Don't Abandon

To,
The people who abandon their pets.

Hello, I am a pet owner like you. A few years back I welcomed a beautiful, four legged fuzzy ball of love into my house. However, as I was still only 19 at that time I made sure I had my parent’s consent because I knew I would eventually have to leave my pet in their care and I knew that they would love him as much as me. Also, it was not in my capacity to provide for my pet financially so that burden would have to be borne by my parents as well. So, my question to all of you folks is quite simple. What exactly was your thought process when you got your pet? Did you not understand the fact that you were welcoming a living being into your house? Or did you assume that your new baby will always stay a baby and will never grow in size? Or did you not consider the possibility that your new puppy/kitten will teethe, pee all over the house, puke, get sick and destroy your house just like any human baby does? Did you never realize that you will have to take your dog out for regular walks and will sometimes have to forgo an important party to take your sick cat to a Veterinarian. Did the thought of a rather expensive vet bill or dog/cat food never cross your mind? When buying/adopting your pet did you ever pause a second to think that the animals would be completely dependent on you? They would be unaware of how to survive without you. They would not know the freezing cold of the winters and the blazing heat of the summers. They would not know that cars are things that can run them over. They would not know that other animals can attack them. They would not understand how to forage for food. They ,having spent their life in a warm, comfortable house would have never experienced pain or discomfort or fear. Therefore, can you imagine the amount of confusion and fear that will grip them when you, their protector, their master, their care-taker, their sworn guardian, their entire life; abandon them? No. You cannot. You will never fully understand the extent to which you have wronged them. Wronged the puppy who proved too much for you to handle, the kitten who proved too expensive for you, the dog who grew so much that you did not find him desirable anymore or the cat who grew old so you decided to switch him with a new cute kitten. You will never understand their pain and sadness. These creatures cannot speak but if they could all of them would only have one question on their minds: Why? For they will never understand why the human whom they trusted with their life abandoned them without a second thought. They will never understand and will slowly die of loneliness, sadness or from one of the dangers that they never learnt how to face because they thought you would protect them forever.
Hence I implore you. I implore you to think, think and then think some more before you make the enormous decision of buying or adopting a pet. Before you become responsible for a life. Before you become a living creature’s forever. Please think.
Don’t abandon. Don’t destroy lives. Don’t cause unimaginable pain to creatures whose only crime is loving you unconditionally. Don’t be a monster. Be human. Be responsible.
From
A heart-broken pet owner