It depresses me to see the puppies and kittens crammed into those little cages with no space to run and play. What depresses me even more is knowing how those precious little dogs got there. Many came from puppy mills where their mothers are forced to live in filthy and disease infested conditions breeding litter after litter of puppies so some loser can turn a profit. (God help me I know I sound like a Marxist when I say that!)
If you have even an ounce of compassion it has to sadden you to think of any animal living under those kinds of conditions. You can however "vote with your feet" and refuse to buy a puppy (or kitten) from a pet store or unscrupulous breeder. Better yet, don't buy a puppy at all. Go to your local human society or animal shelter and adopt an animal.
When you adopt a dog from the shelter they're often past that chewing stage and are potty trained. (Then again, there are many young pups available at shelters as well if you have a yearning for chewed up Nikes.)
We have two elderly dachshunds. We adopted them - or as they like to think, they adopted us. My husband refers to them affectionately as "used" dogs. Duchess, who is 14, was a stray who "belonged" to a former roommate of mine, although I was the one with whom she slept at night, who took her on walks, fed her, took her to the vet for shots, so on and so forth. The dog naturally assumed she belonged to me. Turned out my roommate was only too willing to part with her when I moved out in exchange for keeping my rental deposit.
She is worth ten times that amount. Her eyes are cloudy, her face is almost completely gray and she takes daily arthritis medication. The best part of her day is her 30-minute walk and the rest of the time she naps mostly. The second best time of the day is mealtime. She eats hamburger and rice mainly because other food upsets her old stomach. I believe my husband said it best when he pointed out, "But aren't these the type of dogs that need someone to love them the most?"
