Disposable

Sadly, we have become a society where everything has become throw-away, from the fast food wrappers and the fifteen miles of packaging for most items (particularly electronics) to our pets. We want instant gratification, but as soon as something becomes inconvenient, hard to deal with, or – worse yet! – time consuming, we just throw it away and try again later. And society as a whole seems to look at this as acceptable behavior.

You just have to look at your local Craig’s List pet ads to see some of those examples of being a throw-away culture. While there are certainly some valid reasons to rehome a pet, I would wager a guess that about 90% of ads on Craig’s List offering to give away or sell pets don’t fall into that category of valid reasons, but rather under the header of “it’s just easier.” Getting a job in a different state? Dump your pets and get new ones once you’re done moving. After all, that’s much easier than moving with a pet. Have two pets that get along? Dump one and keep the other, because that’s much easier for you than having to figure out how to restore harmony in the home or how to rotate and separate the pets. I particularly see this latter one with people who have both a cat and a dog and just can’t be bothered to give the cat a safe place to go.

Here are some from my local Craig’s List.

I have a light orange kitten who is around 7 months old, we havent had him very long. He is a sweety, he likes to cuddle and purrs alot. Spunky is good with other cats and dogs. I also have an orange and white kitten who is about 5 months old. Robin is a little cutie with big eyes who likes to cuddle and purr. He is good with other cats and dogs. The reason we need to rehome the kittens is cause my husband’s dog keeps trying to eat them. They are free to a good home and it doesnt matter if they go together or seperate.

Here’s a real winner. No money or time to get shots for eight puppies, but enough time to breed their dogs and sell the pups for $100 a piece. I wonder what their justification for $100 per puppy is? Certainly not the excellent vet care they’ve been receiving.

very cute puppies for sale, price $100, dewormed, no shots just didnt have the money or time for eight puppies

Here’s someone who’s moving and “can’t take” the dog. (Can someone tell me where all these states or towns are that don’t allow dogs? A lot of people seem to be moving there.) What really gets me about this one is that this isn’t an adult dog they’ve had for years, it’s a 12-week-old puppy. You didn’t know four weeks ago that you were going to move for your job? Or that you were going to apply for jobs in other states and it was a bad time to bring a new puppy into the house?

12 week old purebred boxer, shes playful, house trainned, good with kids and other animals, a rehoming fee will apply but willing to be flexable to a good home, we hate to see her go, but were relocating due to my job and unfortunately cant take her with us.  she comes with food, food bowl, leash and two toys

What are some examples you’ve seen of throw-away pet ownership?

More importantly, what can be done to keep people from viewing animals as being throw-away commodities like the latest tech junk or kitchen gadget? Obviously, the animal liberation nuts like PeTA and HSUS who want to end all pet ownership are not the answer. But how do we change the way people view animals?

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