Irresponsible Pet Ownership

When people surrender their animal for adoption, one of the most common excuses is: "The kids are not taking care of the animal any longer."
I just recently had a dog surrendered to me for that very reason. When the man came to the door, I asked him why he wanted to get rid of his dog. He said his daughter didn't want the animal any longer. I asked how old the child was and he said 12! I literally said to him, "WOW! I didn't know a 12 year old made that sort of decision in your household!" He told me that the kids were not being responsible for the care of the animal any longer. When I asked him if he realized that the responsibility ultimately fell on he and his wife, he said yes and that is why we are getting rid of the dog. To teach the children that they lose the animal if they don't care for it.
OXYMORON?
Unfortunately, we hear this excuse far too often. People obviously don't realize what they are teaching their children is not responsibility, but irresponsibility. An animal is a life, it is not something that is disposable such as their video games. Teaching responsibility is by example. The example here states that when you are finished with something, living or not, you can just discard it. When in fact, the parents should be just as active in walking the dog, cleaning up behind the dog, feeding and watering the dog, and taking care of the dog's medical needs. A parent should then include their child in these activities and show them the proper way to care for the animal. When the child grows up having to care for the animal, seeing their parents care for the animal, and having the animal for it's lifetime, that teaches commitment, love, nourishing behaviors, and RESPONSIBILITY. The child will then take all of these lessons into life with them. They will be able as adults to care for an animal properly, a child and a relationship. Everything we learn in life is so much more complex than what it appears on the surface. When we say it is okay to disregard something as important as a life, how can we expect these children to grow up into responsible parents and husbands or wives? They have been taught that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

"The greatest of a nation, and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." A very wise quote from Ghandi.

Examine what our children are taught about animals and how they should be cared for and see what these same children do in every aspect of their lives as adults.