No more excuses
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Editor,
Free kittens, free puppies — we have all seen the signs and ads in the papers. For people who work tirelessly in animal welfare, it is enough to make you throw up your hands in defeat. The overpopulation of cats and dogs is a serious issue in our country and in Lake County, with serious consequences: the killing of healthy animals because there is not enough homes for them all. The people in animal welfare see it time and time again, people who:
1. Get kittens and puppies because they are “so cute,” then grow tired of them when they grow out of the cute stage.
2. Do not get their animals fixed for a variety of inexcusable reasons, thereby contributing to the overpopulation issue.
3. They are going to let their pretty doggie have a litter and then sell them.
The list of reasons goes on and on, and we in animal welfare shake our heads in sorrow and frustration. The majority of people through television, Internet and education by animal welfare groups know there is an overpopulation of animals and there is no excuse for not have your pets spayed or neutered.
Life Savers Animal Rescue offers spay/neuter assistance to the public to the tune of $30,000 annually. The Mission Valley Animal Shelter offers the same help. The Lake County Spay/Neuter Task Force offers a low cost spring and fall spay/neuter clinic, with the fall clinic coming up at the end of October. But the real and most obvious answer is for people to take responsibility for their animals and not rely on an organization to spay/neuter or find homes for them. Animal welfare groups cannot save all of them. Be part of the solution, not the problem. No more excuses, spay/neuter and make a lifetime commitment to your pet.
Vicki Scheidecker
Life Savers Animal Rescue
Polson
