Saturday, September 25, 2010

Teach Your Children Well



 
Today is the last day for the Be the Change for Pets challenge to blog about a less-adoptable pet.  I decided to feature Snuggles, a very pretty, yet skittish girl from a shelter near my house.

Snuggles came from a home where the children did not treat her very well -- she was teased, chased, and her tail was pulled.  Can you imagine?  She's living at a foster home now, and really should be placed in a home where there are no small children.

This is a great lesson for parents and other adults to teach respect for all living creatures from day one.  Can you imagine how scared Snuggles must have been?  How she might have hid, afraid for her safety?  What kind of life is that?  Let's educate our children (and adults) that pets are like us -- they want love, affection, gentle snuggles, and kind words.

So please, don't let a pet's unfortunate background deter you from adopting him/her.  Love is so healing and you could be the one to change a life.  You CAN be the change.  Snuggles is now available through Rescued Tails Animal Sanctuary, where most of the foster homes are in Minnesota.  You can read more about her here. 

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." ~Mark Twain

7 comments:

  1. I don't understand people (specifically parents nowadays). Do you happen to know how old these children were that did that to poor Snuggles?
    Where were the parents when this was happening?
    I think children should not be permitted to have pets until they are old enough to understand how to treat them
    If the pet was in the home BEFORE the children then children should be taught from DAY ONE how to care for and love a pet.
    How unfortunate and heartbeaking that this happened.
    You are so right not to let a pets background deter someone from adopting a sweet animal.
    Looking at that precious cat just breaks my heart.
    Thank you for this heartwarming (as well as heartbreaking) and most NECESSARY post

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  2. This is so sad. I agree with Caren. Where were the parents, and how could they have let this happen? It is so sad the struggle that so many animals go through. It really breaks my heart.

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  3. I also echo Caren's thoughts! I am angry these people PROCREATED, and let an animal be abused, as well. Grrrrrrrr!

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  4. Bravo! That was a great post, thanks for sharing her story with everyone.

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  5. I almost disagree with ANY children under the age of 10 having a cat. It infuriates me to see the total disregard the parents have for the safety and comfort of a poor animal in their prison of a house.

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  6. My human says that she grew up with kitties, and her parents were very firm about the right way to treat small creatures. If any pet gets abused by a child, it is 99% the parents' fault. (The 1% counting for the occasional Demon Spawn.)

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  7. Just found this and wanted to comment - I am on my second adopted cat that actively avoids small children ...
    I do believe children can be taught, no matter their age, to treat animals gently and with respect - yes, they need to be supervised! When I was very small we always had small animals as pets, but from the beginning I was taught to be gentle with them. My youngest niece learned from the start how to behave with dogs ...
    It's just like teaching children anything else - start early - keep at it ...
    Young children should always be supervised with any pets - for their own safety, as well as the animals ...

    *steps off my soap-box*

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