Before I write anything else, let me just say that I LOVE the Humane Society….in fact, as you’ll see below, all my favorite animals (besides our wild outdoor ones) have come from there so I’m absolutely not saying don’t adopt, I’m saying to think before you do (or buy).
The Newest Addition
Meet Smokey, our newest addition to the family. We got Smokey from the Humane Society when they were giving their cats away for free (besides the $15 license fee) to make room for all the evacuated pets they were keeping for the Waldo Canyon Fire evacuees. (Which was wonderful of them to do!) I wrote an earlier post about my positive experience that day at the Humane Society and of how many people turned out to help and adopt. Now Smokey makes the fifth cat we have adopted so I’m very familiar with getting cats from a shelter but as I looked around the room that day, I wondered if everyone there realized that there’s a lot more expense (and time) to a pound (or any) pet than they might know?
Do You Have the Time?
One of my most favorite Humane Society pets didn’t even belong to me…he lived next door (I’m still mourning that he and his family just moved!) When we found out that they were moving, my husband actually said we could get our own dog if I wanted because he knew I was going to miss Miles so much (and his family of course!) But as much as I want a dog, I know that I don’t have the time right now to dedicate to being a good mama and training it and helping it get familiar with our home and cats. We also don’t have a fence, have tons of wildlife and I would need to spend time teaching it to not run after the critters. There’s also walking it, cleaning up after it, getting a sitter or paying to have it boarded when we’re away…it would be totally unfair to the dog with my schedule right now.
Attention and Care
This past Easter I wrote a post on thinking before adopting/buying rabbits or chickens as “Easter presents” because they were cute and would delight the young ones…pets require time, attention and money. Pets can be extremely rewarding but it’s important to remember that pet ownership is also a huge responsibility. As a pet owner, you will be committed to providing for all the requirements of your pet-food, exercise, housing, grooming and veterinary care. Do you have the capacity to meet the physiological, behavioral and social needs of the animal?
An Expensive “Free” Pet
When we adopted Smokey I knew that we’d need to keep her isolated from the other cats for at least a week to make sure she didn’t give the other cats an upper respiratory infection because even though the Humane Society gives the cats a shot for this, you just never know and from previous adoptions, we knew it was a good possibility she would be sick….which she was. Smokey was a stray, about 1 1/2 years old and not the prettiest cat there (which is one of the reasons I chose her, because she wasn’t a cute little kitten that typically gets adopted first). She has been to the vet three times now, has racked up over $450 in medical bills and was on medications that consisted of, at one point, five different medicines, some needing to be given four times a day….that would have been hard to do if I worked outside of the home and financially challenging if we hadn’t been prepared for some medical bills…didn’t think it would be that much though! Thank goodness she’s healthy now and finally got to meet all the other cats. But for someone on a very limited budget, this could have been a challenge.
I encourage people to adopt at the Humane Society all the time but if you’re considering to adopt or buy, make sure you do your research so that you are positive your choice of pet will be appropriate for your lifestyle.
This is my grand-dog Vaughn, another Humane Society sweetie…oh, and my son!
Never on a Whim!
Never get a pet on impulse…ask yourself these questions first….
- Am I prepared to care for a pet for its whole life? The average lifespan of dogs and cats is around 12 years, with some living until 15 or even 20.
- Am I prepared to financially take care of a pet? There are many costs involved with pet ownership; vaccinations, microchips, spraying/neutering, food, annual health checks, vet bills, training, boarding, toys, bedding, etc. Pets can be an expensive addition to your family.
We adopted Harpo a couple of years ago and when we first brought him home, he looked fine and I didn’t isolate him from our other three cats…within a week we had four cats who were all sick and had to be seen by our vet and be put on medicines….that ended up costing us over $500!
- Do you have the space for a pet? Is your home equipped for a pet and will there be any issues with kids or other pets in the house?
We have furniture that has many claw marks, rugs that have been vomited on many a time, and I can’t put anything breakable in places the cats can get to, which is pretty much everywhere and a lot of my favorite plants are toxic to cats so they can’t be in any of our main areas the cats have access to. But our cats are worth it so that’s just how it is at our home. If you bring a pet home and don’t train it correctly, you can’t get mad at the animal if it gets in to something it shouldn’t. (I obviously have not trained my cats that well….)
Buddy was adopted last year and thankfully wasn’t ever sick. We did keep him isolated for a week just to be sure, before introducing him to the others. The Humane Society does as much as they possibly can for each and every pet that enters their doors but you have to keep in mind that any animal you adopt, might be ill and require time, attention and vet bills.
Time, exercise, socialization, grooming, training and play are important aspects of pet ownership. Some demand more time than others. The Humane Society has other pets up for adoption other than just dogs and cats. You can check out what’s available and read more about adopting at www.hsppr.org (in our area).
Smokey and Fergie are starting to tolerate each other. This is one of their favorite places to hang out.
Buddy and Harpo are best friends…this is pretty much what they do all day (after the morning wildlife parade…)
The Morning Wildlife Parade
Every morning the cats all gather in the kitchen in front of our sliding glass door for our morning wildlife parade. They are so funny because they sit and watch all “our” other animals walk by…it’s like they are at a movie theater! Of course, I enjoy the show too. I took all of the following pictures in about a 30 minute time span, which occurs on an almost daily basis.
As you can see, I totally love animals and can’t imagine not having a pet (or more)….just think about it before you adopt/buy and make sure you have the resources to be a responsible pet owner. For more information on what to consider before adopting, check out this link. http://spca-albrecht.org/adopt/consider/
I miss you Miles!