On Tuesdays, I usually participate in the Tuesday’s Tails Blog Hop, which is a hop dedicated to featuring adoptable pets and networking them.
However, I have been struggling all morning to choose a sweetheart to feature. Lately, I’ve been featuring Dachshunds from Furever Dachshund Rescue, but today I decided to roll the dice at PetFinder. My gamble ended in tears.
First, I did a search to see how many Dachshunds/Dachshund mixes were listed nationwide.
6,383. Six thousand, three hundred and eighty-three. As large as that number is, not all shelters and rescues use PetFinder, so the true number of Dachshunds looking for homes is actually much higher.
I cried.
427 of those are listed as seniors.
More tears.
I clicked on a few random seniors. Like this one. And this one. And this one. And this one.
Utter heartbreak.
No descriptions of their personalities, their qualities, their quirks, their loving faces, their sweet dispositions.
Just phrases such as Abandoned Behind Shelter, Surrendered by Owner…
It is impossible not to want to ride through the sky like Santa, stopping at every shelter, swooping them all up into my arms.
You are NOT “Abandoned Behind Shelter”. You are “Loved by This Lady”.
Were there seniors with good descriptions and better photos? Yes, of course. Those are usually in loving foster homes with someone who has time to create better profiles for them. But my heart breaks for the ones in shelters, sitting in cages, getting minimal attention. No one has time to get better pictures or to get to know their personalities, much less write descriptions for all of them.
Added to the seniors, there were:
My tears turn to anger as I think about the thousands more that are being born into the hands of puppy millers, backyard breeders, and those who simply have not bothered to spay/neuter.
Thousands more listed on Craigslist.
It’s not that I wasn’t aware of all this. I am aware of it every single day. Many, many nights I do not sleep because of it.
And we’re only talking about Dachshunds.
You don’t want to know the numbers if I search for all breeds.
You really don’t want to know the numbers if I include cats.
So I can’t do it today.
I can’t pick just one sweet face to feature.
I’m sorry.
Most of the time, I put on my big girl pants and say, “Yes, there are millions of pets waiting for homes. But today, I’m going to try to make a difference for this one.”
But today, I just can’t pick one. Sometimes we just have to be honest. But it hurts. And readers don’t like it. And that hurts even more.
From my previous Tuesday’s Tails posts: Franny and LuLu are still available. Please check them out and share them if possible. Thankfully, a few others that I have featured have found homes. I expect to have a regular post for the hop next Tuesday with an adoptable dog to share.
Please visit the rest of the blogs participating in the Tuesday’s Tail Blog Hop
and share the sweet faces you see.
I couldn’t agree more, it is just heartbreaking.
I’m sorry too. Isn’t it strange that we both had similar thoughts/feelings today?
Yes. When I read your post, I knew the same feelings of hopelessness you were having and thought it was so strange that we were both having one of those days.
Pam, this is a heartbreaking yet honest post. It is good to see this as a reminder of why we rescue. Why we take time away from our families to help dogs find a family of their own. Why we keep advocating to adopt, not shop. Why spaying and neutering is so important.
I am so sorry you had such a hard time for this blog hop, but I applaud you for reminding us why we need to do more. This post will inspire others to help. You are wonderful for helping!
Together, we can make a difference 🙂
Normally, I just pick a dog to feature and that’s that. I’m able to just decide that this one… this one is the one I will feature today.
But when I hit up PetFinder this morning, all their faces staring back at me… all the numbers… knowing that they ALL deserve to be featured… I just couldn’t pick one. It didn’t feel fair.
And it’s not fair. And it never will be. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make a difference for this animal or that animal just because we can’t make a difference for all of them. I should have just “put on my big girl pants” and picked one of those sweet faces.
Thank you for working in rescue! You make a difference every single day. We hope to start fostering soon. My husband is having to travel quite a bit for work right now, but that will settle down in a few months and we will be able to commit to fostering.
I think your post was a great post. Perspective is important. And you are right, we can’t make a difference for them all, but for a few we can make a world of difference 🙂
You will LOVE fostering! It is vastly rewarding and there is never a dull moment. My husband and I are getting our next foster on Friday and I can’t wait. He is a hound mix! Yay 🙂
Thank you for spreading the word for these kiddos. You are awesome!
I know exactly how you feel. I have been featuring California Chihuahuas for the past few weeks, the dogs and their puppies who were once fashion accessories and are now thrown out like last year’s shoes. There are so many of these sweet dogs to choose from. Last week I featured a dog who rode a skateboard and when i went to her page there were 3 pages of Chis, 12 on each page, most without names or descriptions. Skateboard dog is gone this week, but there are still 36 dogs in that LA shelter. I like to keep my blog upbeat and positive, but this shelter dog blog hop is getting to me. I may just take a break. Too many tears.
