I’m probably gonna be flamed out of existance by all the sappy animal freaks here but what the hell…
Scenario: EARLY morning…the wife wakes me up as it’s storming and there are windows she can’t close. I go close the windows and head for the john. I hear whining and whimpering that is patently NOT from my dog. I hear my wife tell one of the kids “Quick! Go get your Dad!” I rush out to the kitchen thinking something terrible has happened and there’s my wife, standing out in the rain, holding a black labrador puppy. She looks at me and says “It was on our front porch. Can we keep it?” I say NO!!! Our dog is a VERY jealous and rambunctious one year old loveable pitbull. I then consent to at least let the damn thing in the house to get dried off and tell her and my kids that the puppy go’s back outside as SOON as it stops raining. Now, my wife isn’t very happy with me and my eldest daughter (15) is pissed off at me.
Hey! I figure this dog HAS to have a home and WE ARE NOT KEEPING ANOTHER PERSON’S PUPPY!!! I mean, if MY dog got loose and someone took care of it until the rain stopped I’d be grateful. But if they KEPT it, I’d be supremely pissed off.
Having dealt with the melding of my two dogs and a friend’s pit bull once before, I can definitely say that I know what you’re feeling. I’d rather be hated by my family for a short period of time then having to separate my pit’s jaws in a very graphic manner(if you’ve owned a Pit that’s a guy dog, that has latched on to another dog you know how to get them to release).
I also have a problem housing other people’s pets. I love my animals, but I’ve never been one for rescue missions. Besides, it most likely belongs to a neighbor in the radius of a few blocks anyways, and you’d be stealing their dog(also lost a dog in a storm about 7 years ago…we recently found who found him nad has kept him since).
I wouldn’t mind keeping someone’s pet if it were raining. But you can’t take in every animal that comes up, especially if you have animals of your own. My dog is also very jealous of other dogs and he would fight with them constantly. I’d keep the dog a day or two to see if someone came to claim them, then I’d start looking for the owner myself.
Well, I can see not wanting to keep every animal that comes your way, but really, do you think putting it back outside is a great idea? I would have kept it till morning, then gone knocking on my neighbor’s doors. If that didn’t work out, I would have taken it to my nearest vet to have it scanned for a chip. And then if that didn’t work, I’d have Animal Services come and get it, then post signs around the area that if someone is missing a puppy, they need to call there. Not only would I do those things, I have done those things. Wouldn’t it suck if you put it back outside, and it got hit by a car?
GaWd: My pitbull is female and the world’s biggest wuss. This damn puppy is about a third her size and has been chasing her all over the place so no problem there.
Ultress: I think we will be holding on to it for a day or so just to see if someone posts it missing.
Michi: It IS morning and we still have the damn thing. Most of my neighbors wouldn’t have a pet dog if you paid them to. I refuse to spend my hard earned money to have a dog scanned on the possibility it might be carrying a chip, which is not that likely anyway. As for giving it to the local animal shelter (read euthanasia clinic) I’ll give it to a friend before that. AND, if it got hit by a car, so what? It’s just a dog! Now, if it was a person I’d worry about that. Not trying to be cruel or anything, just trying to keep things in perspective.
As a matter of fact, yes I do. Like I said, a dog or cat is NOT a person. I’m not saying that I WANT anyone’s pet to get hit by a car, I’m just saying that it wouldn’t be the end of the world or anything.
I fully understand that some people like to think that a pet is a member of the family, but when you think about it, it’s just an animal that you take care of.
Note: I am not anti-pet or anti-animal or anything like that, even if it might sound so. I like my dog but I don’t LOVE my dog. It’s a PET! I’m all for research on animals and wearing fur too.
Okay. First off, if a dog showed up at my doorstep I’d shut the door in its face. Even in the middle of an ice storm. I am not a dog person and I’m not going to bring a strange dog into my house with three young children, bringing in GaWd knows what diseases and trashing the place.
Second, I think Xploder’s wording is a bit harsh but I can see where he’s coming from. I like my cats a whole lot. I have been VERY saddened when the couple that have died, have died; both torn to pieces BY DOGS in my front yard. However…
When I first got the cats, they were my babies. I pampered them. They got the bst food, new toys, lots of catnip, and despite a flea problem the run of the house. Then I gave birth to my frist child, and they were magically transformed into…CATS. They are strictly outdoors only. I feed them. I pet them and love on them. But they are NOT my babies, they are NOT the loves of my life, and if one of them runs away (as one did this past year) I am NOT going to rip the hair out of my head trying to find it. The one that left was a street-smart sweetheart, and I prefer to think he found a good home for himself…and if he got hit by a car I’d just as soon keep my illusions. But I’m not gonna hold a wake for him.
Then why does one deserve rights and the other doesn’t?
