Irresponsible: Hundreds of animals a year die because of their owners

You have probably seen them — kittens searching for food, dogs running loose with too tight collars.
They are everywhere in this and many other counties across the United States.
The reason? The families and individuals who own them — or their parents — do not think they should have any responsibility when it comes to their care.
Pet ownership is a duty that is much the same as raising a child — just on a smaller scale.
When a family or an adult chooses to own a pet, he or she agrees to provide it with shelter, exercise, food and love as well as basic health care.
But what also goes along with that is making sure that those animals do not reproduce unexpectedly or spread disease because they are not vaccinated properly.
All it takes to make sure that unwanted litters do not happen is a simple veterinary procedure. And basic shots can be obtained inexpensively as well.
Soon, Wayne County will have a shelter to take care of some of the unwanted, neglected and abused animals in this county. And while we will never be able to stop all those owners who refuse to abide by the responsibilities of taking care of a dog, cat, ferret or other animal, we can start to get tougher on the ones we can catch.
Finding good homes for homeless animals is only the first step.
Making sure there are penalties and procedures in place to stop irresponsible pet ownership is also Job 1.

Published in Editorials on October 11, 2007 11:27 AM