could take him to the vet, but pretty quickly found that he was dead. It bothered me, having him lay there in the hot sun, and I said something to Fred about it. “Just wait,” he said. “Five bucks says when Wednesday comes along, someone will bury it.” Wednesday came along, the parking lot filled up, and at some point I glanced over to see that the dog was gone. Someone had dug a hole next to the dog, pushed him into it, and buried him. Not long after, a beagle showed up, and we’d occasionally see the other dog that ran around with the dog who’d been hit and killed (I assume he was hit and killed, given that he was laying right next to the road, anyway). When Fred went to talk to a neighbor about the beagle, he found out that the people who’d sold us this house? Those two dogs had belonged to them. When they left, they left the dogs behind. I cannot tell you how very much this infuriates me. I want to burst into tears, just thinking about it. These are the people, I have to add, who wouldn’t let us come to see the house on Sunday, what with it being The Lord’s Day and all. Which reminds me, last time I had a sit-down with The Lord, The Lord informed me that doing what might lead to business on Sunday is FORBIDDEN, but abandoning as many of His Creatures to fend for themselves and be hit by cars and lay dying on the side of the road is A-OK with Him! It’s in the Bible! Okay, look. Here’s the thing. People abandon their cats and dogs “in the country” because they think the dogs and cats will revert to their wild nature, and they’ll romp happily through the fields and catch mice and rabbits and live happily and die of old age. No. What’s more likely is that they’ll be so terrified at being dumped off in a strange place that they’ll hide in a ditch until they’re starving, chase a mouse across a road, be hit by a passing vehicle, and die by the side of the road in a great deal of pain. Or they’ll wander across the farm of someone who’s seen so many abandoned animals go after his farm animals that his response is to grab a rifle and shoot the animal you’ve abandoned. Or they’ll drink nasty, bug-infested water and they’ll die of dehydration caused by diarrhea. Or a coyote or raccoon will wound or kill them. Or they’ll just curl up in a ball in a wooded area and die because they WERE NOT RAISED AS WILD ANIMALS. They were raised as house pets, and they know how to kill a bowl of food, but there’s a shortage of bowls of food in the country, oddly enough. If they’re lucky, they might figure out the whole hunting thing. And then they have to watch out for coyotes, who will happily kill and eat them, or farmers who are sick of seeing abandoned animals on their land day after day, or any other myriad other things that could happen to them. If they’re very, very lucky they might end up on my front porch, where there’s cat food and water and people who won’t hurt them. People abandon their animals in the country because they think “at least he’ll have a chance! If I take him to the shelter, they’ll just put him to sleep!” Well, if you take him to the shelter, he’ll have a chance to be adopted by someone, and going to a safe home where he’ll be cared for. And if he isn’t adopted, yes. He’ll end up being put to sleep. Which is crueler – to take your animal to a place where he will be terrified for a few days, but might have a chance to be adopted, will have food and shelter, and in the end might be euthanized? Or to throw the animal who loves you out on the side of the road where he will be terrified, won’t know how to feed himself, won’t know how to find safe shelter, and very well might end up injured by a vehicle or wild animal, and will die in a great deal of pain? Make no mistake about it: if you dump your animal off in the country, you are a jerk. If you dump your animal off in the city, you are a jerk. If you stick your animal in a carrier and leave it by the side of the road so that a passing stranger stops to see what’s going on and finds a cat in a carrier that is so hot they can barely pick it up (this is how one of the cats ended up in the shelter I volunteer for), you are a jerk. Suck it up and take some responsibility and take your animal to a shelter. And HAVE YOUR CATS AND DOGS SPAYED AND NEUTERED. Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized every year. There’s no shortage of cats and kittens and dogs and puppies available. It’s not “better” for your female cat or dog to have a litter before you have them fixed. Being neutered doesn’t make your male dog or cat less of a male, for crying out loud. As much as I want to, I cannot give a loving home to every stray who will wander through my yard; and I think that irresponsible people who dump their animals should themselves be dumped out in a strange place and forced to fend for themselves.
“Perhaps there is an escape route this way?”
Tina Louise’s beauty mark (and scary claws!) up close.
Tina Louise slumps against me, looking for some lurve.
Interested… but still suspicious.
Da Boogs, dead to the world.
Amen Robyn! I totally agree 100%.
I’d like to add one thing…if you aren’t going to take care of your animals…DON’T ADOPT THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Also, for grins, the neighbor told me that the previous owners kept those two dogs in a 10×10 pen on the concrete pad in the back yard. You know, the pad that gets no shade after about 10am. She also told me the dogs used to escape that pen regularly and roam.
Mister Boogers’ nipple is staring at me in that picture.
Yeah, what you said!!! Thank you for saying it so well. I hate stupid assholes like that. I will never understand why people don’t understand when they get a pet they are accepting responsibility for another creature for that creature’s lifetime.
Thank you. Nothing makes me more angry and depressed at the same time than dumbass people abandoning their animals.
Amen, Sistah!
BTW, that is the MOST adorable photo of Miss Tina Louise. She’s lookin’ all sultry with that shoelace.
Have a great weekend, y’all!
Well said, Robyn. It’s heartbreaking how people can be so cruel and so stupid.
it really bugs the shit right out of me to hear this…I cant NOT stand the people that do this to poor animals…I really makes me sick…i cant stand how they can do these things to these poor animals and not give a shit….it makes no sense to me..
Youre right, they are assholes!!!!!
Well said. (Uh, ranted). Unbelievable.
Amen, Robyn. Thank you for that.
Absolutely – well said!
I feel heartbroken reading this entry, but I agree 100%. I’m afraid of my cats just getting out of the house because they would have no idea how to live in the outside. And as for the people you bought your house from … simply reprehensible behavior. Church-goers, maybe, but not Christians.
Thanks for saying that, Robyn … so true, all of it. And you are not preaching to the choir here … we have been in the position of having adopted a dog that just wasn’t a good fit, and it is definitely a struggle. It was after our beloved boxer died (cancer), and the girls insisted we “needed” another dog. We waited almost a year, and then adopted a black lab puppy from the shelter. He turned out to be lab mixed with some sort of ginormous breed (the vet said maybe rottweiler and great dane) – he was a sweet boy, but by the time he was two years old, it was obvious that he was not a happy dog staying home without anyone home during the day. (Our boxer had been happy hanging out with the cats and sleeping all day). Long story short – it was another six months before we were able to find a suitable home for him – in another state – we had to drive him two days to get him to his new home – but now, five years later, he is on a huge farm-like property with another dog (who had lost his own canine companion to old age) and a family with younger kids who are home all the time. He is sooo happy now – they send us photos occasionally, and while in retrospect I realize it was our own stupid mistake to have adopted him, I would NEVER EVER consider just abandoning any animal. You’re right … anyone who would do such a thing is the epitome of ASSHOLE.
“People abandon their cats and dogs “in the country” because they think the dogs and cats will revert to their animalistic nature, and they’ll romp happily through the fields and catch mice and rabbits and live happily off them and die of old age.”
Well, that’s what people who abandon animals say when someon makes them defend their actions, but I have to say I don’t believe any adult is stupid enough to actually believe this. Those people are just straight up shit heads, and this is what they tell themselves so they can sleep at night and face their friends in church.
Wow! I’m riled up now! Thanks for that! 😀
Robyn-
Wow!!! Enough said.
Robyn, you go. Excellent post, excellent rant, I couldn’t have said it better myself. I am so sad to hear how that poor dog met his fate. Makes me want to come down there, find the former owner and run him over. Asshole indeed. Volunteering at three shelters has left me loving animals all the more, and hating people and their lame excuses so so so much more.
well said, robyn. i’m not gonna lie…i want to physically do damage to people who think they’ve the right to abandon their animals. they are, as you said, assholes.
Yes, I 100% agree with you on your animal rant. Often my husband and I, who have a cat who’s mostly outdoors and has an ample supply of food that he shares with any other cats, birds and possums, have to round up some of the strays and wild cats that come around and take them to the humane society. We try to make friends with and socialize as many as we can, and definitely try to round up the females BEFORE they have a litter, but sometimes they’re just too wild. They at least get ample food while they’re loose, eating what we feed them, and then I hope and pray that they get adopted at the shelter. We have to keep this quiet, because a neighbor of ours freaked out when we did this once. Somehow, she thinks it’s more humane to let them get hit in the road, get into fights and get torn up, have litters of wild kittens, than to be taken to a shelter, but we don’t agree with her. Some of these cats are SOOO friendly, they had to be a pet at one time, but now they’re beaten up, torn up and dirty and it’s so sad. I’m fairly certain that a majority of Americans shouldn’t have pets, and a majority of those probably shouldn’t have children, either.
