did you know thousands of animals are put to sleep *daily* in shelters all across the nation? did you know the amount of time animals are held in shelters before being put down is probably alot shorter than you might think it is? alot of this didn't occur to me until i started working with dogs. i work with someone that works at a shelter or haven or something. she occassionally brings in dogs from her other job so they can play with other dogs more. the last two times i've found myself getting kind of attached to the dogs. especially the last one she braught in. if i'd been able to, i'd have taken him home right away. he was so sweet and well behaved and friendly. and it didn't totally register until his apperance that, while he got to play with other dogs, and they got to play with him, they got to do something he didn't. they got to go home with their owners. that sweet, gentle, loveable puppy didn't have a home to go back to. it baffled me, it really did. how could a dog that sweet not have at least ten people lined up to adopt him? thay was when i started learning a bit about shelters. i have come to the conclusion that anything that has "high kill" in its description should also have shelter in its description but that's a personal opinion. there is a reason shelters put the animals down after a while, not many people want to adopt shelter animals, they only want their pets from breeders. now, i can understand that, if an animal is pure bred then you know basicly what its temperment and personality will be. they tend to completely overlook the fact that their ideal pet may very well be right there in their neighborhood animal shelter. alot of people want to start out with a puppy or kitten, that i can understand too, but they neglect to take into consideration the fact that any adult animal can be just as wonderful and loving as a baby animal. it can end out being just as good a pet, just as attaced to its family. so please, if ever you or anyone you know decides to get a w pet, don't overlook all the animals waiting for good homes in your local shelters. if we keep overlooking them we get situations like this [link] where a perfectly wonderful animal is really, literaly, waiting for someone to come along and save his life. please, consider animals like him the next time you're thinking of getting a pet.

my dad told me once, when i was mentionig one of the puppies co-worker braught in, that i ca't save every stray or needy animal i come across. well, that's true. i'm only one person and i have my limits. especially while i still live with my parents. but that doesn't mean i can't try, and that doesn't mean i can't attempt to get other people more able than myself to take notice. hopefully my attempts aren't all in vain and hopefully thanks to this, maybe i can somehow make a differance in some animal's life, or some person's life.