I have always shuddered whenever I see so called animal welfare groups launch huge campaigns like pet adoption weeks, or adopt-a-pet day.

Yes, public awareness regarding the pet overpopulation problem is created, but too often a well meaning public makes impulse decisions, caught up as they are in the "cause", and feeling good about themselves for helping.

But how many of them were actively seeking to add a companion animal to the family before they saw the ad campaign?

The same shudders run up my spine every time I see animals for adoption in a mall or in front of a store. Adopting an animal is something a responsible person takes a long time to seriously think about. Lifelong companion animals are not something they casually pick up at the mall because they were cute, and needed a home, and the shopper felt sorry for them.

I run a home based pet grooming business that sees roughly four clients a day. My home is also an animal shelter. My foster dogs and cats are always greeting and mixing with clientele, and many, many clients impulsively offer to adopt them. No matter how much I like the client, or how great a home I think they would be, I know darn well that they were not thinking of adding another animal to their home when they got out of bed that morning, nor were they thinking of it the night before or last month.

So I tell these "impulse buyers" to go home and think about it for at least 24 hours, and to talk to all family members about it. Then, if they are still interested, we will look into it. 99% of those people who were willing to load that animal in their car right then and there, decide against it once they are given the opportunity to think it through, in the absence of the cute, needy, furry face.

All I can say to the SPCA regarding this latest campaign is that pet adoption and rescue should never be trivialized to the point that it becomes some sort of contest to see how many animals can be shuffled into homes in how short a period of time. These are lives that are being shuffled, sentient beings who can live as long as twenty years. Don't treat them as though they are merchandise at some giant blowout clearance sale.

Don't market lives.

Jennifer Dickson
President, Okanagan Animal Welfare Foundation
Vernon BC