VIRGINIA BEACH
Cocoa, a 4-month-old black pit bull puppy, was purchased from a pet store a few weeks before Christmas by what was to be her new family.
A month later, she was in a cage at a Virginia Beach shelter with a broken leg, waiting to be taken to another new home. Too much rough play with the family's two other dogs, the shelter staff was told. Cocoa just wasn't going to work out.
It's that time of year again. After Easter, animal shelters see an influx of chicks and bunnies. In the weeks after Christmas, shelters across the nation brace for a slew of animals like Cocoa: cute puppies and kittens picked up for the holiday season.
Soon enough, they reveal themselves as cute puppies and kittens that also pee on the floor, rip up the couch or don't get along with the other residents in the house.
"Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, so when you think about that, it's not a leap to think that a lot of these purchases end badly as well," said Sharon Adams, executive director of the Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
This year, the post-Christmas influx is coupled with a bad economy that has led people to give up on pets that have been in their families for years because they've lost their homes or can no longer pay for the animal's expenses. It's not just companion animals - as the price of hay and feed goes up, owners of horses and ponies are giving up their animals to rescue organizations.
"People are turning in everything, from guinea pigs to horses," said Jaqueline Van Horn, director of Web of Life Animal Outreach, an animal rescue organization in Chesapeake. She said her shelter took in an Arabian horse last week.
"The economic crunch has trickled down to the animals," she said.
At the Norfolk SPCA, shelter manager Suzanne Swims said staff won't allow animals to be adopted as gifts for other people. The Virginia Beach shelter used to have a rule against adopting out animals two days before Christmas, Adams said, although it's been relaxed because of research that's shown pets adopted from shelters around Christmas aren't as likely to be returned as those bought from pet stores.
Adams said families have to understand what they're getting into - their new puppy is not an accessory, and no, they can't necessarily get it in black.
"This is not merchandise," she said. "This is adding a companion to your family."
Alicia Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com
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Why can't they meet each other first
This not matching a household is why I tried to find a way to get my then current pet to spend time with my possible pet to see how they got along before adoption. I was told there was no way to do this. If you compare this to a marriage it's like an arranged marriage. It much less likely to work out happily. I ended up not adopting another pet because it was too big a chance of just having to return it. My dog I was trying to find a companion for has since died of old age. The kids had grown up and his last 5 years were much more alone than I think he was happy about.
re: Pet shops are to blame
What a brilliant comment. Yep, banks are to blame for robberies and McDonalds is to blame for obesity.
Who put the gun to the the animal purchaser's head?
Huh?
Bueller...Bueller...
Broken leg????
I hope someone investigated the alleged fight between the pets that resulted in a broken leg? The owners should be fined, at the very least, and made to pay for the puppy's recovery!!!
Pet shops are to blame
This is why we need to ban pet shops from selling animals. I was just visiting a local rabbit rescue in Chesapeake and their cages were filled with rabbits who had been bought at the mall up the road and then discarded, many when they were only a few months old. Pet shops don't care--they've already made their money. No, it's the shelters--and the taxpayers--who are left footing the bill for pet shops' recklessness and irresonsiblity.
critter abandonment....
first. Are kids next? People make me sick the way they treat living creatures.
Never ceases to amaze me
how people can be so foolish to bring helpless animals into homes and then put them to the curb when they realize they are living creatures with needs...