So, wed like to put something to you - a little food for thought (in a rather long post). Bear with us; it needs to be said. Weve been asked to take yet another unwanted dog. He was left behind by his previous owners and the elderly, unemployed woman whos been looking after him cannot keep him. She says we should find a nice home for him or put him to sleep (please read on before commenting). Hes a middle-aged guy, not very old - around 7 - 8 years - and gets on with other dogs, cats, and is great with kids. He has bald spots, we suspect due to untreated fleas, rather than mange. Many would say that this, along with his age, makes him unhomeable. People want the young, the petite, the perfect, the cute. Yet how many of US can claim to be perfect either! Maybe hell be fortunate because he was lucky enough to receive fluffy fur and a smaller size... The situation is this: So many times we (and other welfares) work very hard to rehabilitate and/or rescue sick, injured, or previously mistreated animals...only for them to sit and wait for homes - sometimes forever. Is that really a better life? Everyone cheers for them and is loud in insisting that welfares rescue them, but nobody wants them in the end. Lassie, Nikita, Harvey, Britney, Buddy, Rosy, Steffi, Prince, Taylor - all examples of FAW dogs we worked very hard to rescue and/or heal, depending on the situation. ALL have since sat and waited for homes - some of them for over 2 years. Nobody ever asks about them. Nobody ever looks twice. What if the same happens to this gentle guy? What if we uplift him, take him to the rescue centre (bearing in mind hes spent his whole life knowing the freedom of his street, familiar with his doggy friends and will find the change pretty scary) spend weeks treating him, and end up with him sitting there, without a home of his own, possibly forever. Aside from the heartbreak & sleepless nights this causes all of us, it also costs us R200 per month per dog for boarding (food, treatment, etc.) - we spend R8000 - R9000 every month on boarding them. (Thank you to the 3 awesome people who currently sponsor 3 of our dogs.) Of COURSE we will not put him to sleep! OF COURSE we will treat him. OF COURSE we will do whatever we can to find him a new home. Its just something wed like people to think about. Simeon is one of many. In fact, there are at least 9 dogs and 1 cat that we know of in Fisantekraal right now which we have to leave there, despite their unwanted status, because theres no space and no homes for them. So far this November, ONE of our dogs has been adopted. We hope theyll be ok. We hope people read this post and give this issue some thought. It doesnt end when theyre rescued - it only ends when theyre adopted; for some, this may never happen. Dogs up for adoption: faw.za.org/index.php/adopting-from-faw/adoptions-dogs/ Sponsor a dog: faw.za.org/index.php/help-faw/sponsor-a-dog/
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 18:20:00 +0000
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