I just read this article and HAD to share it. It's from a great e-mail newsletter I get from Trusted Pet Partners. Read it and share with your family and friends. The information is SO TRUE!
Pet Care Assumptions
Sharon Jones - Partner
I have begun to notice just how intrusive the conversation regarding pet trusts is for the general public. You may say "no duh," but being a partner in an internet business I don't have daily contact with the public. Attending conferences and pet expos, where I get to meet and speak with pet owners in person, has put me in touch with just how intrusive the conversation really is for most. When I ask "Have you made arrangements for your pets if something were to happen to you?," the number one answer I get is "My kids will care for them". Thank you very much, end of conversation!
Shelters, with whom I do speak with more regularly, would love to show the public all of the pets they have who were suppose to be cared for by the "kids". One shelter told me a story of a daughter who called from the mother's death bed asking them to come pick up the dog she was suppose to care for. Another shelter told me the story of the son who contacted them to take the dog because it had become blind, and he didn't want to, or know how to care for, a blind dog. Every year every shelter (6000) receives 75+ pets due to the owner's death or disability. You may say, well that is not much, but add that to the pets they receive due to financial hardship, divorce, puppy mills, and "just don't want the pet anymore", and they are drowning in our irresponsible planning.
I know it is not easy to face the fact that we are all going to die, and that many of us will become disabled, but when inviting a pet into our home planning for continued care of your pets is essential. Many of the pets who survive the owner are old and have not experienced any other home. In a shelter setting they are traumatized by the strange environment, and by missing the only person they have known for their care. If we cannot face our own mortality then perhaps we can get concerned with the fate of our loving companions, our pets. The golden rule seems to apply here, treat your pet companion the way you would like to be treated, with respect and dignity. They did not ask to be here!
Sharon Jones - Partner
I have begun to notice just how intrusive the conversation regarding pet trusts is for the general public. You may say "no duh," but being a partner in an internet business I don't have daily contact with the public. Attending conferences and pet expos, where I get to meet and speak with pet owners in person, has put me in touch with just how intrusive the conversation really is for most. When I ask "Have you made arrangements for your pets if something were to happen to you?," the number one answer I get is "My kids will care for them". Thank you very much, end of conversation!
Shelters, with whom I do speak with more regularly, would love to show the public all of the pets they have who were suppose to be cared for by the "kids". One shelter told me a story of a daughter who called from the mother's death bed asking them to come pick up the dog she was suppose to care for. Another shelter told me the story of the son who contacted them to take the dog because it had become blind, and he didn't want to, or know how to care for, a blind dog. Every year every shelter (6000) receives 75+ pets due to the owner's death or disability. You may say, well that is not much, but add that to the pets they receive due to financial hardship, divorce, puppy mills, and "just don't want the pet anymore", and they are drowning in our irresponsible planning.
I know it is not easy to face the fact that we are all going to die, and that many of us will become disabled, but when inviting a pet into our home planning for continued care of your pets is essential. Many of the pets who survive the owner are old and have not experienced any other home. In a shelter setting they are traumatized by the strange environment, and by missing the only person they have known for their care. If we cannot face our own mortality then perhaps we can get concerned with the fate of our loving companions, our pets. The golden rule seems to apply here, treat your pet companion the way you would like to be treated, with respect and dignity. They did not ask to be here!
No comments:
Post a Comment