They Are So Cute

If you don't know, I volunteer twice a week at a no kill pet shelter. I show up on Monday and Thursday mornings to walk some of the large dogs, usually from five to eight of them. It takes about an hour and a half, and each one of them is walked two blocks down, two blocks back. I try to give each a little bit of personal attention. Other than that, they spend most of their time in the kennel. Don't get me wrong, I am not a wonderful person who gives his time unselfishly. I'm not that nice. I don't volunteer to clean out the filthy kitty litter pans. I don't pick up dog shit out in the dog yard. I don't clean out the dog's kennels. That is icky shit that I leave for the paid staff. Anyway, that isn't the purpose of this post, to make you think I'm a do gooder. It also isn't the purpose of this post to make you come over to Abandoned Pet Rescue and adopt a dog or cat. They are all so cute and cuddly, I'm sure you would love them, but what I want to do is weed out the people who are expecting too much. To discourage the people who adopt a dog or cat on a whim only to find out later what it really means to own a pet.

Cats poop. They poop in a box in your house, and that box needs to be cleaned out regularly, and by regularly I don't mean once a week. They shed, they can make you allergic, and they scratch. They scratch your furniture, they scratch your rug, and they may scratch you. A cat can be very loving and sweet, but in the blink of an eye something can startle it while it is curled up in your lap. That could result in IBS, or Irritable Balls Syndrome. As for dogs, they also poop. Only they don't poop in a box in your house, they will just poop in your house until you teach them otherwise. I once heard that you should always be who your dog thinks you are, and that is the person who picked them out when they were a puppy. Not the person who loses it when they come home to a house full of pee puddles, and poop piles. Just suck it up, keep your cool, and clean the turds up off the floor. One other thing. A dog will eat grass sometimes when you walk it. The dog is doing that because it has an upset stomach. If you see your dog eating grass, leave it outside until it barfs it all back up. Otherwise you will be on your hands and knees mopping up slimy puke puddles off the living room floor. So if none of that bothers you, please come and adopt a pet from your nearest animal shelter. You probably won't regret it.