When getting a pet, be prepared for long haul

When writing this column, I generally try to think about what’s happening on a local, regional or national scale. I like to talk about topics with far-reaching consequences that require diverse perspectives and affect a variety of people.

But not today. Today, perhaps selfishly, I can only think about yesterday morning — when I discovered yet another mistreated dog on my front porch.

My husband and I have made an accidental habit of being “rescuers.” We keep a bag with treats and a leash in the car for the stray dogs we inevitably encounter. In the nearly eight years we’ve been together, we’ve found and returned or re-homed more than a dozen lost or abandoned animals. I don’t know how they find us, but they do.

So finding a shrunken, elderly mutt in our yard, with nails so overgrown they curled under its paws and clear signs of painful arthritis was frustrating, to say the least. Seeing animals that have been neglected or forgotten on a semi-regular basis doesn’t get any easier with time.

Now that pup is asleep on our couch at home. Anyone with any dog rescue experience can attest — when they first get to you, they sometimes sleep for days. It’s like they haven’t been able to sleep peacefully for years.

And I’m angry. Angry that so many people are so callous when it comes to their pets. Angry at the depth of cruelty that exists in the world. Angry that as a species we can never seem to take the words of French poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to heart: that you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.

I hope the dog we found wasn’t abandoned because it was no longer young and fluffy. I hope it wasn’t dumped because it can no longer run and jump. I hope it wasn’t left to fend for itself because the needs of a senior dog became too much of a burden.

I may never know. But what I do know is that you should not adopt a dog unless you intend to care for it for the rest of its natural life. Taking on a pet of any kind without doing the proper research is doing a disservice to not only the owner, but the animal and the people who will eventually have to try to repair the damage the owner has done.

Our adopted lab mix came with a questionable past. Two years later he has nightmares and cries in his sleep. True, it’s not human suffering. But suffering of any kind — especially that which we have the power to prevent — should be unacceptable.

Obviously, accidents happen. Dogs slip out of doors, climb over fences and escape their leashes. Safeguard your pets by registering them with your county and microchipping them so they can be reunited with you.

But unfortunately, not every wandering animal is the product of an accident. Some are purposefully abandoned when they get too big or too loud or too old. Others are ignored by uncaring, negligent owners. Still others escape from abusive situations.

If you must surrender your animal due to unforeseen circumstances, try to rehome it with a trusted friend or relative. Reach out to local rescues and humane societies. The least you can do is leave it in the care of a no-kill shelter with employees that will do their best to provide for it.

But better yet, don’t get a pet if you aren’t prepared to do the work.

Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].