How timely that I’d get sick right around the time that a local turkey farm has found H1N1 in their birds. It’s not that I spend a tremendous amount of time with turkeys or anything like that and I don’t think I even have H1N1. I just feel sick. That. Is. All. You. Need. To. Know.

With animals getting sick it makes me a little sad. I love animals but I know that, like humans, many animals will get illnesses and recover. Some animals have allergies, as do we. They just normally don’t know how to say what’s wrong and don’t often have the ability to heal things themselves.

This brings me to another issue. There are so many animals that are out there that are left sitting alone and scared in shelters and even more that never even make it to the shelter floor. They are just dumped on the side of the road and left to fend for themselves. Twice in the past month I’ve seen kittens in places where they aren’t anywhere near a house. It’s obvious that they have been taken to the country and dropped on the side of the road. Cats have been domesticated for a really long time. Some are lucky and get taken in or find shelter when they need it but many just won’t fare so luckily.

It’s so easy to bring an animal to the shelter. If you can’t handle it, admit it, and they will be more than happy to help you place your animal. For each unwanted animal, there are people out there who might be willing to help them and keep them alive. There are rescue organizations and shelters all across this great land we call Canada. There should be no reason why animals aren’t taken care of.

The only thing holding animals back from being looked after is a sheer numbers game. The average human birth is one child at a time, animals have multiples (for the most part.) This was evolutions way of protecting their chain. If you lose one or two in the birthing process or in early life there will be several more there to keep the line going. But humans get “fixed” so to speak, and it’s so simple to have your animal spayed or neutered as well. Why don’t people do this more often?

When we took The Dude to the vet after first getting him, they told us how many animals in the US aren’t spayed or neutered because they really love the look of puppies. Looking at all the different puppy mills around you can also tell that puppies can be a money making machine. They are selling puppies for a minimum of $300 a pop – whether or not they’ve even seen a vet or had their first shots. People are breeding dogs and cats thinking they’ll make money off them and in some cases they are. They didn’t have to do any extra work other than feeding and cleaning the animals – and here they are making more than people make in a month by a simple litter. And they’ll continue to do it while people continue to pay exhorbanent prices to get a designer dog.

Speaking of designer dogs – why are people stuck in their heads that any poodle cross will be non-shedding and hypoallergenic? Genes come from the mother and father and therefore can go either way. I met a labradoodle that not only made people sneeze when around him but shed like a banshee. But he had poodle in him – why did this happen? Think about it people. When you make a baby you are getting parts of the mother and father. Same thing happens when you have a dog. You cannot predict the same outcome every time unless you are breeding a single breed with a single breed. Thus the purebred.

Some people though take the purebred to be even more than it is. They don’t mix the genes enough and some of the recessive genes come to the surface more frequently including defects and undesirable traits. Not all dog breeders know really what they are doing and are in it for the money. That’s why it’s so important to get a purebred dog that is registered and has papers so that you can see the geneology. Do your homework people!

Homework is another issue when getting a pet in that they may not have done any research on it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people getting a pet and having to give it up because their kids have allergies, or they suddenly discover that they have allergies. If you are thinking of getting a pet, spend some time around someone who has a similar pet before making a lifetime commitment to an animal. Find out if little Timmy is allergic before you invest in bringing another family member into the mix. I’ve seen pet allergies first hand and they can range from a runny nose to hives and ultimately having a swollen and blocked airway. If you aren’t experiencing these symptoms and decide to give up your pet – you are probably best to just admit that you are in over your head. This happens all the time and it’s better you admit it and give the next “parents” of these pets a fighting chance at knowing the full background of the animal you are giving up.

Animals deserve love and there are so many out there that could use your help. Visit your local SPCA for more details.