I don't know about anyone else, but those ASPCA commercials rip my heart out and make my eyes tear every single time they play over the television. The faces of the little animals are so sad!
As a kid I had a guinea pig for a little while until I woke up one morning to find her (Twinkles) missing from her cage. Apparently she had died the previous day and I hadn't noticed, so my parents removed her dead body and we later buried it in the backyard. A few years later I was able to convince my parents that despite my previous track record I was older and more responsible so they bought me a hamster. I named her Chip Mint, after my favorite ice cream. We bought her a three-floored "hotel" with metal cage-style walls and a red bottom. I cleaned her cage semi-regularly and played with her a lot. We even bought one of those clear exercise balls for her to run around the house. I didn't really like picking her up though. She was quick and her claws freaked me out when they touched the skin on my hands. The gate on her cage was faulty and she got out more than one time. Once she was missing in the house for three days. I think my brother finally found her behind the couch. Another time my brother and his friend took her out to play with her, but they got distracted. She wandered off and was found a few days later. Needless to say, I really wasn't proving to be the best pet caretaker. So it wasn't surprising that my parents wouldn't get my brother and I a dog. Until one day...
I was sitting at the dining room table one Wednesday evening making campaign cards for 8th grade student council elections. My dad came in from work and told my brother to go out to his truck and grab his gym bag. My brother came in with the cutest little beagle puppy! While my brother and I were elated, my mother was not. She closed herself in my parents' bedroom for the night. Anyway, we named the puppy "Willy" and we had him for twelve years. He was a great dog for most of his life, although in his last years he was quite mischievous. Making up for lost time I guess. I wonder how much money my dad spent bailing him out of the pound.
Then almost a year ago we adopted our cat, Moe. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, Moe just kind of showed up at our house at the beginning of last summer. He'd watch our house from the yard across the street, and then eventually ventured into our yard. He slept in our front flower bed and finally nudged his way into our hearts. He laid on my husband's lap on the back deck and followed me around giving me hugs and sweet talking me. As the weather turned cold we decided to make him part of our family. I am so glad we did. He is our little Moe :)
Anyway, I think it's because of my recent experience in adult pet ownership that I turn overly emotional at the glimpse of an ASPCA commercial. This month's service project at school is Pennies for Pets, which will support local shelters with food, money, and other supplies. But here is one thing I don't understand. The list of items needed includes cat and dog food, but they only want IAMS (which was recently recalled) and Pedigree. Now, those are two of the most expensive brands of pet food (IAMS cat food can cost upward of $8 per small bag!). I don't even buy that food for Moe. So I'm wondering two things. Are they requesting that food because it's the best and I should be feeding that to my cat? If they are in desperate need for food and supplies, should they really be requesting the most expensive products? I hate to use this saying here, but it keeps popping into my head. Can beggars really be choosers in this scenario? Wouldn't they get more food to feed more animals if they weren't so picky? My husband's previous cat ate Meow Mix for the entire 16 years of his life. Are the less expensive brands really worse? I've tried buying the more expensive and supposedly healthier brands, but Moe won't even touch the food. I'd love to donate some food to the shelter, but I'm not buying the prim o brands that I don't even buy for my own cat.
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