| The U. S. has, on average, over 74 million dogs. Many | | | | Let's say that someone hands you a check for |
| of those are pets, and many of those pets will find | | | | $1,000 just when your rent payment is due, your |
| themselves homeless, needlessly homeless during | | | | electricity payment is overdue, and your family is |
| these hard, recessionary times. Why, if Fido is such | | | | very tired of Dollar Store macaroni and cheese? |
| an emotional part of the family, should he be cast | | | | Would you |
| into the street? Some might say that the reason has | | | | (a) use the money to pay for your family's needs, or |
| to do with Fido's being a dog, but they might want | | | | (b) light a match and burn the check (in other words, |
| to reconsider. | | | | buy $1,000 worth of cigarettes)? |
| The problem is bigger than the plight of pets. Reflect | | | | If the choice MUST be either A or B, most people |
| on the choices that some adults in Nebraska make | | | | would select A and relinquish the cigarettes in order |
| when they abandon their children -all ages (just born | | | | to support their families. Now, take this illustration to |
| to 17) - under the safe-haven law specifying that a | | | | the state or national level. |
| child (children) can be abandoned at a licensed hospital | | | | There are approximately 733,100 smokers in South |
| without explaining why. So, the answer is NOT | | | | Carolina and 44.2 million smokers in the U.S. At a cost |
| because Fido is a dog or Perky is a cat or Cathy is | | | | of nearly $40 per carton per smoker (approximately |
| an adorable and easily adoptable human girl or Billy is | | | | 20-25 cigarettes in a $3.50 pack), that would be |
| a troublesome 17-year-old human boy. It is because | | | | about $1,000 per year per person times the number |
| their adult people are misguided. | | | | of smokers comes to $442,000,000,000 nationally |
| During lean times such as this current recession, | | | | and $7,331,000,000 in South Carolina. Let's use that |
| some of us are finding ourselves short on cash, short | | | | $442 BILLION (over $7 BILLION in South Carolina) to |
| on jobs, and short on the basics of life. In | | | | help the abandoned animals and children and anyone |
| desperation, we forget that we are NOT short on | | | | else cast out from families who believed that THEIR |
| basic human values; they came with us when we | | | | smoking was more important. Billions. Figures just as |
| were born. Sure, trying to get through each day is | | | | high as the federal government's national bail-out |
| very hard and becomes harder when the so-called | | | | figures, yet we do not see them on the nightly news |
| domino principle crashes down on our heads - banks | | | | because .... |
| put pressure on our mortgages, wages dry up from | | | | At this point in your reading, you have probably |
| lay-offs, and savings dwindle during lay-offs. Money is | | | | begun to wonder what all of this has to do with pets. |
| scarce - cash for food, utilities, medicine. Those | | | | The point is this. What if the money used for |
| clunking dominos hurt when they crash down. We | | | | smoking (i.e., burning money) were used to help pets |
| cannot buy anything. We cannot think rationally. We | | | | or anyone in the family who is abandoned because |
| hurt, so we abandon what we THINK we do not | | | | their people cannot afford to feed them? While |
| need or cannot manage. In other words, our dilemma | | | | about half of the owners of the nearly 74 million |
| is all about US. | | | | dogs buy their animals gifts during the holidays, too |
| Not everyone is like this. Some people do stay on a | | | | many others go the other extreme of abandoning |
| track of minding their values and dependents. Some | | | | their pets (or children or elderly) when times get |
| manage to sustain what they consider important (i.e., | | | | rough to pay bills. Why? The loved ones are a part |
| roof over the head, food on the table and in the | | | | of the family, aren't they? Casting Grandma , the |
| children's tummies, medicine for those who need it). | | | | kids, pets, or the roof over their heads in favor of |
| They make choices -give up cable TV, cell phone | | | | menthol light cigarette does not make sense. |
| plans, clip coupons, take on odd jobs, and sell unused | | | | The point, then, is for us as a nation and as |
| items in the household. Their bottom-line goal is to | | | | individuals to make wiser choices! |
| keep the family together, even though some | | | | Sure, you can say. "I don't have a pet, so it's not my |
| sacrifices are hard such s giving up deeply rooted | | | | problem." So, we hope for new adoptions. We |
| pleasures like smoking, drinking alcohol or gourmet | | | | entreat animal-less homes to adopt one, perhaps |
| coffees, all of which are expensive and none of | | | | two, of the abandoned pets. Grand Strand Humane |
| which is essential to life. | | | | Society and the North Myrtle Beach Humane Society |
| Too many, though, try to put their comfort levels | | | | (both under petfinder.com) desperately need holiday |
| before their responsibilities. They might attempt to | | | | angels either adopt pets or support pets with their |
| keep both for awhile before reality sets in. Then, | | | | great program. Just in October alone, the Grand |
| when spending does not match their incomes, they | | | | Strand rescues took in 2,000 animals, compared with |
| cut out what they consider "safe" buffer payments | | | | about 1,800 taken in for the entire previous year |
| such as rent or mortgage payments, health insurance | | | | alone. The new adoption program allows either a real |
| payments, credit card payments that allow leniency | | | | adoption or an "angelic" adoption where both people |
| periods, hoping that the bad stuff will just go away. | | | | and businesses can help care for homeless animals |
| Bad choices do not go away, though. In the end, 1 + | | | | without actually having to bring them home. For more |
| 1 still equals 2, and if we do not have 2, we add it to | | | | information call 843-448-9151 if you are interested in |
| next month's bills when it becomes 4, and so on. Bad | | | | this great program! |
| choices add up to more bad choices. | | | | However, the issue is larger than adoptions! The issue |
| Do the math. How many of our choices are based on | | | | is HOW to persuade people NOT to abandon their |
| habit, doing just what is familiar to us, not right for | | | | pets, their children, their elderly, their disabled in the |
| us? While indulging in habits of eating chocolate, | | | | first place. Is our society so pitiable, so wretched to |
| smoking, drinking gourmet coffee is arguably fine | | | | have evolved DOWN to a dog-eat-dog world? If so, |
| during prosperous times, now during this | | | | let's get over it and move up! |
| now-declared recession, money could be (should be) | | | | Let's rethink our values and our choices and figure |
| put to better use, but we do not make that | | | | out what the responsible thing is to do. It's not just |
| choice...out of habit. | | | | about the pets. It's not just about smoking. |