We’ve all seen the photos and heard the stories about the dogs tightly chained to a tree in the heat of summer or the frigid cold of winter. The dog shivering outside in the cold hoping to be brought inside to the warmth of a home and its family is heartbreaking. The dog that is driven out to a remote area and dumped… & that dog running after the car and then sitting there for days waiting for their person to come back for them. The couple that lived next door and had their great dog, but they had to move because of “landlord issues” with the dog, so they just leave the dog there and drive away.
Sadly, this happens every single day of the year! These animals have no idea what they’ve done wrong (NOTHING), why they’re being treated like they are and what is going to happen to them. It’s heartbreaking!
I must confess – I’m writing this article because during the last couple of years I’ve been TRYING to figure out why some people can be so callous and cowardly when it comes to their pets. Most recently it was a situation where a local family moved out of their home and left their family dog they’d had for 10 years, chained inside their living room with no food, no water, no heat, and nobody there. After a couple days, a neighbor heard this dog crying and (thankfully) immediately called Animal Control to check out his cries for help.
This precious pup was brought to Yavapai Humane Society (thankfully) where it was treated medically, given food, water, warmth, and love, and has since found a new family that loves him beyond all belief! This dog is alive and prospering because of a caring person who decided to act and advocate for an animal that was in need.
So why is it that when some families have a dog they’ve had its entire life and then get a new puppy and the puppy and the loyal family dog don’t get along, they decide to surrender the dog they’ve had for all those years? Do you think that dog isn’t confused, sad and heartbroken…wondering what it did wrong?
I just don’t understand how some people can be so heartless. Some of these dogs are old, in poor health, some deaf or blind and now, they are away from the only family they’ve ever known. We just recently got a little guy who looks like a wet mop and is about 11 years old… found as a stray… has a microchip… tried to contact the owner… no response!
Seriously?? If you don’t want your dog, at least give it a chance and not just dump it on the side of the road!!!
Dogs are some of the most loyal animals around. We’ve all seen the pictures of dogs that lay on the sidewalk outside of a hospital waiting for their person to come out. Or the dog that lays at the grave of his person, grieving and yet continuing to be loyal even into eternity. I don’t know what we did as humans to deserve this kind of love and loyalty, but what I do know is those dogs deserve our love and loyalty in return for what they give us!
Believe or not – here we are in 2022 and there are still people who think that animals don’t have emotions, feel pain or loss, or get confused. There are still people who think, “Oh, it’s just a dog”.
No, it’s not “just a dog” … it’s a life, and more so…it’s a life that MATTERS!!!
That’s the message I’m trying to share with you. Be their voice, be their advocate, be their hero, be the person that may even save their life. If you see something, call and report it. If you hear something, call and report it. Even if you’re not sure that something might be wrong, be willing to take the chance and make that call. It takes all of us to make this world a better place not only for ourselves but also for other people and for the animals who share this amazing place that we call earth.
I used to follow this group about animal cruelty (just so I could be educated about what’s going on), and they posted a video of some teenagers who were out walking with a dog… cutest dog… he was so happy… they got to a bridge, and they picked the dog up and dropped it over this bridge. They were laughing as the dog was falling to its death, and trust me, it wasn’t pretty. It haunts me every day of my life. I no longer follow this site because my heart and my soul can’t handle it. I have been through a lot of things in my life, but that video, I cannot erase!
I just saw another post on social media, of a guy who beat his dog to death with a baseball bat because the dog had an accident in his house. Then there is the guy who shot his dog right in the face with a gun… because it didn’t get along with his girlfriend and he posted this publicly. Seriously people… are you kidding me?
My dog today was having tummy issues and trust me, it wasn’t pretty… I was on my hands and knees cleaning up this mess… but guess what? I didn’t beat my dog to death or take her out and abandon her somewhere… she is on my lap as I write this… She is family… she might be “just a dog” to you, but to me… she is my family and there is nothing on this earth that could make me spend one day away from her.
October is Pit Bull Awareness Month
Unfortunately, this is a breed that is abused and abandoned more than others. BUT I must tell you, they are some of the most loving and affection dogs on the planet… I cannot stress this enough…it’s not the BREED it’s the OWNER and the way they were raised!!! Can we please put a stop to the stigma???
We have some of the most amazing dogs here at YHS that are Pit Bulls… the minute people hear that word… they walk on by. WHY??? It’s just not fair!!
I was at Costco the other day… happened to have my YHS shirt on… a lady came up to me and asked me about our dogs as she was looking for a companion… I told her about Gwen, who’s been with us since March… she had her leg amputated due to being hit by a car and left to die. The minute I mentioned she was a pit bull mix… she said, “No, can’t have a pit bull around my grandchildren.” Guess what? Gwen is the most loving dog and wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Here’s the thing people… I understand there are circumstances where you need to surrender your pet. Don’t do it out in the world and just dump them. Come to a shelter like YHS where they have a chance.
NO animal deserves to be abandoned… NO animal deserves to be abused It happens every day and YOU might be their chance at survival. YHS (or another shelter) might be their chance at survival!
I’ll stop now.
YHS cares about all these animals; we want to find them the homes they deserve. Visit us at yavapaihumane.org and then come meet them… As they say, there is a “golden in the rough.” It just might be waiting for you!
