Last week, the wife and I decided to stop at our county animal shelter to get a “cat fix”. (Since I’ve developed an allergic reaction to them, we can’t own one.)
On a whim, we decided to tour the dogs, about 50 in all. Two cowering mixed-breed Chihuahuas, one mixed breed Labrador, a Blue Tick, and a doddering Lhasa Apso all had “Adopted - Awaiting Spay/Neuter” on their cages.
The rest were Pit Bulls, or look-alikes, the majority of them with “whack Job” personalities - viciously snarling, biting at the cage as we passed by, incessant barking, depressed and listless, etc.
Why? All the pure breed and easily adoptable animals are snatched up by the “pet rescue” groups, who charge healthy “adoption” fees - $107 for a dog or cat, for example. The County (read taxpayer) is left to deal with the rest. “If you want a nice animal, go to petharbor.com and pay the price”, suggested a fellow visitor. “They scoop up all the good ones.” (The County charges $5 per animal.)
The reason rescue groups charge for animals is that they have spent $ having them spayed/neutered and UTD on all their shots. I’ve been a volunteer with a hound rescue for 6 years. I can attest that they are not making any money and often times they pay more than they recoup.
The advantages for an adopter is that the dog has been in someone’s home and they can give you information about their temperament, training needs, etc. and they have been checked by a vet. When you walk into a shelter, you don’t have this much information about a potential pet.
You aren’t kidding.
We lucked out when we adopted our dobe/rott mix from the local shelter here in Seminole Co. FL. He was a gem — very gentle, intelligent — but sadly, 7 years old when we adopted him.
We had five beautiful years with him.
A few weeks after we put him down, to get a ‘dog’ fix, we went to the shelter where we adopted him. Nothing but cage after cage of pitt mixes. All of them snappish, nasty, and because of the area (Sanford in Seminole County) — most of them rescued gang or bait dogs. All of them with the sign, “Not good with small animals, or likes to kill small prey.”
We have two cats (who were smitten with our dobe/rott rescue)
I like pitts, still don’t think I’d own them, and rescues — all ghetto refuse. Sad. What once was a reliable breed has been destroyed by inbreeding and disreputable people. Ugh.