Pet Lovers

[Scooby Doo]

Life happens and unfortunately innocent animals are affected.  But I don't see anything wrong with giving a pet away for free if you have a good gut feeling about the new owners.  Use your common sense.  Our humane society gets overloaded with cats and gives them away for free quite often.  They don't do background checks on people.  So if you take a pet to the shelter you're still not guaranteed that it wil go to a "good" home.

On the other hand, I recently adopted two senior dogs from the shelter.  One because her owner died, the other because ..... don't know.  Yes, both of these dogs lost their owners, but I can assure you that they have a wonderful home.  I feel blessed to have them.  The older dog has no teeth left, so I cook her a meatloaf that is soft.  They go to the groomer.  They go for walks and rides in the car.  They ride in the cart when we go to the hardware store.  I know they have a better home than they had before, because they were both underweight and hadn't been bathed or groomed.  My dogs were probably free, because I didn't have to pay for the spay, vaccinations, or dental. 

I've always had pets in the house, and the only I ever paid for was my first shih tzu.

[Moonchilde]

Completely agree that an animal - paid for or free - should not change hands before having a somewhat detailed conversation, in person, with any prospective adopter.

Completely disagree that any and every person who would respond to a free ad is guaranteed to torture, kill, maim, or otherwise abuse the animal. How ridiculous! The possessor of the cat simply needs to use their eyes and ears and inate intelligence, to make the decision as to whether the animal would have a good home with that adopter.

[PamelaSue72]

That is heartbreaking.

After my father died, my mom wanted a cat. My sister and I didn't want her to get a kitty, simply because she was in ill health and we didn't want the responsibility of taking on a cat ourselves. She has 7 cats and I had 7 at the time as well.

Didn't matter what we said. Mom got a buff-colored kitten that she named Muffin. And about a year later, Mom ended up having to go into a nursing home. At the time, we honestly thought she'd be able to leave after having PT on her legs, so we kept Muffin at Mom's apartment and I'd visit with her twice a day for feeding, scooping, cuddling.

After about two weeks, it was obvious that Mom wasn't coming back home. And so we had to decide about Muffin. And I went up to the apartment and brought her home. Poor Muffin went from being an only cat in an elderly household to being one of now eight cats in a household where a kitchen was being remodeled and the holidays were approaching.

She took it all in stride. And she's one of "my girls" now. I love her as dearly as if she'd have been ours right from the start. She's truly a sweetheart of a kitty. She joined our family three years ago and she's made herself right at home.

Interestingly, my sister was trying to talk Mom out of the getting a cat one day and she asked Mom, "What would happen to the cat if you had to go into a nursing home or if you passed away?" Mom looked my sister right in the eye and said, "I'm not worried. Pam will take her." And that's exactly what happened.

I love that little girl.

[betteb]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

Completely agree that an animal - paid for or free - should not change hands before having a somewhat detailed conversation, in person, with any prospective adopter.

Completely disagree that any and every person who would respond to a free ad is guaranteed to torture, kill, maim, or otherwise abuse the animal. How ridiculous! The possessor of the cat simply needs to use their eyes and ears and inate intelligence, to make the decision as to whether the animal would have a good home with that adopter.

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I agree. If I was going to place an ad like that, I would start off with "Applications being accepted for.." I think that might at least make someone hesitate to respond if they did not have good intentions.

[Constance2]

Of course not everyone is going to abuse a free animal, but unfortunately, many do.  For that reason, it is a good idea to charge a fee to obtain a pet and to screen applicants carefully.  Some people do not deserve the love of a pet for the cruel way they treat them.  Pets should be considered family and once you take one in, it should be a lifetime commitment as they have feelings, too, and should not be considered disposable.  In the case I mentioned, the owner had no choice but to give up her cat.  

[Constance2]

luvmyteddy, there are many pet rescue organizations that may be able to help you should something happen to you.  Ask your vet if they know of any in your area.  Also, if you have a senior services center in your town, they may point you in the right direction to have someone give you a daily wellness check call.  Even a local fire or police dept. can do that, or if you are a member of a local church, call the pastor and share with them your concerns.