The Plight of Pets in our Struggling Economy

Among the most tragic victims of this wretched economy are pets. As I was driving home yesterday I heard a gut-wrenching news report on the radio that had me so teary-eyed that I nearly rear-ended the guy in front of me.  In these tough financial times, pets are being surrendered to pounds, shelters and rescue organizations in record numbers as people can no longer afford to take care of them. As the number of dogs and cats being surrendered rapidly increases, and the number of people who can adopt them rapidly decreases, these organizations can no longer afford to care for them for as long as they have in the past. They fear that soon, unable to house so many animals, they will be forced to euthanize them sooner than ever before. This concept had never crossed my mind. I've been unable to stop thinking about it ever since, and have decided that one way we can all help is to spread the word to others who may not be aware of this dire predicament. Sadly, the reporter stated that pit bulls are the first to be euthanized because so many people are afraid of "taking a risk." A risk? With a pit? My god, I'd sooner roll around on the floor with a pit bull than I would with most human beings. (Check out Bad Rap, by the way -- I'd roll around with any of those cuties in a heartbeat!)

I've been emailing all my friends who have at one time or another said to me, "I've been thinking about adopting another cat?" or, "I want a dog so badly." I have one friend whose cat passed away a year ago. He's recently been talking about wanting to adopt another companion for his dog, so I sent him an email with links to more than a few rescue organizations here in the Bay Area. The subject line of my email said, quite simply, "Now is the Time."