OT - Pets and the pandemic

[Gams]

At first when I heard more people were adopting and fostering dogs, I thought it was a good thing, but now I’m a little worried. Everyone seems to be buying puppies. I see ads in the paper for mixed breed dogs going for $1,000. There is a breeder about 100 miles from where I live who sells morkies. I’ve always wondered what kind of a place it is because they always have available puppies. I checked their website last night and they had a message posted saying because of the increase in demand for puppies, their prices are going up to $1,200 to $1,500. Part of me wonders who can even afford those prices these days and part of me wonders what’s going to happen to all these dogs if they are being purchased just to give their owners something to do during the pandemic. And I worry about dogs who may be bred constantly to keep up with demand. The vets are packed, too. I called my veterinarian’s office Friday (there are 6 vets in his office) to make an appointment and I can’t get my dog in until June 5th. I don’t know what this all means, but I have an uneasy feeling. And with the shelters closed, if people start getting rid of their pets, just how are they going to do that?

[annette]

I've been wondering too about what's going to happen to all the dogs and cats after this whole mess is over. So many people think of pets as disposable and once they become "inconvenient" or the puppy/kitten is no longer as cute and cuddly they can't be bothered any more.

When I was pregnant with my first son we had 2 cats. I remember a few people asking what I was going to do with the cats once the baby was born. WTH?! The cats were there first!

Not to offend anyone here but I just don't get paying hundreds of dollars to a breeder when there are so many dogs that need homes. All of ours have been mixed breed rescues and to me, they're the best!

[wendug]

I had not thought about this, but you could be right. People are known to give up pets once the cute puppy phase is over. I hope that going through the pandemic will give people more compassion for their new pets and they won't dump them after all this is over! I personally like older pets; adult and senior animals are more chill and so loving! If I had a million dollars I would adopt all the senior pets and give them a comfortable place to live out their final years.

[LAC]

I've been worried about this too. People are adopting because they are bored and/or lonely while they are out of work. It may be great for the animals right now, but what happens when these people go back to work and decide they don't have the time and energy for their new pets. Back to the shelter - or worse.

In the office where I work, there are predominantly dog parents. I think only two of us are cat parents. Most of the dog parents have purchased their pets from breeders. I've tried to subtly hint that there are many lovable and deserving dogs at shelters and that some of the shelter dogs are breed specific (i.e., if you want a poodle, you can find a poodle at a shelter!), but I feel like it falls on deaf ears.

[Vantreesta]

I have been worried about this too. If people are using the time at home as a good time to adopt bc they have wanted to and now have the time for the initial training phase then that's great. But if they're adopting bc they're bored with the extra time and when life resumes more normalcy they won't have time I do worry. So many dogs are given up bc they get big and people didn't do their homework before adopting.

I hadn't even thought about poor mommas being overbred bc of increased demand. That makes me so sad too.

I was also thinking last night, not that this is a worry exactly, but dogs especially love being with their people. Mine likes having hubby work from home even though he only sees him when our office door opens. Luckily I'm not working at the moment and am home all the time but if he had us home all the time and we both went back to work I wonder if it would trigger separation anxiety. (It's true, I have wondered about this before when I've considered if I should go back to working.) Life for a lot of dogs will change when their people go back to life as usual even for dogs who are established in the home.

All my dogs have been rescues. Knowing I can't adopt them all breaks my heart.

[Gams]

Several years ago I was at our local humane society with some donations and spotted a very old dachshund with no teeth and who once had been brown but had turned almost completely white. He had been found wandering the local university campus and no one had come looking for him so he was up for adoption. I worked at the university and I love dachshunds so I thought it was destiny that I adopt him. When I asked about adopting him I was told he had already been adopted. I was disappointed but glad he found a good home. Almost exactly one year later I was down there again with donations and there was that same dachshund behind bars once again. I asked how he ended up at the shelter and they said his owners had turned him in for “behavioral issues”, so I applied to adopt him, brought him home and named him Osh Popham. Osh loved going for walks, but slow and steady was his preferred method. When we were at home he curled up in his bed in the afternoon sun and slept for hours with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He was such a sweet dog and his previous owners should be ashamed for saying he had behavioral issues - they are the ones who had behavioral issues.

[Vantreesta]

My sweet Chianna Bear was adopted and returned before we met her. The reason was she chewed up a mattress. Umm. Maybe you crate train and keep an eye on a puppy?? They figured she was 10 months old when we adopted her. She chewed up one sandal while I was napping, completely my fault, and she chewed on a few shoelaces. Once she learned it wasn't okay (and she learned fast) we never had problems with destructive chewing again.

[Gams]

Vantreesta, that reminds me of how I got Cora. Someone I knew got a Boston terrier puppy and she called me very upset saying there was something seriously wrong with the puppy because it chewed on everything and jumped on her coffee table and slid across the table and landed on the floor along with everything else that had been on the table. I said, “Well, you realize she’s a puppy and a terrier, right?” Cora is going on 15 now and she’s falling apart on me but she’s been a great dog for 14 1/2 years.

[Demeris]

My dog, Jiminy Cricket, is the best dog in the space-time continuum. Seriously, he's the Platonic Form of Dog.

And he was a rescue. Because when he gets nervous, he sheds hair in massive amounts. In fact, he had shed so much hair in the SPCA facility where he was rescued the day before he was scheduled to be put down, he was diagnosed (incorrectly) with the mange.

He was already house trained, and, I found out when I took him for his rattlesnake avoidance training, had already been conditioned to avoid rattlesnakes.

I don't understand buying a dog or going to breeder when there are so many wonderful dogs and cats waiting to be rescued.

Oh, and I had a cat for 22 years who was also a rescue. She was semi-feral and was scheduled to be put down when the mother of the vet who treated animals at the SPCA called me and convinced me to adopt her. She died 6 years ago, and I still miss her.

[wendug]

Yes, all my doggies and kitties have been rescues. I currently have 2 dogs and would love to get a cat. Unfortunately we have discovered that our most recent rescue dog (terrier/corgi mix) absolutely hates cats. So it looks like we won't be getting a new cat anytime soon.