People are missing the point. Materialism is rampant. Yes, I agree about the corruption among third world countries, but while people are stating that they have grown children or no children and are supporting those on welfare, don't you know that you do it there too?
How many welfare families have pets? How many get tired of them and throw them out unneutered when they are tired of them. I have seen tons of my hard earned money go to cats or dogs that eat better than the kids because mom needs cigarettes. Alpo, cigs, lotto tickets and free lunches at school. Great.
In my nephew's neighborhood, the kids get free breakfasts and lunches in school (he works three jobs btw), add the rent vouchers and food stamps to these houses, you are supporting them. Every house but my nephew's has at least 2 dogs. Not my nephew, his wife and three boys. They can't afford one.
I can see your own animals and God Love you, you have a right to do so with your money. But you're taking care of welfare animals too.
No animal should leave a pound unneutered and strays should be euthanized or neutered as well. In our area kittens are sold with a promise that the owner will bring it back. Right.
Priorities are beyond effed up here.
Kitty Ping!
(Photos are cute, BTW.)
I know this is going to sound very callous, but I care more about a stray dog than I do about some of the children (& adults) in 3rd World countries.
These are children of people who hate us. We Americans have been so giving of our money & resources to help those who, when they get older, basically spit in our faces by burning American flags & flying jets into buildings.
While I don't wish ill on anyone, I have learned to tune out the plight of these children & families. Let their own governments take care of it. Shows how much, anyway, their own governments care about them -- or families, for that matter. Children are blithely peddled like cigarettes -- sold into prostitution or slavery, beaten mercilessly.
A friend of mine, a social worker, said you can tell a society by how it treats its weakest members. If the children reflect their society, I don't want anything to do with it. Of course, they'll blame us later for the murderous adults they become.
The message here, of course, is that if you have a pampered pet, while there are unfortunate children of incompetent parents in this country, then you are scum.
Enjoy it while it lasts... things will change when the pets get access to lawyers!
I shall ask my dogs their opinion of this article before I comment as soon as they get back from their golf game.
This is BS. Just try getting (or keeping) insurance for an elderly pet. And the treatments which are covered are very limited, compared to all the available treatments.
Darrell and Nina Hallett . . . spent $45,000 on a stem cell transplant for their golden retriever
This is an example of the private sector financing research which contributes to the progress of human medicine. I have a cyber-acquaintance who got a kidney transplant for her cat. The surgeon used an experimental stent that had never been used on humans -- a very tiny one to fit the tiny ducts of a cat. A few months later, based on the experiences of this and other veterinary transplant surgeons, the stent was successfully used on a premature human baby. I imagine that baby's parents aren't too troubled over the "decadence" of people who spend this kind of money on their pets' veterinary care.
Another sign of a dying culture.
oh no another chick thread
When you have 2 children per household for 50 years, and those children have 2 children per household, money that once was spent on children and grandchildren can be better spent on . . . dogs. What a world we live in.