Anne said, quite eloquently:
"There is not a person out there who can absolutely guarantee that
>nothing in their lives will ever change.  That they might have to give
>up their pets sometime in the future."
 
To which you replied:
"Again, if you can't handle your life changing with a pet, DO NOT become
a pet owner.  You don't give up your family when your life changes."
 
No offense, but that has to be one of the most narrow-minded statements
I've ever read.
 
Can you *guarantee* that you will never have any sort of life-changing
event that will turn your world upside-down?  What if you were to lose
your job, & all your savings had to go to feeding your human family, cos
you couldn't find a new job right away?  What if the main breadwinner in
your family had the same thing happen to them?  What if you were to come
down w/ a devastating life-long illness, & there was no way physically
or financially possible to take care of your pets?
 
You'd simply stand there & watch your beloved pets starve to death
slowly?
 
Let me tell you something.  Your statement above makes no sense in the
*real* world.  Although I'm married & it's not an issue w/ me, if I were
single, *I'd* have to sit there & watch my pets starve to death, in your
perception.  15 yrs ago, I developed multiple sclerosis.  I owned my own
business - a Ballet studio.  Although I was able to keep on plugging away
for a further 8 yrs, the day came when I just physically couldn't cut it
anymore, & I had to sell my business.  I didn't own ferrets at that
point, but if I were single, I'd have had to sit there & watch my 2 cats
die, because, after all I can't give up my family when my life changes,
right?
 
Fast forward to today.  I now have a teaching job (dance) in the theatre
dept of a small, well-known college.  I only have one section per
semester, so it's not as hard on me as it was teaching 8 hrs a day.  And
what happens?  About 2 mos ago, I was dx'd w/ rheumatoid arthritis - a
*bad* case, at that.  I *may* have to give up *this* job, as well, as the
last thing I want to do is mash my joints to a pulp.  Were I not married,
I guess I'd have to keep my 1 cat & 5 ferrets, & let them die, even if I
couldn't physically or financially take care of them anymore, right?
 
Moral: There, but for the grace of God, goes everyone on this planet, pet
owner or not.  You don't know *what* might bite you in the butt tomorrow,
next wk, next yr, next decade.
 
But, what *ever* happens, don't give your beloved pet a chance at a new
life, whatever you do!  Keep it, watch it die.  Right?
 
Is that *really* what you believe?  Nonsense.  Don't be so quick to
judge.  Karma can be a b*tch.  I've seen enough people make broad-based,
judgmental statements like that, & they've later had to eat their words,
cos *they* ended up becoming the kind of person they were so quick to
mock earlier.
 
(And, FYI, I *do* help out at a shelter, whenever I can.  The closest
shelter to me is a 1.5 hr drive away, but I donate supplies, give
money, &, in this last instance, my husband & I paid for a major
supply of Lupron that the shelter desperately needed.  I've helped out
physically when I've had the time to do so.  So don't think I'm some
clueless idealist.  I'm by no means an expert, but I *do* have some
idea of what goes on out there.)
 
Lin, Ariel, Oberon, Max, Puck, & Ivan
[Posted in FML issue 5223]