Consider a pet from shelter

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

I’ve always been a huge animal lover. Sometimes I prefer the company of my pets to my friends or even my husband. I know he shares my feelings on this, so he won’t be hurt by my saying so. Growing up, my parents became used to hearing, “Mom, can we keep it?” each time I stumbled upon the latest stray. Once they even said yes, and after making sure he didn’t belong to anyone, my parents allowed an adorable red tabby kitten my Mom named Nutmeg to join our family.As a teen, I thought I might want to be a veterinarian. Drs. Max Kennedy and David Stroshine of the Animal Hospital of Salinas hired me as a kennel girl. In high school, I helped care for people’s pets – feeding them, cleaning kennels, playing with the boarders and assisting the staff. It was a fantastic experience, where I learned that I didn’t have the patience to take on veterinary medicine as a career. I did continue my vet assisting during summers in college, though, which is how I ended up with my parrot, Haley, a yellow naped amazon. I spent more on that bird than I probably earned all summer, but when I went back to school, I couldn’t leave him at the vet clinic, where his prior owner had abandoned him because she couldn’t afford to pay the bills for his care. He had bonded to me, and me to him, and to my parents horror, I cashed in a CD to buy him. Haley has been with me for 19 years, and since he’s only 20, there’s a chance he’ll outlive me.

Our animal friends have been on my mind more than usual lately for a few reasons:

• A human friend loaned me the book, “Best Friends,” about the animal rescue organization being made famous on what’s fast becoming my favorite TV show, “Dog Town.”
• With the increase in foreclosures, some people have been forced to give up their pets because they themselves are displaced and struggling to survive.
• The economy has forced many people to cut back even on essentials, causing some to give up their beloved pets, and shelters and rescue organizations are taking in more and more abandoned pets.
• My own dog, Jake, who we adopted from the Salinas Animal Shelter in 2004, is getting up there in years and I’m afraid I won’t get to spend the amount of time I want with his fuzzy, gentle, loving soul.
• In his acceptance speech, president-elect Barack Obama told his daughters they would be getting a puppy to take to the White House. Lucky dog.

It’s the last item that compelled me most to write about pets. Obama’s shout-out to his daughters about the puppy put the significance of pets on the international stage. I wonder how many other families will be considering getting a puppy because Obama made mention of it. Also, because the Obamas won’t be under the same pressures and constraints most of us face in feeding our families and making sure our children receive the education, health care, emotional support and parenting necessary to thrive, the first family will have the luxury of choosing their puppy from a professional breeder, if that is their desire. I hope they’ll look first to their local animal shelter, rescue group or SPCA as they seek their new furry family member, and that they make the adoption public so others will be influenced to consider adopting a shelter pet rather than a pure breed.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no animosity to pure breeds, their breeders or their owners. But for the purpose of having a pet, rather than a show animal, working animal or breeding animal, I don’t see why a pure breed is necessary – especially with our shelters overflowing with beautiful pets.

Considering bringing a puppy or other pet into your family? Contact one of these local agencies: