I have a soft heart for dogs. It saddens me when I see a lost dog on the street and if I have the time, I try to help find the owner. I recently did that with "Twinkle" who was wandering the streets of my neighborhood. Luckily, Twinkle hadn't wandered too far from home and she was reunited after an hour or so.
I recently read an article in the Dallas Morning News that made me want to jump in the car and rescue more than one dog. As families can't afford to stay in their homes, many are forced to give up their companions. Operation Kindness is a no-kill shelter in Carrollton that has seen a large increase in animals being dropped off and a quarter of them are due to foreclosure and eviction.
Many North Texas shelters are also seeing a decrease in animal adoptions, partially due to rising costs of everything and maybe pets are considered a luxury. Overcrowding at shelters, in general, is nothing new. There was a feature on Oprah several months ago about the Fort Worth Animal Shelter and it mentioned that anywhere between 20-40 animals were euthanized A DAY!
I remember feeling so sad about all of the pets that were lost, abandoned or found dead after Hurricane Katrina. Animals are almost defenseless and can't do much in these types of situations. We can help ourselves,but what about our pets?
My husband and I rescued our lab-mutt, Peanut, from the SPCA five years ago. She's an absolute sweetheart and when we decide to get another dog, it will be from a shelter. If you are looking for a pet to love, check out your local animal shelter before anything else! We may not be able to help all families save their home, but maybe we can save Fido!