Because of intelligence? Cats & dogs are very intelligent.
Your argument: “Pets are pets not humans”
So what? The ego is you thinking humans are so much higher then any other animal and they can just run all over the world, killing and destroying all they want as long as it isn’t other humans they’re killing.
Pets are pets and they deserve to be treated humanely.
My point is that pets are a lower order and therefore do not have the same rights as humans. Where did I say that I think humans should be allowed to run all over the world, killing and destroying all they want as long as it isn’t other humans??? Do YOU eat meat? Have YOU ever been to a slaughterhouse? That is one of the most INhumane places I’ve ever seen in my life! It won’t stop me from enjoying a good steak though. If you DO eat meat of ANY type then you’re being a hypocrite. if you are a strict vegetarian then fine, I couldn’t care less. There are other forums and threads for that subject.
I can understand being tenderhearted towards a sick or injured animal, but does this mean that I now have to care for all the skunks, porcupines and racoons that wander into my back yard from the woods? Not as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t.
This reminds me of David Letterman horsing around the other night about the “exotic dancer” that was kicked out of the Big Brother house. Something like: "When I was a kid an exotic dancer showed up on our porch and I said ‘Mom, can we keep her?’ and she said NO…
Dave again acting as himself: But I promise I’ll feed her! …
(Paul Shaffer asks: “What do you feed an exotic dancer?”)…
Pretty hilarious
I would definitely prefer an exotic dancer to a dog
No one said they weren’t intelligent. I’m not taking a stray raccoon, squirrel, or skunk into my home. Not even if it looks injured. I am a big ugly selfish human being who doesn’t want to expose my family to anything they might be exposed to through close proximity to those animals.
I think Xploder is perfectly within his rights to NOT take in a stray puppy for the same reasons.
I don’t think he was saying “I hope all stray animals get hit by cars.” I think he was saying “I’m not going to kil myself over the fact that stray animals get hit by cars.”
Extreme examples and “meat is murder” hyperbole are not going to convince me that I should haul my cats down to the local precinct and allow them to vote.
(Former vegetarian reporting in. I love steak and can’t imagine thundering herds of wild COWS.)
Sorry, but somebody’s got to do this, especially since the animal lovers out there are apparently distracted by some kind of implied threat.
Ohh, that poor little puppy! Probably scared to death, all wet, the poor thing. Who could ever let a cute little puppy like this out of their sight? They just don’t deserve to have a such a cute little thing! Do they, you cute, little, fluffy thing? Here, have some food, have some water, we’ll take good care of you!
Does that pretty much summarize what’s going on in your house? If so, you need to take action, but quick! Offer to take the dog on a ride around the neighborhood, looking for it’s owner. It’s imperative you do this alone, or with a sympathetic friend. Then, you take the dog to the nearest shelter. Give them whatever moneys you have too – it will be cheaper than keeping it, believe me.
LMAO Danalan…I agree on the money thing, but I think we might just have to hold onto it for a few days and see what happens first. I don’t MIND taking in a stray but this is the second dog in the last month or so and it’s getting old. Plus, I KNOW how much a full grown pit and lab could eat…I’d be buying dog food by the 50 pound lot.
I have to back xploder here.
First off pets are pets. Yes it sucks when the one you own dies, but it is just a pet. Granted some animals are very intelligent. Is it really intelligence? Or is it a different form of instinct? If I see a dead dog in the road I’ll say “oh, too bad” but it’s just a dog. They can be replaced. The one thing that really pisses me off is all you animal right bull shit loving people. There pets if they die get another one. It’s not like there hard to find. Sorry just had to voice my opinion.
I’m not going to enter into this particular situation, but I will say that I think everyone, even an extreme animal lover, has to draw a personal line somewhere between where our ideals stop and practicality takes precedence. We’re all gonna draw lines that are a little different, and it’s a slippery slope (IMHO) to say one person is a better or worse person because of where their line is.
I support breed rescue financially. I do not foster dogs, however; it just wouldn’t work for us. I know people who dedicate their lives to rescuing animals, but to make it manageable they stick to one breed. They’ll do anything for a Great Dane, but call them about a lab and they won’t help you. Or they run a refuge for cats but won’t deal with dogs, or raccoons, or ferrets, or potbellied pigs. This could go on endlessly… Are these people bad? wrong? uncaring?
It’s rare that I run across the animal lover who dedicates their life and income to ending animal suffering, who never eats meat, who doesn’t wear leather, who boycotts all things that have ever been connected with animal cruelty or exploitation. I know they are out there, I just don’t know many. But I know a lot of people who love steak, wear leather, enjoy Loreal shampoo, treat their pet very well, and give $25 annually to the humane society. They’re fine people, and they care. They just draw their line in a different place.
