Actions speak louder than words.

Doing something to take care of first your animals, then the animals on your block, then the animals on your block, then the animals in your neighborhood...

And do something to help educate yourself about the best way to take care of animals, and all the options that are available. Then help the people around you. Maybe it start by talking to them listening to them, showing them a better way to take care of animals.

Otherwise, carping and moaning about how superior you are and how stupid "those" people are is as hollow and useless as people who claim to love animals but don't treat them well.

If you're a compassionate person, show it with actions, not words.

I consider myself to be about as much of a DOG lover as there ever could be. Something that bothers me even more...infuriates me actually, are people that just LOVE animals so much that they want to let their mutt or ferrel get PG so the kids can see the miracle of life! That's what really bugs me! I'd like to think that I'm doing my part in controlling the animal population by having my animals spayed or neutered! My goodness, if I picked up every stray I saw I'd have a zoo! Back when I was young and owned my own home with a yard, I'd try and take care of lost dogs but it always ended up in being a fiasco! If you can help out then do so but it's not so easy to pick up strays and find them a good home.

Wow, it's amazing how a point can be "interpreted" in so many different ways. I was asking a question.

Arkansas I was not suggesting that everyone pick up every stray they see. I can't even do that.

My curiosity is about people who call themselves an animal lover, but don't take action of any kind to help an animal in need.

And Alison who said I was superior, not I.

I just want to know what is in a person's thought process when they see a stray on the street and if they even consider doing something, i.e., call a rescue or shelter to try to get the animal rescued, give it some food to keep it from starving to death until it is rescued, etc.

If everyone who sees a stray tries to do "something" for that animal and not just ignore it then there would be a lot less animals suffering.
How many people actually carry pet food in their car "just in case?" All my friends do.

I know what you mean. I had a friend that actually owned cats for a while, but then actually suggested we bring our sick cat over to their house on a Saturday night when we said we had to stay home because our cat was really sick. I mean, cats are not like dogs that you cart with you wher ever you go! These are the same people that love dogs but then never ever take their dogs for a walk despite the fact it is obvious it needs excercise - or just let it run loose in the neighborhood.

I thought some of the replies were unnecessarily harsh.

And yes, it does annoy me mostly that people who claim to love animals will not take the time and energy to research all the things that it takes to be a good animal owner. I mean you can get on the Internet and find out most things you need to know nowadays.

Mostly, the only strays I see are likely runaways from the neighborhood who still have their tags. And they all have run the other way when I approached them. And I am very very careful because there are a lot of pit bulls and pit bull mixes around here and I don't know who they belong to and what their story is. I don't approach those.

I did find a bull-breed type puppy a few years ago scratching at my door so obviously it knew it wanted to go in a house. I picked it up and went around the neighborhood with him and it had escaped from their yard and got lost from a home on the next block. The teen girl owner was looking frantically for him.

What about them?
I dunno. What about them?
They're posers.

Brutuses, I agree with you. We live in the country and out on the hwy,people are always dropping off dogs. And am always calling forest rangers to come pick them up. "Those People" are sometimes those who drop off pets too. I have left food for strays before too. I wont go near one tho because i'm afraid of taking something home my dogs might catch. I also stop and pick up turtles and get them off the hwy. Have also gone to get someone hitchiking something to eat a time or two. I don't understand people who don,t do likewise and think they are lacking in some humane feeling.
I beleive people should educate themselves about the care of their animals but should also use comman sense. Some of the things you read and hear are silly and not in the best interest of animals.
I'm not sure what you mean about being too cheap to take care of their animals.my dogs are healthy
so says my vet. I love my dogs and they love me. They are loving and gentle,their needs are met.They get wholesome food. They are free to be themselves within limits. Yet i have known dogs that never saw a vet,just got rabies shots ,ate scraps,roamed free in the country,were loved and lived long lives. Than i've heard of little dogs owned by a famous two bit hooker that kept disappearing.
Yes there are a lot of "Those" people.

Today, I put myself in a stupid and dangerous position. I stopped my car and went eye ball to eye ball with a guy who was attempting to walk two pit bull pups.

Before I got up to him, I saw him wrangling the pups, then hitting the pups and then he lifted one pup in the air, by its leash, had it suspended there, litterally strangling it.

When I got up to him, I stopped my car and he stared at me. He knew why I stopped. I had my dog in the back of the car and looked at my dog and then I looked at him. He stopped walking and stared at me. He knows why I stopped. We stared at each other and he said nothing.

He started walking again. I drove on. I called the animal welfare on my cell phone and gave them a description of the guy and told them where he was walking. The officer said they would do a drive by, talk to guy and maybe issue him a warning. Which I think is fine. And perhaps they will get his name and address and keep an eye on him.

