But the number of "family dogs" that end up at American shelters every year is an indication that something is wrong with this picture. Dogs are intelligent, highly social, sentient creatures that require an investment of time, care, and love to live successfully with us. All too often, people don't realistically evaluate their ability to provide for a pet before they go looking for one.
We leave our dogs, even young puppies, alone for long hours each day. We exile them to back yards, sentencing social animals to solitary lives. We stay with them only rarely, and don't have the time or knowledge to properly train them. We "can't afford" to have them spayed or neutered, we neglect to provide veterinary care, even basic shots. We let them run loose in our neighborhoods, annoying our neighbors and risking death on the streets.
Untrained, unsocialized, unsupervised, our potential "Lassie" is now a terror. He's too big, he barks, he digs, he chews everything in sight, he runs away every chance he gets, and, quite possibly, he bites. What to do???
"Call the shelter. They'll find him a home!"
Oh sure. People are lined up outside the doors every morning, looking for a problem dog to bring home. Wasn't that what you wanted when you decided to get a pet? Maybe, with a lot of luck, somebody who knows what they're doing will see a jewel in the rough, and take on the responsibility of retraining our dog. But chances are, he becomes a harsh statistic.
And then, unbelievably, we go looking for another dog--after all, we love animals, don't we?
Please, think long and hard about what you're doing before you take on the responsibility of a companion animal. Do you really have the time and the desire and the ability to discharge the responsibility involved? Your dog is going to need you every day for the next ten years or longer. You'll get out of your pet only what you're willing and able to put into him.
You can love animals; you really have to want a dog to make it work.
--Animal Services Officer Bruce McKane