Dog Dumpers, We are Watching!

Mama, come back! Come back! Don't leave us!

Figure out a way to keep your dog, once you find the one you want (start at a shelter), then hug your dog a lot!  There will be a reward for you in those hugs. Your children will remember how wonderful it was to have a dog, while growing up.

     I do. She was an English Bulldog. She had a couple of litters of puppies. My dad made me watch as he chopped off their tails (which I hate to this day!) She played with us kids and protected us. No one dared get in the yard when we were outside. Then one day, she got into or someone gave her some rat poison and was dead when my dad found her. That had to be a horrendous death. It still makes me cry just to think about it.

So sad that people cannot or will not fulfill their promises when taking on the opportunity to take care of dogs or cats that require nothing but food and love. Spending a little money to keep them from getting pregnant and getting their vaccinations to keep them safe, is hard sometimes, but frequently, there is financial help available, even when the shelters are full.

It is my experience that dogs will give you unquestioning love even in the worst of situations. Humans can be brutal to each other, but especially to defenseless animals or children, for that matter. They love you anyway. That is unexplainable to me. That doesn't mean that the brutality done to them is okay. It isn't acceptable on any level. It is devastating to the dog's physical well-being as well as their emotional well-being, but they still find a way to love their people even when they are so afraid of them and the pain that is inflicted on them. 

Dumping your dog who thinks he/she is your lifetime companion will be forever harmed by this decision.  It would be your fault that he may not ever attach to another family.  He may not be wanted by anyone else because he has become so depressed by his abandonment or abuse.  He may be killed by a pack of coyotes or another wild pack of dumped dogs, a hunter or get run over.  So, not only would you harm the dog emotionally, but you could be responsible for his death one way or another. 

Dumping dogs in the country with the mistaken thinking that we animal lovers will pick them up and care for them, is flawed on many levels.  Our animals may not get along with your dog.  We may not be able to afford to take on, yet another, dumped dog.  Dog food is expensive as is their Rabies, Parvo, Kennel Cough, and other necessary vaccinations to keep them and our own animals safe.  Spaying and neutering are other necessary actions that are expensive, but necessary.  We must cut down the population, so the abandonment, hopefully will be curtailed, as well as the starvation, brutality, more dumping of future generations of dogs and other inhumane treatment.

From a country road resident, just know that we do what we can, but sometimes there just are not enough of us to take them all in.  It seems to happen more often during poor economic times, which is NOT reason enough to abandon your dog. 

Also, know that when they get run over, at least half of the time, the driver does not stop to check on the dog or even move it off the road, leaving it there to be hit again and again, until someone does stop or the road maintenance crews move it off. Think about that!

When you take on a pet, whether it be a dog or cat or another animal, make sure you have thought through how you will feed it when money gets tight or where it will shelter when winter blows in. It will be much easier to tell your family "No," now, than having them say goodbye at the shelter, on a lonely road or just thinking that they were stolen or ran off. Lying to children is a big sin as is abandoning your dog or cat.

Yes, we do have shelters, but when we had a Great Pyrenees dumped here, the shelters were all full and we would not even consider that option, anyway.   We spent the money, which is very tight, as you know, but we sleep well at night.  We found what we hope is a good home for her.  We gave her to the man wanting her and never asked for anything.  It did not break the bank and it was the right thing to do.

Know that it is against Texas law to dump a dog and that there are many people with cameras and windows watching for strangers in our areas, so we are very likely to see the dump. Wanting to keep our areas safe from Parvo and Rabies, we will turn you in.

There are ways to find a new home, other than randomly dumping it.  Check with your local and surrounding area shelters.  Post it on social media.  Talk to your neighbors, friends, your kids’ friends’ parents, senior citizens, etc. 

Now, go love on your dog and rethink your decision about getting rid of it. It will know there is something going on. You will know that it knows. Then, pray for clarity.