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We are facing a big issue here in America. Unwanted and stray cats and dogs. I believe a great deal of this is due to lack of education, not a lack of caring. Some cities and municipalities put a lot of funding behind spaying and neutering education. Many communities have no-kill shelters, and a lot of other good is being done. But more can be done. The amount of strays is epidemic in the U.S and does not seem to be getting better. We can do better.

Here are some disturbing statistics. For every human child born in the U.S there are seven cats and dogs born. A female cat and her offspring can (and usually does) produce 420,000 kittens within seven years. One female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years (and usually does).As many as 25% of dogs entering shelters each year are purebreds. Approximately sixty-one percent of all dogs are killed in animal shelters. Approximately 75% of all cats entering shelters are killed.It costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed, and eventually kill each stray animal, and you and I know who foots the bill. Us.

Can you see the importance of becoming educated regarding spaying and neutering pets? The Doris Day Animal League has a wonderful program which can give you a great bit of important information. Your local SPCA can be very educational as well.

Though I owned pets all my life, I truly did not understand true pet care until I reached my adulthood. I only knew what my parents taught me which was very limited. As a upper-middle class child, like other upper-middle class kids, my parents bought me “the dog du jour” or what was trendy from a recent movie. From Irish Setters to Goldens from Afgans to Sheepdogs, I was given “the best”. And only from the most knowledgeable breeders. There is nothing wrong with that. Those animals need homes as well, and I feel good about taking care of a dog. I was often given cats as well, and, that too, taught me even more about animal care, and what great animals they are too.

It has taken me almost eight months to get past the loss of my last dog “Thor” , who “found me” in the mid ’90’s, lived to be close to twenty two years old, was with me twelve years. I fed him the b.a.r.f. (raw foods diet). He was very unhealthy when I found him, not at a shelter, (though I feel confident I would have adopted this magnificent creature had I found him there), but he was lost in the woods of rural Ms. He showed up with several other weather-beaten dogs. It was tornado season and there was one in the vicinity.

As years went by, I discovered this stray ball of fur was now my inspiration, the one living soul on earth who would teach me how to love unconditionally. He was a four-legged therapist not just to me but to whom all he came in contact.

Twenty or more stray dogs and cats entered my life while I cared for Thor but found them all decent homes. Thor does not like to share his space with me, and at his age, he is the boss. I don’t want him feeling “replaced”. I encourage you to run by the shelter and take a look at some of the gorgeous sweet animals desperate for a home. Most shelters are not no-kill so most of them are on death row. You can be a hero to them, and believe me the payback is a million times over. You probably don’t believe it but you never know until you try. So please do try. You will not be sorry.