Dogs. Man’s best friends.

These amazing creatures have the ability to bring human beings many positive impacts on their lives. Research has shown that the average dog and his or her presence in a person’s life can decrease blood pressure readings, improve mood states, improve coping responses to stress, and provides motivation for accomplishing many tasks. Nursing home residents live longer and happier lives when dogs are available to them. But putting the psychological view aside, dogs themselves are just great! Last week someone dumped a beautiful dog in my neighborhood. The dumping of large dogs has become a serious problem today.

The economy is bad and I understand that some people have trouble paying their bills and feeding their families so they then believe they cannot feed their large dogs. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! If you can’t feed your dog, care for the animal you decided to house or take care of your own pet, then GO TO A SHELTER, GIVE THE DOG TO A NO-KILL ORGANIZATION, POST THE DOG FOR ADOPTION. Do not throw that dog away on the streets! A dog is at grave risk for being killed by a car, attacked and killed by other dogs, shot by small ranch owners, or starving to death without its owner.

This beautiful creature came to my door on New Year’s Eve. I couldn’t leave it to suffer such a fate. My own three dogs were not pleased to have a large, half-dog half-wolf breed in their mist. I had to keep him in the garage and work diligently to give him opportunities to go to the backyard while trying to calm the other dogs in the house when he was out. Socks, his new name because of his white front paws, would rise onto his back feet and stand taller than my head. He was gentle and kind, though clearly able to take out the other dogs and my cat with a quick snap of his jaws. He did not bark but would howl as a wolf when he needed to go out for bathroom time. He did not bite and obeyed commands such as sit, shake, give me a kiss. He looked and behaved beautifully. I would have kept Socks except that the other family members could not adapt to him. After three nights of lost sleep (my dogs whined and barked all night because a wolf was in the garage), I found a no-kill shelter and gave them a financial donation to help them take Socks and find him a home. On Monday, I cried as I dropped the baby off to the wonderful shelter workers. I sobbed harder when I looked around and saw – not a couple, not twenty, but over a hundred dogs abandoned by their owners at the shelter. This dog farm, this haven of safety for unwanted animals, housed pen after pen of the most amazing creatures! Full-blood Irish setters, huskies, and a variety of blended breed dogs were seen across the acres of pens.

How can other people be so self-centered and selfish that they would abandon a dog on the streets?! Put tags on your pets. Put leashes on your pets. Put chips in your pets. Put fences up if you have dogs. Vaccinate your pets. Register your pets with the city. Be responsible in your ownership of dogs. If you don’t want to, THEN DON’T OWN A DOG!