Eyes that tell a thousand “tails”
Looking into the eyes of an animal at shelter is a heartbreaking experience. Either the sad eyes of an innocent creature shine forth or the feral eyes of a captured savage.
More than 8 million pets end up in shelters per year across the United States, according to The American Humane Association. Locally, the Umpqua Humane Society on SE Stephens St, New Beginning’s SPCA, also on Stephens, SOS Cats in Oakland and Saving Grave, off Del Rio in Winchester, offer to take in pretty much any creature that can walk, crawl or swim.
A pet is an important part of the family. Most people wouldn’t let their children run freely, eat out of trash cans and impregnate or be impregnated by every free roaming animal in the neighborhood. I don’t understand how someone could allow their animals to live like that.
These animals have not had an easy life.
Imagine sleeping underneath a car on a cold Oregon rainy night. Imagine digging through a trashcan to find a scrap of someone’s leftovers to eat. Imagine roaming free, fighting for survival, then abruptly being confined to a cage or pen.
Our animals don’t deserve that.
I wanted to give one of these innocent victims a second chance at a “forever home.” From my experience, I highly recommend adopting from one of the local animal shelters.
One of my Mainstream co-workers, Summer Hall, who works at New Beginnings SPCA in Roseburg, encouraged me to adopt a playmate for my cat, Louise. I looked into SPCA adoption and found it to be an awesome way to get a cat in need of a “forever home.”
Cats are great. My cats don’t borrow my stuff, have company over when I’m trying to study and only sneak into my food every now and again. As long as my cats have a full bowl of food /water and a litter box, I know they will be OK while I am at work and school
The cat I adopted from New Beginnings SPCA, whom I named Thelma (of course), is one of the most loving, affectionate cats I have ever had. She loves climbing my drapes into places she can’t get down from and doesn’t mind that Louise has a bit of a temper.
As long as Thelma and Louise don’t trust Brad Pitt and as long as they stay away from cliffs, having them in my home should work out great.
Other than finding a new furry friend, another advantage of adopting from a shelter is what I saved on veterinary expenses. Through the SPCA, a person can adopt a spayed/ neutered cat for $45, which includes a free month of pet insurance, a microchip to locate your cat should they ever run off and several other health services.
However, I think the most important part about taking an animal home from a shelter is that the money you pay for your pet is going toward helping more pets and allowing shelters to take in more animals who roam the streets without adequate care.
I encourage adopting and getting your pets fixed and adopting from a shelter!