Heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time
I have to say, this post was an emotionally tough one to create. The other day, I visited my local animal shelter and these two dogs stood out. If you are in Houston, TX and want to adopt, consider one of these sweet dogs. I stayed with them as long as I could and thought if only I could adopt them. However, because I have 4 rescue pets at home, I already have a full house. So, I’m grateful I can blog to a community that cares.
We all know that there is a tremendous need, so I’m not going to go over the statistics. My goal here is to inspire our Steemian community to help reduce animal homelessness by sharing a few tips on things we can do today.
Spay or neuter your pet
Little puppies and kitties are adorable, but they grow into dogs and cats. Any vet can help with this. If you want to help a stray and funds are limited, you can Google "spay neuter assistance" to find a local non-profit who can help offset the cost. I truly believe my dog, Bouncy-boy, may have been abandoned by his previous family because he grew too big. He was neutered, knew all the sit, stay and paw commands, but he's huge. We take him everywhere with us and we couldn’t lose him if we tried.
Get your pet microchipped ASAP
The average one-time cost to microchip your pet is $45 at your local vet. This fee often includes registration in a pet recovery database. There is usually no annual fee unless you need to change your contact information. The microchip is a little bigger than a grain of rice and is painlessly injected by the shoulder blade and typically guaranteed for the lifetime of your pet. If your pet is ever lost and brought to a vet or shelter, they will scan your pet, retrieve your contact information and return your pet asap. This is your pet's absolute best chance to return home if ever lost.
Consider adopting from one of your local shelters
Unless you are set on buying a certain kind of puppy or kitten, consider adoption from a local shelter. Here are some alarming statistics about animal homelessness. Although there are some reputable breeders, more often than not, the dogs come from puppy mills. Puppy mills are often abusive and cruel, keeping the animals confined in cages without love or care for their entire lives.
My Video Tour
These next two videos are the ones I took as I toured the Houston SPCA. Watch the most adorable kitty named Hailey.
And watch how despite their situation, you can see that the dogs just want to be loved.
Two happy endings to report
First of all, this little guy was adopted and still doesn't know. Wait 'til he finds out he's going home! He'll be so happy! I wish I had seen more of these "I'm being adopted!" signs.
Next, this is my sister’s dog, Kirby, who she adopted several years ago from the same shelter I just toured. I still remember the day I went to visit him at the shelter. He had heartworms and even to this day, bears the scars of the halter that he outgrew and cut into his flesh. As you can see, all he cares about now is getting a piece of my angel cake.
Kirby's on the left
Special shout out - UPDATED!
Our fellow Steemian @arbitrarykitten rescues cats. Please go to her post she just put out What is a rescue home? to learn and support one of our own.
Previous posts...
The Creation of My Custom Steem Gear (Tshirt) with a Video of My Beautiful Tshirt's Birth.
How Two Unknowns Became Known Worldwide By the Power of a “Resteem”
And, of course, please upvote, follow, resteem or comment to show support. :)
Much Luv,
Great photos and videos! This is very important information to disseminate. I am a proud mama of a rescue puppy and can't say enough how important this is. We believe in the mantra, "Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die." Thanks for this post!
Well thank you for your encouragement @greenie! Aren't rescues the best?! I think it's cause they so appreciate being loved. I will have to stop by soon to your blog... Maybe I'll get a glimpse of your pup❣️
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nice ideas ^^
Thank you.
The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post to be original and upvoted it.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate @originalworks bot!
This post received a 2.9% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @karencarrens! For more information, click here!
I love dogs, it's heartbreaking to see these homeless fellows. It's good that there are animal shelters and people like you that are involved in helping them out
I know @dandesign86. It's hard to see. Every little bit helps. Even something as simple as bringing old towels to your vet is usually appreciated. My vet shelters unwanted sick cats.
By the way, you did a good thing bringing @freeman01 on to Steemit. You are both so talented! Thanks for being awesome.
You are a very kind person and
freeman is my best friend here in China. He is an awesome artists, and really an interesting person. The more good people we bring to the community the better steemit will be :)
This post has received a 2.77 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @karencarrens.
Stopping by to say hi!!
Thank you for the special shoutout <3
Of course! You're rescuing animals on a daily basis. I'm so glad you wrote your post while I can still edit.
In case anyone missed @arbitrarykitten's post, it is... https://steemit.com/animals/@arbitrarykitten/what-is-a-rescue-home
I got a bellyRub and this post has received a 15.38 % upvote from @bellyrub thanks to: @zeartul.
Thank you @bellyrub and bellyrub's pop, @zearful!
This post has received a 60.00 % upvote from @lovejuice thanks to: @karencarrens. They have officially sprayed their dank amps all over your post rewards. GOOD TIMES! Vote for Aggroed!