by Jennifer Atkins

Created on: December 24, 2007   Last Updated: March 20, 2008

One of the biggest ways to TRY to end animal homelessness is to lower the costs of vets and animal medicines. I have 2 dogs and a cat. Two of my pets, I actually rescued. My cat was a kitten at an acquaintance house that they couldn't or wouldn't care for. I brought 2 half dead kittens home with me to nurse to health and ended up with only one surviving. One of the dogs I got from my sister after they threatened to kill her for digging up her newly planted shrubs. If you ever lived in Arkansas in the summer, you can understand why the dog was searching for a cool place to lie.

I'm very good to my animals. They are all house pets and get the very best in pet care and vet care. But vet care doesn't come without paying a huge price. See, people are becoming afraid to take animals in. If they can't afford vets then they could, in some situations, be accused of abuse. Just a check up at my vet for my dog is $25 bucks. I get heart worm medicine once a year that has a pill my dog takes once a month. Those pills cost $115. How many people can afford that kind of money for a pet? Especially if they have children.

The first step should be a nationwide pet fixing project. $5 dollars will fix your pet. And all the shelters and rescue groups have their animals fixed. That will help to cut down the new population.

I think the laws for abuse shouldn't be so strict and silly. A baby pulling a dog's tail isn't abuse. Spanking a dog for wetting in the floor isn't abuse. People shouldn't be afraid to adopt pets. Everyone should be able to afford the opportunity of having a pet. If it wasn't so expensive to have pets I would have several more myself. I volunteered at the animal shelter for a college project last semester and I wanted to take half of them home with me.

Our shelter has a foster program now. I think it's an awesome idea. It gives the pet a home for a while, interaction with people that will be good to the pet and the fostering people hasn't got the full cost of the pet either. Wonderful project.

The love and learned responsibility of having a pet is worth it's weight in gold. Every child could benefit from owning a pet, having a best friend.

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