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106 Comments
- Kyrgizion, on 05/19/2008, -6/+49People should learn to ***** balance their finances BEFORE getting a pet. And there should probably be some sort of pet-license as well... all they are proving by abandoning their pets is that they should NEVER have gotten one in the first place. If I were to fall on financially hard times, my pets would be the last thing I'd abandon. Hell, I'd sooner starve myself to death.
In short, very sad for the poor animals, and a big ***** YOU to whoever abandons them. Blaming it on financial problems only proves you are incapable of organising your priorities. - Surferess, on 05/19/2008, -0/+25This is very sad. I volunteer and walk dogs at the Humane Society, and all the kennels are full with two dogs instead of the usual one. If anyone can help, please do. It is a very satisfying volunteer job.
- cbartlett, on 05/19/2008, -3/+22When we adopted our cat, we signed a contract to give him a "Forever Loving Home". It's not something I took lightly. Everyone who gets a pet should sign something similar and legally binding.
- dtele, on 05/19/2008, -2/+19Animals are always the first to suffer in times of financial stress.
I submitted an interesting article about this last week, concerning authorities trying to outlaw pet stores.
The thinking behind thios is that if you want a pet, you go to the local animal pound and get a slightly used, maybe slightly abused pet... that you will love just the same anyway ;) - OmniShinzui, on 05/19/2008, -0/+15I dunno about you all, but my dog isnt that expensive to upkeep. 3x$40/yr for grooming, 1x$60/yr for vet checkup&yearly shots, $30x4/yr for dry food = $300/yr. Thats basically a paycheck for me, and cut into 52 weeks, it equates to about $5.75 a week.
However, when the unexpected expenses for when your pet has something wrong with it can occur, but rarely happens. When it does though, like when my dog scratched an open wound, those bills cost $250 for treatment easy. Things like this alone make it easy to understand why a person who cant afford to keep their pet.
Theoretically, if a depression knocks on my door, and lets say *if* I potentially lost my job, grooming can be cut and just take care of my dog myself. Instead of Kibble I could go cheaper, and maybe feed my dog in even portions instead of dumping the bag onto the bowl till it reaches the top. Theres the option of also cutting the vet as a LAST resort, ive gone a year or two without taking my dog to the vet and its ok. In the end, I could cut my pet expenses to $150, and still keep her. Would my dog be the last thing to get rid of? Id rather have a roof over my head, but my dog wouldnt be the first thing to cut from my list either. Like many, ive gotten emotionally attached to my pet, and I could not see my dog living with another family. - inactive, on 05/19/2008, -1/+13dugg for the basset hound, the snuggliest of all doggies
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -1/+11What kind of evil ***** sends their dog to the pound because a kennel costs too much while they're flying around on holiday?
- Haoie, on 05/19/2008, -2/+12That's really sad. As if there aren't enough unwanted and unloved strays around the world.
Cut back on luxuries, don't dump your family members!! - EdgarAllenPwn, on 05/19/2008, -0/+10I can't believe this is an issue. I feed my cat on about $15 a month. These people cant afford $15 a month for all the greatness that comes from having a pet?
- bcamp1973, on 05/19/2008, -0/+9My wife works for the American Humane Association and the problem is actually much worse than the article suggests. They're finding that a LOT of people are simply leaving the house with the animals locked up inside. By the time the owner (usually the bank) comes to reclaim the property the animals have usually starved to death. I can't believe people would do such horrific things...
- Hincapie, on 05/19/2008, -0/+9makes me sad inside :(
- TheThirdLevel, on 05/19/2008, -1/+10It is sad, but I guess they have no other option. Granted, abandoning is not the way to do it. Put the pet in an adoption center or humane society, or find a family that can give the pet a good home.
I couldn't bear to lose my German Shepherd. =/ - arizonabay, on 05/19/2008, -0/+9These are pretty much my thoughts. Pet food isn't that expensive. I could see it, however, if the pet had some odd-ball health problems that lead to exorbitant vet bills -- but that doesn't really seem to be what the article is saying.