Yeah, i had an eye to eye contact with an idiot that was kicking his dog and he got the message and quit too.
vickie

I got a dirty look like that a couple of weeks ago by a jogger . My two wanted to go and greet the jogger who was in the street, could have killed us if jogger was a car. I yanked them back into position beside me which I admit, looked bad, although it didn't, nor would I ever hurt them. But man this guy looked at me like I was an evil dog spanker.

So, altho' you're a good pet owner, this jogger assumed you were one of "those" people?

I was talking to someone at work today that was telling me about her cats. Sometime she has her cats checked out and sometimes she doesn't. What bothered me was her statement that she wanted to provide good health care but only to a certain level - that does not include dental cleaning she said they needed. She said, 'well you know - they are cats'. As if they are simply an object that one owns and they don't deserve basic care. She has one that went blind recently (some diet defiency she told me??). Another that vomits all the time. I know she has done certain things for them but not followed through. But the attitude and the lack of follow up bother me. We just spent over $1000 on one cat over the past three months - yearly check up, vaccines, bladder x ray, dental care with three extractions, another check up and blood work because he wasn't eating. But, he needed the care and I owe it to him.

Yes I obviously came across as one of 'those people' despite the fact I was out there walking the dogs in cold weather freezing my own butt off in the process.

Silvergold, that is just the type of person I'm referring to. They have pets, claim they love them, but don't do all they can for the animal, but rather let it suffer. Having an animal go blind from a nutrient deficiency is crazy and uncalled for. She most probably feeds them dog food because it's cheaper than cat food and they will definitely go blind eating dog food. Even the cheapest cat food they make is better for a cat than cheap dog food. Not enough taurine will cause a cat to go blind or have heart failure. I am of the belief that if you can't take the best care of an animal you shouldn't have one. Unfortunately though there are a lot of poor people that I know who have pets and can't really take the best care of them because they can't afford it. That's not intentional neglect like this person you are referring to.

Well...I'm pretty sure that I'm one of "those" people...I do love animals but there's a limit as to what I'll do. I will not tolerate an animal destroying my property. Many years ago I got an Elkhound, he was beautiful, but he was horrible the minute I left his sight. Back 20 years ago, I never knew about crate training so after he destroyed many many things I took him to a no kill shelter. Now I am faced with a similar problem with a cat that is throwing up on my furniture. I am actively seeking new housing for 2 cats right now! Also, I would not spend thousands on vet bills, and especially not for a cat! Sorry...JMHO!

Yeah but that's what pets, especially cats do. They throwup on your funiture, make a mess, make noise, require time, destroy things, dig holes and poop and pee all over.

How about we just say there's a clear difference between loving animals and loving pets. Pets aren't for everyone as they are a huge responsibility and very costly. You can still love animals without having a pet as it's easy to love animals and be a less-than-ideal pet owner.

Ex: I love elephants. However I wouldn't be able to provide for a pet elephant. I will have to love them from the other side of the railing at the zoo.

qq, There is a lot of difference between yanking a dog away from danger and kicking him with a big boot on. I'll lay odds you never kicked a dog in your life.
vickie

I am fortunate that I work in a feed store, it gives me a chance to help those people have better choices for their animals. People who buy dog food for their cats I can explain the results of wrong food for cats. I can help some people upgrade their dog food. The other day a man wanted to buy a choke chain for his dog who he said was ignoring his command to come. We talked about chains and dogs. I came to find out his dog was a 4 mo. old puppy, a Lab at that. I explained Labattude and wound up selling him a long rope and dog treats. He had no area that could be closed off so he can put the dog on the rope, call him and give him a treat when he comes.

I have had so many pets. I had one that ate underwear (dog) rehomed with a bachelor, one that bit children (cat) rehomed with a chidless couple, cat wanting to be indoor, outdoor, rehomed with couple living in the country. My mother's place is like a zoo, lots of horses that have been abused, dogs that she got from litters where the owners wouldn't have the mothers fixed, I told her it would be cheaper if she would take the dogs and have them spayed for the owners instead of constantly taking puppies that she has to find homes for, she now has a litter of cocker spaniels plus the parents that she needs to find homes for, full blood dogs that people just got tired of, she now has a Mastiff that the owners moved to a place that they can't take a large dog, papers and all. I keep taking feral cats to her for her barn that either people have dumped out here or they have been born here under a house. It is so hard to try to rehome everybody!!!
Choke chains should be outlawed!! anybody that has seen one embedded in a dogs neck would think twice about putting one on their pet!! Others will say different I know, but I hate them.
qq, I love elephants as well, don't you hate it when you hear of cruelty to them?? They remind me of a overlarge dog, just wanting your love:) but you are right, you cannot have one in your back yard (the neighbors would just love that)
My mom had a fainting goat kid born not too long ago, and the mother wasn't feeding it, she was trying to feed it plus take care of everybody else, if I had been able to get down to her house I would of brought a goat home to mama, no place for it, but I would of done it anyway. I am that way and so is my mom, we will take in animals to the point that it affects our own health, when is enough, enough???? It never is, thanks to the people who do not spay or neuter or even think before they take in a pet.

