by
Lisa L.
Member since:
August 8, 2006
Maybe I was just raised differently....
November 14, 2006 10:24 AM EST
views: 23
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comments: 8
Maybe I was raised differently from some people.
My folks taught us that if you accept some sort of responsibility, you take care of it until it's over.
When I got a paper route, I thought it was going to be some easy money...little did I know it would involve getting up at 5 in the freakin' morning and walking miles in the cold, dark Minnesota mornings. I wanted to quit after the first day...but my folks told me that I'd agreed to do this job, and so I was just going to have to buck up and do it. I stayed with it for a few months, and when I decided that I really did want to quit, I kept delivering the papers until the powers that be found a replacement for me.
When I was a little older, I wanted a dog. I begged. I pleaded. I promised to eat my brussel sprouts. Eventually, my folks caved in...but not until I'd given them my solemn vow that I would be completely responsible for the dog. I spent the next 15 years cleaning dog poop, feeding, watering, brushing and loving Happy (the dog). When she died, I felt like I lost a piece of myself..and even though I had whined from time to time about having to clean up behind her...I gained a valuable education on how to care for a pet...and more lessons on responsibility.
So tonight I'm at school, and we've got a cat in from the shelter. Older cat...probably in the neighborhood of 12 years old. She'd been relinquished by her owners because she's gotten into the habit of peeing outside the litter box. Instead of figuring out what was wrong with her, her owners just dumped her...they didn't want the responsibility.
So we do some tests on Madji (the cat was named that before we got her)...everything looks good. We cysto her bladder and I do a urinalysis...whaddya know? White blood cells (a sure sign of infection) and all sorts of bacteria.
Poor 'ol Madji has a bladder infection.
A simple problem with an equally simple fix.
We start her on a course of antibiotics...she'll be good as new before she knows it.
But it got me to thinking...this poor old girl...she was someone's pet for a very long time. How many times did she curl around her owners legs as they stood in the kitchen after coming home from work? How many hours of purrs did her owners get out of her? Did she hear the secrets of children in the house? Did she dry their tears? Did they whisper to her in the still of the night?
And how could anyone just throw her away?
Like I said, maybe I'm different. All I know is that I'm sitting here, tears running down my face at the idea of this poor cat being away from her home...being thrown out like she's nothing after she's probably spent her whole life just loving the people she lived with.
I think about the three crazy felines I have living here. As much as I complain about them, and as many times as I've stood and wondered what in the hell I was thinking when I brought them home with me...I know that I'd move heaven and hell to make them better if something was wrong with them.
I could never just abandon of my pets simply because they were sick. I'd never toss them out because they had a problem that they had no control over.
I guess my parents must have done something right with me. They must have instilled in me that it's right to value all life...furry or non-furry....and I probably should thank them for that.
Too bad Madji's owners weren't taught the same lesson.
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Comments: 8
You never know the full story, so before blaming them for not taking responsiblity, you should think about what other reasons might have been a factor in thier desicion to let Madji go to a new home.