*sniff* Wow. I sure didn’t expect to come to Bitchypoo today and start to cry!! poor doggies.
Oh Robyn, this is why I love to read your site. You beautifully expressed my pent up anger in this post.
I live in the country in California, and we have 3 cats who were all abandoned near our house. Thank goodness they were friendly and vocal enough to get adopted by us. We haven’t seen a mouse in the house since : )
That said, I am NOT encouraging people to drop off their pets near my house. 3 cats and 1 dog is plenty for me. Unfortunately I’ve seen cats, dogs, and even an EMU fergodsakes abandoned out here. Most of them don’t make it for the reasons you noted, including bears and mountain lions in the wildlife category.
But wait…there’s more: the ranchers and vineyard managers in our area regularly put out a poison bait that smells like pet food. Its purpose is to kill ground squirrels and gophers. Our beloved dog ate some this winter and nearly died of massive internal bleeding…which is what the poison does to the squirrels and gophers (I won’t even go into the damage done to birds of prey who feed on the squirrels and gophers or this will turn into the longest comment EVER). I shudder to think what would happen to a hungry, lonely abandoned pet who found this tasty-looking “food”.
OK, stepping off my soapbox to give the furkids big hugs! Keep on writing Robyn – love ya!!!!
It just amazes me that anyone can be that heartless. Have these abandoners ever looked in the eyes of these animals? I swear, you can see nothing but trust and love. Makes me wonder how anyone can be that heartless to an animal.
Grrr……
So very well said!!!
We live near a large pond that has road frontage on two sides. Guess where so many really adorable as babies, geese and ducks end up after easter.
We have rescued a couple, but most are coyote food before daylight, which then leads the coyotes to believe mine should taste just as fine.
We have lots of critters that we have to keep up because the coyotes are getting used to easier meals.
*****clapping******
Amen, Robyn. I wish more people would realize the responsibilties involved with having a pet. Two memories pop into mind about this topic:
I remember finding a fluffy white cat at the entrance to our subdivision when I was in high school. I brought it home after seeing her up there for a while, nobody claiming her. She stayed with us for a while until we found her a home. She was so sweet a cat; I can’t imagine anyone abandoning such a sweet animal. She was utterly defenseless. She would have just died, lying up there under a bush for days, as you said, probably just waiting for her owner to come back and get her.
When we had to move out of the country, we were lucky enough to find a wonderful set of adoptive parents for our cat, Molly — She continues to be very happy with them, and they have sent us pictures from time to time. When we made the agreement, they warned us that we wouldn’t be getting her back when we moved back to the US — they knew they would grow to love her, and she would be part of their family. It was then, perhaps, that we knew we were making the right decision, turning the care of Molly over to Dave and Mary Ann.
Thanks for your passion on this important topic.
RIGHT ON, Robyn!! Stupid fuckers. I hate.
People abandon their animals in the country because they think “at least he’ll have a chance! If I take him to the shelter, they’ll just put him to sleep!” Well, if you take him to the shelter, he’ll have a chance to be adopted by someone, and going to a safe home where he’ll be cared for.
Actually, most shelters put owner turn-ins to sleep almost immediately. It’s something not very many people know, but most laws involving strays require shelters to keep STRAY dogs or cats for 3-5 days to ensure that an owner can find it. If an owner turns in a pet, and the shelter is crowded (which shelter isn’t crowded these days), the dog or cat may be put to sleep immediately. There is no law requiring the shelter to keep the pet alive for a certain amount of time.
A pet is a 15-20 year commitment. Since people break up with significant others these days at the drop of a hat, it doesn’t surprise me that dogs and cats get discarded like so much refuse. The older I get…the more I realize that not everyone is equipped to be with someone, take care of a child, or take care of an animal. Unfortunately, most of us have to wreak havoc before we realize something isn’t for us.
Sorry for the acerbity. I volunteered for a rescue for one year. One year was all I could handle.
As a result, I don’t have any special sympathy for country folk. I’ve heard the stupidest damn reasons for dumping pets…some that have lived with families for over a decade…and I live in the fourth largest city in the country.
Bitchypoo for President!
Growing up it was SO common to see dogs and cats popping up out of nowhere (dumped). We lived in the country (and near the woman who did the animal control contract). Heartless and I cannot imagine how they can justify such cruelty. Very, very sad.