Now goats I would do. Almost bought a house once that came with a goat.

And oakleif, no I've never kicked a dog. I'm not that kind of person. It did look bad though I have to admit, it was a rather frustrated yank at the end of a hectic day but I wouldn't do anything to hurt them ever. It just looked really mean is all. It was a proper sideways yank.

I'm sure when my beagle was REALLY bad on the leash, I looked like one of those people. Even though I didn't do anything, but the way she pulled, she was constantly choking and retching. She did it no matter what we did, for the longest time. Choke collar, normal collar, etc etc.

The worst was when we took her to the pet store, and she prompty gagged and vomited right at the foot of another dog owner. I just got this "What are you doing to that poor dog" evil glare.

I hated taking her to the dog park for that very reason, but I knew I had to if I ever wanted her to learn to walk properly in places with that many distractions. She still yanks on the leash, but she doesn't make herself gag and vomit anymore.

Through all the things she's done, I've never once considered getting rid of her. Chewed a huge corner chunk off my deck. Dug holes all around my yard. Chewed a hole in the carpet. Ate underwear. Eats cat and dog poop. Destroyed countless cat doys. Countless dog beds and blankets. She can chew through just about any plastic dog chew toy, in a matter of minutes. Piddled on my footstool when she was mad at me once because I made her get out of the kitchen while I was cooking. Chewed the corner of my coffee table. I knew if I persisted, she'd become a good girl. And she has. Granted she still needs to be crated when she's alone. But she's very much a people dog now, and when we're home, she doesn't wander and get into things now. She doesn't dig, or chew furniture and carpeting. Doesn't eat underwear anymore. She's so smart. I'm so glad none of that ever deterred me from her.

And the only thing that would stop me from paying any amount of money for any of my animals, would be chance of survival and quality of life. If their chance of making it out of the surgery are slim, or their life won't be at all great or much longer after the surgery and it costs too much, then it'll be a definate struggle to decide.

I can't stand "those people" either. I would and have done anything for my dogs, including spending very large amounts of money. My old black lab was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 16 years old. Besides a few symptoms, she appeared very healthy and happy. She was considered our child and we did not even think twice about forking out thousands of dollars first on diagnostic testing, then on treatment. Although she has since passed on (at nearly 17 years old), we had 10 extra months with her. Quality months. And we don't regret any of it. We would do it again in a heartbeat. People always ask me how we could spend so much money on a dog. I always ask if they would spend it on their kids. That usually shuts them up.

onyxdaily - you mention something I've noticed. The difference many times is between those that think of their pets as a valuable family member with all the responsibities that come along with it, versus those that seem to think of them more as a posession.

So many people spend thousands of dollars just to make themselves feel righteous when the poor animal is suffering.
I love my animals , I've never considered them possessions nor do I compare them to my children. I currently have 3 cats and one dog. They are a joy and they are well taken care of but they are not HUMAN. Even the Dog Whisperer will agree that dogs are not children, they don't think like children, they are pack animals!
If I'm going to rescue anyone from the streets, it will be human. I do not approach dogs unattended or otherwise. To do so is just plain STUPID. I know because I did it once and have an 8 inch jagged scar on my leg to prove it. So I guess I'm one of "those" people.

I don't think it's the difference between thinking of a pet as a family member versus a possession. It's really that us (those people) think of our pets as animals versus people. They are NOT people and they do not think as people think. I think there's a line that gets blurred for many people. I would spend thousands to heal a young healthy dog if I had plenty of money(and the condition was treatable) but I would not spend thousands to keep a sickly elderly dog alive so I can have more time with him while the dog suffers until he finally dies anyway.

I can't speak for your situation, arkansas girl. But I know people that barely pay attention to the pets they do own. I know people that put their dogs in cages outside all day and rarely play with them - doesn't matter if it is really hot or really cold. I think that is a sad existance. I think spending thousands of dollars is different than not providing basic care or treating conditions that can be treated giving the pet a long enjoyable life. For example, my cat with pancreatitis and IBD is treated with pred and pepcid ac. He sometimes eats special food. He has had this condition for a few years now. He has a flare up with vomiting this last month or so and has lost some weight, so we are taking him to the vet Monday for a physical and annual profile. He has lots of energy and is not suffering in a great way. So, treating his illness makes sense right now.

I know my cats are animals - that is pretty obvious.

" Even the Dog Whisperer will agree that dogs are not children, they don't think like children, they are pack animals! "

The comparison was between "posessions" VS. "Family members".
Not "children".
And that Dog Whisperer citation was taken out of context anyway since it relates to behavior and state of mind. I can't remember a single episode where Millan says you shouldn't spend thousands on a surgery to have a more balanced dog.