Hell, the last article of the paragraph says that the problem is likely to increase as, "people jet off on holiday and realise it is going to cost them a couple of hundred pounds to put their pets in kennels."
err. "Jet off on holiday"? Anyone who dumps a family pet because it dampens their summer vaca plans needs a good, swift ***** punching. - RyanOC, on 05/19/2008, -0/+9People need to ***** commit to something when they choose it, this pisses me off! I had a lot of trouble finding places to live with a rotweiler while I was in college, but I never thought of getting rid of her, commit!
- tonicboy, on 05/19/2008, -1/+10I can see the idea behind that, but it's never a good idea to outlaw anything completely. After all, we live in supposedly free societies. Maybe a better solution would be to install a pet "luxury" tax. That way, it's just a bigger financial incentive to go to the animal shelter, but you are still free to do as you wish.
- lopla, on 05/19/2008, -4/+12We gave away our 3 dogs just last month. It was gut wrenching and painful. It was either the dogs or the Starbucks and well, you know how it goes. We also didn't realize how much the dogs were costing us, so with the money saved we bought a Hummer H1. I recommend anyone thinking about giving up their pets to weigh the pros and cons, then go for it. Ignore the pet police in here..
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -1/+9This is pretty much what I do on Digg:
1) find a story of interest
2) click "comments"
3) scroll through until I find a cold-hearted fiscal conservative comment
4) leave an unfunny and usually mean response stating that I agree - RSman, on 05/19/2008, -0/+7Wow...obviously people do not consider their pets to be part of their family. How could anyone just cast away another living being without caring for its well-being is just sick!
- liquidpele, on 05/19/2008, -0/+7Not to mention some of those pet stores get their pets from questionable places (inbred).
Everyone I know has gotten rescues though, and we have two. They're really good dogs. - Utopist, on 05/19/2008, -2/+9Dugg for the cat.
- Elranzer, on 05/19/2008, -0/+7What the hell kinda pet costs $20,000/year on "upkeep" on average? My dog (a large golden retriever) costs about $300 a year on food and vet checkups. The cat costs even less. And that's including plenty of daily "luxary" treats.
- shaunw, on 05/19/2008, -2/+9Humans be scumbags you know that.
- breadfred, on 05/19/2008, -2/+9Comment Hijack: How many newspapers are there in the UK? If you follow Digg, you would be forgiven that the Daily Mail is the biggest thing since sliced bread. It is not. It is crappy sensationalist newspaper. I would not be surprised if these so-called 'journalists' are infiltrating Digg to increase their hit-score. Buried for being Daily Fail.
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -0/+7I would go without food before my dog does.
- nard3456, on 05/19/2008, -0/+6this artical made me sad
- ZebZ, on 05/19/2008, -0/+6But when you come to the realization that you can't afford to take care of your cat, do you dump it on the side of the road or do you do everything in your power to make sure it is left with a person or group who will take care of it?
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7It's more important to them that they have their $6 latte every day.
- TheBigBad, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7If I have to choose between me going hungry or my pets going hungry then I am going to have a loudly growling stomach. Ramen costs 10 cents a pack, try it if you're trying to save money. If it was good enough in college then it's good enough now.
- JasonCox, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7I dont get how folks could abandon their pets... Pets arent just like family, they are family.
- sljepi, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7People abandoning their pets are scumbags and conformist lowlifes who wish to retain their way of high life without much sacrifice. Giving up pets at the first sign of trouble is a sign that they treat pets as a trendy product.
- veriix, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5Articles are there for a reason; so you can read them and not look like a dumb-ass when you comment. So next time please, RTFA!
- dave122, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5yeah, I don't think I could ever get rid of my dogs, they would be one of the last things to go if I had to drastically cut costs.
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5Right. Because it's more important that they get to jet off to Paris than take care of the pet they bought.
- RX9735, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5Amen brother. If you can't take care of yourself, don't buy a pet. I had a dog that lived 18 years and he needed walked, fed, watered every day of those 18 years.
