Animal Shelter PSA

I need to take a second to speak my mind about something that I've felt very passionate about for a long time but have only expressed my views to a few close friends who would listen. It's unusual for me to diverge from the casual, entertaining nature of this here web log, but I just need a soap box for a second. 

The first cat we ever had growing up was an orange tabby that one of my father's friends found starving in a snowbank. I was probably 8 or 9, and decided to name him Mittens. Original, I know, and much better than Sargent, the name my dad wanted to give him because of the stripes on his shoulders. Mittens and I bonded right away, like I was some kind of cat whisperer. Next came Patches, who we adopted as a kitten from a friend of my mother's. Both of our cats growing up were really great, and I remember how upset my mom was when Mittens got sick and went in the woods to die (he was pretty dignified, for a cat.)

Back at my old non-profit job, one of my coworkers would bring her purebred French bulldog to puppy play time. She recounted a particularly horrible experience, when another dog, "some dumb mutt" got aggressive with her dog.

"Some dumb mutt?" I thought. "Some dumb mutt who was probably rescued from a cardboard box only to live in a kennel, seeing the light of day for half an hour if it's lucky? I'm sorry, but how much exactly did you pay for your stupid inbred dog? And how many dogs at the shelter could that amount of money have fed and or neutered?"

Of course, I didn't say these things, because I liked the people I was working with, as well as the bulldog. But I just don't understand. People who pay exorbitant amounts of money for their pets have either clearly never set foot inside a shelter or are too impatient, vain or heartless to give a crap. (I'm sure that's not completely true, but I can't get over it.) The maid of honor of the wedding I'm in this fall was just gifted a $650 kitten. No, the kitten isn't made of gold and it's very poorly behaved.

I was just looking at all of the area animal shelter websites and when I came across the Success Stories at the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, I read like, three before I was moved to tears by the touching letters. In a lot of cases, the it was the people, not just the pets who were in need. They were filling voids in each other's lives.

Cleveland spent some time working at the animal shelter when he was between professional jobs. He said that working there was emotionally exhausting, referring to something he called "shelter burnout." Surrounded by the disparity of sad lonely animals and irreverent, careless former owners all day, it's not surprising. Sometimes the first person to arrive in the morning would find a box at the door, and have to proceed with caution- not knowing if it was a box of food, blankets, kittens or snakes.

Seriously, look at this PSA and tell me you don't tear up a little. It makes me want to run home and hug my little cat with the enthusiasm of Lennie from Of Mice and Men, just shy of the accidental crushing part.



I may not have the money or the means to contribute as much as I'd like to at our local Animal Refuge League. But I do get the satisfaction of knowing I gave my little love bug a home, and she's happy to be here. Mostly.