A little over a week ago I declared February 2nd to (unofficially) be National Adopt An Animal Already In Rescue Day. The point was that frequently people adopt animals that are somehow in dire jeopardy (the slaughter truck, the auction, on the "red list" at the pound) and ignore the animals that are already in rescue, assuming they are "safe" and do not need the home as badly. Unfortunately, this results in animals already in rescue sitting there for years and years with no person to call their own, often limited on space and exercise, often stressed out from living in an environment with an unusually high number of other animals, etc. So my challenge was, if you were already thinking of adding another animal to your family and had the resources to do so, to please adopt one that had been sitting in rescue or a no-kill shelter for awhile without finding the perfect home.
Or, if you couldn't add another animal permanently, to think about fostering for a rescue or shelter that covers your expenses. This, by the way, is a great solution when you're in school and know that you may be moving around a lot. Lots of rescues will pay for vet, so you can have a dog, cat or horse and only pay their food and water and have no fear that they won't have a place to go if/when you have to move away. You may have to spend some time taking them to adoption events or inviting adopters into your home to meet them, but it's just a great thing to do for an animal. So many are stressed/scared in a shelter/large rescue environment.
So let's hear about it - who has a new pet or a new foster in 2009, whether or not it's related to my post? You can't use the IMG tag but you can direct link to an image (how to make a link).
Post coming later today about the Enumclaw Auction but there is one thing I really want to say:
It is utterly pointless to take 2 horses to an auction and demand they not go to kill. This is kind of like walking down a dark street in a bad neighborhood with a t-shirt that says "Don't Rape Me." IT'S AN AUCTION RUN BY A KILL BUYER. Do you REALLY think the dude nobody has ever seen before picking up every single horse for $50 or $100 isn't a kill buyer himself or being "cut in" by a kill buyer? If you truly believe your 7 year old unbroke Thoroughbred mare that you sold for $100 is not heading straight for a double-decker, I have a nice bridge to sell you. There is absolutely NOTHING illegal about lying to you. Yeah, if you could prove the person said the horse would be safe in order to fraudulently induce you to sell the horse to them, you'd have a civil claim - but it wouldn't be worth much.
People, UNLESS YOU SELL THEM FOR $300 AND UP at an auction, odds are REALLY good they are going to kill. I don't care if they're purchased by a little old gray haired lady or a couple with kids. A lot of people pretend to be good homes to acquire horses for the KB's. It is a lucrative side job and one look at the economy ought to show you how many people will do shady stuff for a cash profit per horse. Not everybody's a horse lover. This is why low-end auctions just aren't a safe place to sell your horse. A bullet in the head is kinder than selling your horse for $50 or $100 at Enumclaw or any auction like it.