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5I bet they didn't quit smoking though.
- ozziek, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5I wonder if some of the people dumping the pets are smoking? How much is that costing them per month? Don't take on a pet if you can't handle it or aren't prepared to do anything to keep them safe and happy. I hope these people don't breed. I fear for their kids and their fresh and potentially money earning organs.
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -1/+6Same reply twice?
I suspect you need to see the shrink for the multiple personality disorder you are suffering from.
At any rate, I didn't expect you to understand the post but the simple fact is that people giving up their pets (which most pet owners will tell you become a part of the family) is akin to dumping your child off at the orphanage. It's the mentality of that type of person.
Typically they will use the excuse of "doing what is best for the animal" but the reality is, a family pet is going to be more damaged by losing it's "pack" than it is not having all the extra treats it gets.
It's not expensive to feed and care for a pet. - clockb0x, on 05/19/2008, -1/+5I think "*****" is my new favorite word.
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4Time to drop your adopted kids off at the orphanage then I guess.
- peestandingup, on 05/19/2008, -2/+6***** these people, I got zero sympathy for them. If you couldn't afford a pet in the first place, even IF times got ruff (no pun intended), then you shouldn't have gotten one. There are ALWAYS alternatives. They probably didnt care that much to begin with.
Abandoning my dog would be the same as abandoning my child. It aint happening. - inactive, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4Literal abandonment is a big problem in the southern US. A lot of people are dropping their pets in the Appalachians figuring they will survive on their own.
- RX9735, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3And someone that will treat a pet like that would surely treat a person bad.
- inactive, on 05/19/2008, -2/+5Human = animal (unless you deny evolution?).
You are obviously not a pet owner. These animals have personalities just like children (and a lot more obedient than most children these days).
Dumping your pet that you have had for years and years is just like dumping your child.
Maybe we will see an increase in children dumped in orphanages too.
Please, don't ever get a pet. You would make a horrible companion to it. - inactive, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4The kind that need to rethink their values and priorities.
- Seldon2639, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3And, no that's not true. The vows you take when you get married don't constitute the actual contract. The contract is the document you sign afterwards, which has very specific legal meanings. You could arguably put in the contract that divorce is impossible, and until fairly recently it was impossible to have a "no fault" divorce (which meant you could only get divorced if something actually went wrong, rather than "we don't love each other anymore"), but we eventually realized that was a pretty bad idea.
If you're gonna bash "western peoples [sic]", please try to do some actual research first, and realize there's a difference between "stuff I've said" and "a valid contract". Remember, "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on" - Lansingite, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4Meijer was running a promotion through which they intended to donate $5,000 to the Humane Society with the specific goal of helping foreclosure pets. The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance objected on the grounds that the Humane Society opposes hunting. Meijer pulled the promotion.
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/meijer_ends_ ... - tonicboy, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4When they say "abandon", I don't think they mean that people take them to the park and just leave them there. They are doing exactly what you are saying... leaving them at an animal shelter.
- RX9735, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3Move somewhere pets are welcomed. If you are not willing to make sacrifices for a pet don't bother buying one.
- Coffeedemon, on 05/19/2008, -2/+5Whats dumb? Giving an animal a second chance because someone tried to get rid of it because it wasn't the right colour? I don't think hes talking about forcing violent or poorly adjusted animals on adopters. I had a dog that we got from the SPCA after no one wanted him anymore. He was a little nervous at first but after a month it was like he was in the family forever.
Better to do that than go to one of those puppy mills in the mall or some other seemingly ethical breeder. - Seldon2639, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3I can still judge them for having children, and pets, can't I? No one forced them to have either, and anyone who can't take care of their children or pets the moment there's a downturn was not in the kind of sound financial situation necessary to justify having children or pets. Admittedly, the immutable laws of social Darwinism should (and I emphasize the *should*) take care of the problem, if we don't get all sentimental and attempt to save them from themselves
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