A Dog is Not a Pretty Shoe
I read this post earlier and I’ve been thinking about it all day. It’s written from the perspective of someone who works at an animal shelter and it’s a brutal account of what goes on there.
It’s called Dogs: A Letter from a Shelter Manager on the No Dog About It Blog.
An excerpt:
I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.
Let’s make it so his/her job doesn’t exist anymore. Let’s stop thinking of animals as adorable accessories; as mere playthings we can coordinate with our stylish outfits. A dog is not a pretty shoe or sparkly car. A dog is not a thing to be discarded when he’s no longer convenient.
I hate to point out the obvious here, but a dog is a living, breathing BEING. If you want to add “cute” to your wardrobe, get a pair of fucking fuzzy bunny slippers.
God I love your writing style! Amen Shauna! Thank you for spreading the message.
BTW – I hate it when dogs are treated as accessories as well. And, I have no fuzzy bunny slippers.
In a world where the word cute sells, this can be a tough message to get across. And all the more important for it…
This is why I think there should be a moratorium on buying pet shop puppies until the animal population in rescues in shelters is dramatically reduced. Imagine if pet shops and shelters had to collaborate (to keep the rescue population down) instead of compete. I bet there would be all sorts of ideas on how this partnership could work.
Sigh, I wish their job no longer existed!
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And THAT is why I adopt and will continue to adopt for the rest of my life.
Thank you so much for sharing.
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I’m with Rod on this one. What a great idea Rod! No pups sold in pet stores until pet population in shelters goes down.