An anonymous person thought I should share this story, which is good for all of us to reflect upon:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/return-our-dogs-tepco-demands/story-e6frg6so-1226083034104
I suppose this is a question of ownership:
Who owns the animals, actually?
My thoughts would be this: None of us own the animals. We are merely caregivers who have taken the responsibility of looking after them (as best as we humanly and humanely can) because we think they need our help. So, when we realise we cannot look after them well enough, we can always ask for help. And if someone offers to give them a better life, I would hand them over to that someone, just as I did with Wii, to dear Roselin, who has definitely given him a better life. So, we don't OWN these animals. We just help give them a better life while they and we are here on Earth.
Having said that, when we cannot look after them well enough, it doesn't mean we can dump them on the streets, or worse, send them to be euthanised. That would be so, so wrong. Just because euthanasia for animals is legal and readily available, we still need to examine if it is necessary. It should never be used as a convenient option to get rid of animals when we can no longer cope. (Yes, I'm still very overwhelmed over Goldie's case.)
Here's Wani's account of what happened with Goldie: http://malaysiandogsdeservebetter.blogspot.com/2011/06/goldie-and-witch.html
Lesson 1: Always gauge people by their track record and what they do, never by the religious labels they profess to carry. Most religions teach their devotees to do good and not to kill. The teachings are there, but many do not follow.
Lesson 2: It is not so easy to find good adopters, or for that matter, good people! So, we really need to help each other out here. Remember Punitha's cat, Rascal? Punitha did the right thing by exposing the irresponsible adopter in the public forums and we posted the link too.
Lesson 3: As Wani writes in her posting, it IS an overwhelming task, trying to do everything for the animals. That is why we (AnimalCare) are only providing the medical assistance and doing education. We have never claimed to do adoptions or rehoming except to publicise it on the blog. We acknowledge our limitations and constraints, so we only do what we can, but we do our best in it.
Lesson 4: When we have taken up a responsibility and due to circumstances beyond our control, we cannot cope anymore, let's please ask for help. There are still some kind people out there who might be willing to offer a helping hand.
Lesson 5: It takes all kinds to make the world!
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