My family run an animal sanctuary in Birmingham, England. Even though we love what we do, we feel that some people need to realise that a pet should be a long term commitment. They should not be seen as just a bit of fun which they can then get rid of when they get bored.
In more recent years I have started to become less and less involved with the running of the sanctuary. I work in other sectors including composite doors, offering a how to stop stuttering course and advising people about jobs in foster care.
Many people arrive at the animal sanctuary with their pets, which are mainly dogs, with many excuses as to why they are no longer able to look after or care for them. I am sure many of their reasons are valid but am also aware that many others are just an excuse to offload them.
The excuses they give are varied:
I have broken up with my long time boyfriend/girlfriend and this was their dog – I certainly do not want it as it reminds me of my ex-partner.
The dog has started to bite my children
The dog is too difficult to handle and is destroying my furniture
We are no longer living in a house; we are now living in a top floor flat. One of their rules is that no animals can live in these flats
I have had complaints from the local residents as they say that the dog barks too much
Our other animals do not like the dog
The dog is affecting my health
I am too ill to look after my dog
We also keep many of the dogs as our own pets, especially the ones which nobody else seems to want. One such dog is called Cassie. She is full of life and has been ill treated it seems when she was a puppy. Half of her left ear is missing and she is seemingly quite afraid of men.
At the outset Cassie had to be treated with a lot of love and sincerity as she had a real lack of trust in human beings. She can be too lively at times which is possibly why three people who attempted to re-home her, have bought her back. She is not aggressive in any way but does tend to jump up at people.
Cassie has proven to be a welcome addition to our family and she is now really starting to feel at home; she certainly loves all of the toys that we have bought her.
With a little more patience most other dogs can turn out this way. This is why we want more people to take more responsibility and to give their animals more of a chance to settle into their homes, and to get used to a new set of rules.
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