The “Different” Ones

Hi, there, CindyLu here! I’ve got an impawtant announcement to make: this week is Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week. Petfinder.com, a dog’s best friend, brings us this special event each year, to remind us all of how special some pets are, even though they might be different.

Now, I’m one of the privileged few. I’ve always been healthy. I never had to live on the street. I was never abused. I was never a resident of a shelter. The hardest part my human parent had in finding someone to adopt me was to hold me up and say, “Look how cute this little darling is!” (Of course, she was right.) And I got my furever home super fast.

But not all pets are so lucky.

We know there are many who have lived miserable lives, many who were born with a defurmity or have a health condition, and many are not popular for one reason or another. All those animals are just as wonderful as I am, I must admit. They give love just as much as I do. They have feelings, and can hurt or suffer like any of the other pets. But they have a hard time finding their furever homes. It ain’t easy being different or unpopular. Ask 75% of high school kids, they’ll tell you.

And that’s probably the percentage of pets in shelters that are less-adoptable (CindyLu math here.) Okay, if you exclude all the adorable babies…there are so many of those! For some reason, they just keep showing up by the dozens. Pets end up in shelters for all sorts of reasons. But never because they wanted to go there. Mom’s friend has a saying; “Everyone has a story.” It’s true – we each have our own history, our own set of circumstances.

When you visit a shelter, though, and talk with the animals there, too many of those stories are very sad. And the pets just don’t deserve it. They’re all awesome, each in their own way. But big dogs, ones who are called “bully breeds”, any pet that has a health condition or defurmity, older ones, rabbits and guinea pigs and pet rats and lizard types – they all sit day after day feeling more and more hopeless that they’ll ever have their own home. The kicker for me, is that so many humans don’t want a black-colored pet. Ahem, people! Check out my beautiful photo above – what do you see?

So this week, I want you to tell everyone to think about the impawtance of open-mindedness. (Those that don’t have one can leave now, this is too hard of a challenge for you.) I’m asking you to think about the reasons that so many humans choose certain pets and leave others behind. I would really like you to tell your friends about what we pets already know…let me put it this way – have you ever seen a pet refuse to be adopted by someone who has a health condition or a missing body part, is older, is bigger than the average human, or heaven forbid – is of a certain color?
I wonder if humans know what it really means, when people say that pets teach us so much.

Happy Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week! Make some pets happy beyond their wildest dreams!