Callie. Not all rescues or animal control facilities kill the animals that are turned into them for whatever reason. The three we have in town are all NO KILL societies, bless their hearts.
Damn….yet another reason why I hate most people.
We could solve this problem, and a whole lot of others, if we’d just put birth control into the worldwide water supply. And then require very expensive and painful procedures to counteract said birth control. Procreating should be a privilege, not a right.
Don’t mind me…I just wholeheartedly agree with you, Robyn 🙂
I agree with the person who said, “Church-goers maybe, but not Christians.” I know LOTS of church-goers and fewer Christians. I wish it were the other way around.
I am just amazed how many people think animals are disposable. Get them while they’re cute puppies or kittens, and then when they become work or inconvenient, ditch them. I could never dump my pet on the side of the road. I wouldn’t be able to eat, drink, sleep, or look at myself in the mirror. Ever. For the rest of my life. I don’t know…if you can do that then what else are you capable of? Serial killing possibly?
Robyn, you have a gift and are such a good advocate for animals. Thank you!
Robyn, you rock. I agree with you 100% I don’t understand people anymore. I really don’t.
Agreeing 100%, a pet is for life!
I agree with the person who said, “Church-goers maybe, but not Christians.” I know LOTS of church-goers and fewer Christians. I wish it were the other way around.
Yeup, that’s what I was thinking. One (often) goes to church to put up a front to cover who, and what, they really are. Christian, or mere caring human being, you wouldn’t just leave the dogs to fend for themselves. Religious hypocrisy is one of the biggest reasons I have no value for religion. It’s between me and God, thank you very much, and God tells me it is wrong to abandon a dog, or cat, or any other animal. Particularly one I took responsibility for by bringing home in the first place. I don’t go to Church and I don’t particularly call myself a Christian. But, it seems I have God’s word inside me way more than these assholes who won’t do business on Sunday but basically kill two dogs.
Sorry, but this post put a bug in my butt.
Okay, that entry brought tears to my eyes. I could care less about people, but when it comes to pets– especially dogs, I get very upset when I hear stuff like this. I just don’t understand how people can be so damn cruel.
Robyn, I know what you mean about people leaving stray animals out here in the country. I live 18 miles outside of Selma city limits and people constantly (cause our road used to be dirt) drop off animals left and right. It breaks your heart. I try to help as many as I can. I’d take them all in if I could but I can barely afford myself and my 13 cats, adopting more would be a fiasco. LOL.
I am back on livejournal by the way, I will be adding you after I post this reply. And also I’ll be adding you to my flickr. 🙂 So watch for me!
Thank you. Just THANK you.
My mom made me drop off a cat at the end of a farm’s driveway when I was maybe six. The cat belonged to a friend who was leaving her husband and my mom told me we couldn’t keep it b/c then my dad would know we were involved w/ the whole sordid fiasco. I remember how mad I was at my mom for making me do it, and how worried I was for the cat. I knew it wouldn’t be fine just b/c we were dropping it off near a farm.
Another time my mom rescued a cat with one eye and a huge blue tumor in the other eye socket. I named him Spicey to go along w/ our calico Sugar. Loved that cat dearly and lost him to the road like so many others. As an adult I will never have an outside cat although that is not to say it’s not right for everyone. I just wouldn’t be able to deal with any accidents/injuries that came of letting a companion animal roam outside.
I live in the country too, and luckily we don’t have many drop offs, I know a lot of famers who get drop-offs. And, in Vermont, if a farmer sees a dog chasing their livestock and/or a deer – it is within their rights to shoot the dog. I don’t agree with that, but I also don’t agree with people deciding that the dog isn’t worth keeping so they throw them into the country. And, when a dog hamstrings a deer or cow, that is also cruelty to animals, in terms of how nature works.
If people can’t handle an animal and their needs, they shouldn’t be allowed to have them. Or kids, either.
Anyway, well said, Robyn!
Amen. Enough Said. Thank you Robyn!
Thank you, Robyn. That entry brought me to tears.
It just astounds me the way that some people treat their pets.
people that abandon their pets should suffer from a horrible, slow deah
*round of applause for Robyn*
It pains me how people can get so “sentimental” that they abandon common sense and behave in a way that is actively cruel. To use a favourite phrase of mine, it’s not Rocket Surgery.