A dog saved the children of his family from being ran over.
A dog rescued nine humans from a house on fire.
A dog comforted his dying owner in the hospital .
A dog made sure her owner won’t bump her head or hurt herself during a seizure.
A dog warned his owner of an impending panic attack.
These are just a few of the stories about how dogs help humans.
The internet has been churning out numerous stories on how dogs changed or change the lives of humans, and how they enrich the lives of their owners.
These stories gladden our hearts.
But there have also been numerous stories about dogs being killed in pounds through lethal injection, or dying slowly and painfully in pounds due to illnesses that are not treated. We also read online about how dogs are hurt by cruel humans, or killed for their meat.
And these stories sadden dog lovers deeply.
For animal lovers know dogs need not die in pounds or on the streets. Dogs do feel and deserve to be loved and be treated with kindness.
It is not so difficult to care for a dog who will be loyal to us for the rest of his/her life. All he/she needs is nutritious food, clean water, a roof over his/her head, a time to roam or walk, yearly vaccination and preventive meds. It is always better to prevent sickness than to cure it as we have often been told.
But there seems to be more irresponsible pet owners in this world.
Many dogs are surrendered by owners to the pound, saying that the dog became aggressive, or they are leaving for the province or transferring to a new place where dogs are not allowed.
Many are also reported in Facebook needing rescue: a dog with transmissible venereal tumor (cancer), a dog with an advanced stage of distemper or mange (galis), a dog who was hit by a car and left by the driver to die on the street.
Aggression. Change of location. Diseases. Accidents.
All these could have been prevented or the owner could have found a better solution than abandoning a dog on the street or surrendering the dog to a pound, knowing the dog will end up dead sooner or later.
Folks, if you can not take care of a dog for life, please do not get one.
And if you decide to keep a dog for life, please have the dog spayed (have the cervix removed at the right age) or neutered (have the balls removed at the right age). In this way, you can help lessen the number of unwanted dogs who will end up as strays or abandoned on the streets or surrendered to pounds.
Also, please be a responsible pet owner.
A loving owner feeds his dog the appropriate food, not food scraps which will eventually lead either to a mange flare-up, or damage to some organs, specifically the liver and/or kidneys.
A loving owner also has his dog vaccinated against canine diseases. On the first year, a series of three shots (minimum, some vets give four) at P350 to P500 each and an anti-rabies shot worth P150 are given. In the succeeding years, only one vaccination is needed along with the anti-rabies shot.
While irresponsible pet owners irk rescuers and animal welfare advocates, there is a group of humans we love so much. They are the ADOPTERS.
We love them more when they adopt RESCUED DOGS.
One such wonderful being is Ailene B. Valdemoro- Castro.
She adopted Bella, a seven-month-old aspin or asong Pinoy, who was about to be surrendered by the barangay to the pound where she will be put to sleep after a few days.
Luck was on Bella’s side, thanks to Danilo Tulaylay who informed Ailene about Bella.
Ailene was looking for a dog for her daughter but when she saw Bella, she decided to take the poor pup herself.
“I couldn’t bear to let her go knowing she had nowhere to go so I decided to take her for myself, “ Ailene said.
She adds, ”Bella is the funniest, goofiest dog. She likes cuddles and to play. I have two other dogs, but Bella always seems to be the happiest to see me when I come home."
Ailene strongly urges animal lovers to adopt, and not buy dogs.
"There are too many unwanted, abandoned, uncared for dogs in the world, " she says.
But whether adopted or rescued or bought, Ailene urges new owners to take him/her to the vet for a check-up before bringing him home, to see if the dog is not infected with any illness.
Ailene gave this tip to new adopters: “For the first few weeks, I would treat her extra special so she would feel at home.”
Today, Ailene says she is happy Bella gets along well with Charlie and Milo.
Ailene is very grateful to Danilo for informing her about Bella’s condition in the pound. “Without him (Danilo), Bella and I would not have found each other. “
* * *
I do hope more and more compassionate humans will adopt rescued dogs and cats, instead of buying pets. Let us help control animal population in the country, and help lessen the number of dogs who will end up neglected, abandoned, or who will become strays.
Dogs and cats will not be bred if you do not buy a pet. For every dog you buy, believe me, the person who got your P6,000 or P18,000 for that huggable puppy or cute kitten will breed another dog or cat to get more money.
Sadly, a number of these mama dogs and cats have been bred more times than they should have been bred in their lifetime.
Would you want your wife or daughter to be bred for money?
Think about it ,please, the next time you see a cute pup in the pet store’s window. Adopt, cause you don’t buy love.
Namaste!