Pet Care Articles
The Truth Behind "Free to Good Home" Ads
Most people have good intentions when they advertise a cat or dog as "Free To Good Home". They care what happens to the animal and are not interested in making money. All they want to do is find a nice family that is willing to give the pet a loving, responsible home.
The tragedy occurs when the animal is unwittingly put into a situation where he or she will be neglected, abandoned, abused or kept as an outside-only pet. In the worst case scenarios, cats and dogs may be sold for lab experimentation or used as a bait animal for a dog fighting ring. Sadly, this sort of thing happens thousands of times each day across America and more often than we would like to think here in Western North Carolina. People will tell you what you want to hear, but not all motives and intentions are in the best interest of your pet.
Giving any pet away is misguided. People tend not to value what they don't pay for. If you charge a nominal fee of $35-$45 or more for an animal, the new guardian is more likely to take their commitment to the pet seriously. A free pet is a disposable pet!
Paying a fee for a pet shows good faith on the part of the new guardian and demonstrates their willingness to properly care for the animal. The truth is, there is no such thing as a "free" pet anyway. By the time a cat or dog is checked out by a vet, including shots, worming, health testing, and spay/neuter, a "free" pet will easily cost in excess of $100, and that's just for starters. A responsible person who would properly take care of an animal will understand this and will not be opposed to paying a reasonable fee for a healthy pet, especially if some or all of these health items have already been taken care of.
Still not convinced? Then ask yourself these questions, "If a person cannot afford to pay an adoption fee for a pet, how will they be able to afford the normal expenses of proper pet care? And how will they ever afford vet bills when the pet gets sick?"
If you are uncomfortable with asking a fee for the pet, consider including food, toys,supplies, etc. as an added incentive. The idea is not to make a profit, but to ensure the good intentions of the new guardian. In any event, the animal should be "fixed" and have its "shots" before it is adopted out and these costs alone can easily equal $45 or more. Use the adoption fee to recoup your expenses. Read full article »
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"Recently I have fallen on difficult times. My Real Estate business is in the most precarious position of my twenty five year career. At the grocery store I would buy dog food, often at the sacrifice of my needs. This became overwhelming and it became apparent that I could not keep my beloved animals in the 'style in which they had become accustomed'.
At this point, facing the heartbreaking option of putting them back into the adoption mill, I reached out to Animal Compassion Network. To my pleasant surprise, they acknowledged my value as a caretaker and agreed to supplement the animals nourishment until I could resume on my own.
This was done with great sensitivity, allowing me to retain my dignity through out the process. I will be forever grateful for this assistance and choose them as my nonprofit recipient in the future.
Sincerely,
Frank S."
Frank
"It may take a village to raise a child but I have seen first hand how it takes a great organization like yours to place a kitty in a forever home. I know to what lengths each of you went to help Frank become one of your many success stories. I cannot thank you enough, but I can let you know that I always shall remember what you did for him and continue to do for all of the other homeless kitties." Read Full Story »
The Outside-Only Dog:
Things to Consider.
Things to Consider.
Dogs, by instinct, are very social animals. When in the wild, dogs run together with other dogs as members of a pack. Over many years, dogs were gradually domesticated and came to rely on people for care and companionship. You could say people became the dogs' "pack members". When a dog is kept alone outside and never allowed inside with the rest of the pack members, behavioral problems will develop and the dog's safety and health will be jeopardized.
Most of the behavioral problems incurred by dogs stem from boredom and lack of human companionship. Chronic barking, digging, licking of feet, legs and underside, running away, and eating foreign debris are all examples of common problems which occur when a dog is kept entirely outside. Every day, animal shelters like ours receive countless numbers of stray dogs who have wandered away from their homes. They also receive dogs relinquished by their owners because of behavioral problems caused by neglect. A good number of these dogs must be euthanized because we can not place animals with such severe behavioral problems, or simply because people are not as likely to adopt a dog that has not been properly socialized with humans. Continued »
Did you know?
90% of pet shops obtain their puppies from puppy mills. What is a puppy mill? Read more »