For those of you that don’t know, I have an awesome Russian Blue gentlecat named Ziggy (IG: @misterziggs). He has attitude, acts stink and exhibits all kinds of moods in between. I couldn’t think of NOT having him, even though he drives me absolutely batty.
He’s a rescue that almost got run over by a forklift in a Williamsburg warehouse.
Every once in a while I see pet stores that sell animals and I wonder, why are we still buying pets from stores? Seriously though. There are upwards of 6 million cats and dogs entering the shelter system across the United States each year. These poor souls don’t last long in the system due to limited resources, medical conditions that are too expensive to perform procedures for and so many other scenarios. Over a million of those in shelters are euthanized each year. Think about that for a moment.
There’s a reason why it’s key to hit shelters FIRST before considering purchasing a pet. Animals just want love and care. That’s it. Their needs are simple. I’m amazed by their trust in us humans to care for their welfare when by every indicator, they shouldn’t trust us in the least. You know the ones I'm talking about... those disgusting human beings that beat, maimed, cause irreparable harm and other malicious things to these animals. There's a special level of hell for those folks.
Others people go the other route. They treat their pets better than they do themselves or their children, so that’s saying something. Still, there is NO reason that formal pet shops should still be around in my opinion, not when we have so many pets that just want a chance at their forever home in shelters.
Help out your local shelter or facility with fostering if you can - money helps, but so does your time in volunteering. Sometimes, these animals just need a little exposure to humans, to develop a little more trust, for them to settle into their pet role. The things some of these animals have been thru have made me cry; abuse, violent conflict, negligence, starvation… this is humanity at their worst, not taking their responsibilities seriously. Pets are NOT easy, but that is no excuse to be negligent.
I spoil Ziggy. SPOIL. And I’m unapologetic about it. At some point, I’ll likely get another pet and I will dote on them just as much. They get all of the good food, all of the pets and all of the love. They didn’t ask to be here - neither did we humans, but that’s a whole other matter altogether. We’ve taken them into our care voluntarily and we should treat them well.
Adopt. Please dear Reader, adopt an animal. Go to your local shelter, cat cafe, ASPCA… wherever. Avoid pet stores - they’re overpriced and don’t address the problem of animal overpopulation. And yes, I sound like Bob Barker.
