Size and/or quantity is relative, right?
Like 174 pounds is heavy for a five-foot-tall human, but not so weighty for a horse.
And 174 people is a lot for a small party, but 174 tortilla chips wouldn’t be enough to feed that same small party.
While 174 laps around the block would be a LONG walk, 174 laps around your kitchen table would be, well, weird.
How about 174 rescued Brittanys in need of forever homes, all with only one rescue organization? Any way you slice it, THAT is a lot of dogs.
Thinking about adding a dog to your family? Check out the bios on these guys at http://www.nbran.org.
Remember, those 174 dogs I mentioned are just with one rescue group. American Brittany Rescue has a bunch of dogs in need of homes, too.
That’s just Brittanys. If you like a certain breed, Google that breed along with “rescue” and you’ll see that most, if not all, breeds have a breed-specific rescue group.
Don’t care about breed? Go to Petfinder.com. How about a cat? Do you prefer cats? Petfinder can help you there, too.
Hubby and I had a conversation about dogs a few months ago. I think it was shortly after we adopted K, the newest addition to our family, and we realized what a great dog she is.
“You know,” Hubby said, “we’ve sure had some good luck adopting dogs. We’ve adopted four now and they’ve all been really good dogs.”
“Yep,” I agreed.
“Although,” he continued, completely uncoached by me, “maybe they’re all great dogs.”
BINGO! Hubby hit the nail on the head that time. Dogs are dogs. They’ve all got different personalities, characteristics, traits, etc. But one thing all dogs have in common is their desire to please their people.
Ever heard the joke about how to tell who loves you most, your wife or your dog? Put both in the trunk of your car, come back an hour later and find out which one’s happy to see you.
Anyway… the point is, these economic times have been tough on everyone. As more and more people are facing hardships, more and more pets are finding themselves in need of homes. The Gulf oil crisis is hitting animals hard, too. When people can’t afford to take care of their pets, the responsible folks often surrender those pets to rescue groups or shelters. Let’s not even think about what the irresponsible people do…
If you’re not ready to adopt an animal, become a foster parent. Most rescue groups and even a lot of local shelters would be thrilled to have your help. In terms of helping a certain number of pets, foster parents help far more pets than adopters. And fostering is fun. You get to meet all kinds of pets and people, too.
Just think about it. I’ll say no more. (Not today, anyway.)