I’ll never stop sharing dogs that need homes because you never know when a share is going to make a difference; but sometimes I have to give in and admit that it often feels hopeless… and today was one of those days. I almost didn’t publish this post, but then decided that I would let my honest feelings be heard (or read, as it were).
I hope that you keep participating in Tuesday’s Tails, but I would understand if you needed to take a break. Like I say, I will definitely keep doing it… I just sort of “lost it” today and had to regroup.
Crying with you. I feel much the same way. I never ever go to Petfinder to find a pet to feature for my blog because I just can’t take it anymore. I go straight to one of my favorite rescues and pick a dog that is not in foster care. And I try not to spend much time doing it! Usually it’s the first one that catches my eye. Because if I take too long, look at too many dogs, I jeopardized my mental health for the day. So, no judgement from me except to say I love your kind heart.
I’m so sorry you are overwhelmed. It is heartbreaking.
A saying that I’ve seen on the net here and there that is relevant, and always makes me smile, may help you too. “Saving lives…one dog at a time.”
Start with one. If everyone adopts, or fosters, or shares just one, what a difference it would make.
I totally agree, and that’s why I’ll never stop sharing. Making a difference for even just one animal is worth it. It just hurts so much not to be able to make a difference for all of them.
I just kind of had a breakdown today and it got the better of me. But I will get back to regular Tuesday’s Tails posts and will keep sharing the angels that need homes… one at a time.
It is heartbreaking. And totally overwhelming. I can’t ponder it too much either or I’ll just sit and cry and not get anything done. When I get sad about the dogs in shelters and not in homes, I just have to hope that there are volunteers and staff at those shelters like there are at the shelter I volunteer at. We have so many great volunteers and staff and each dog gets at least one play session a day, although usually more, not to mention a lot of love. Sometimes I wonder if the dogs in our shelter are getting more play time/love than some dogs who have “loving” homes.
Hopefully one of these days more folks will understand – about the puppy mills and the backyard breeders and the plight of so many homeless pups. It all happens one pup at a time, one person at a time. Hang in there!
Hopefully some of those dogs find homes.
I know the feeling! I don’t look at a lot of adoption sites unless I know I’m going to be able to bring one of them home. It’s really tough to imagine seniors being abandoned especially.
I know. I don’t normally do what I did yesterday, and I don’t think I will be doing it again soon. I’ll still be featuring adoptable dogs, but I can’t look at the big numbers anymore. I can’t look at the thousands of faces. I *know* that there are thousands, and knowing is enough to keep pushing to make a difference. And yes, the seniors are the hardest to encounter. We just can’t believe they’ve been abandoned, and we want so desperately to take them all and love them ourselves, but we just can’t.
That just broke our hearts! Mommy is crying and her heart is so sad looking at those numbers. She said she wishes she was really, really wealthy. She would build a house on a big piece of land then take all those little puppers and let them live happily ever after at her house. One can hope and dream…..
Hugs,
Lily Belle & Muffin
I’m sorry… I didn’t make to make anyone else cry. Looking at those faces and those numbers yesterday just hit me really hard. I did not, however, mean to make anyone else upset… especially you… you’re dealing with enough right now.
I have that same dream, believe me. If I am ever wealthy, I know for certain that I will be building a huge rescue/adoption facility, but it would also be a sanctuary for those that are never adopted. It would be operated by me and the hubs, and staffed only by card-carrying dog lovers who are happy to be there every day and love their jobs. Dreams!
Until then, I can only do what I can to make a difference.
I enjoyed reading your blog with tears in my eyes. I wish so much that we dog lovers could end all the injustice in the world with these wonderful animals. It isn’t right, it isn’t fair. I think on the flip side if we continue to ban together and spread the word, sign people’s petitions , promote healthy attitudes and education, that in part will help. I know I am doing what I can do to help all I can. I have 1 dog and 1 cat and due to my health that is all I can properly and financially take care of. But I do feed about 10 homeless cats and kittens a day and a couple of dogs. I always have fresh food and fresh water on the porch. I buy treats as I can afford them living off social security and a small pension. I sit out on the porch sometimes and I talk to them and offer a pat and as much love as I can give them. My life would not be complete without my tail waggers and I thank God every day for bringing them into my life. Just wish I could do more. There is always so much more I want to do.
Thank you for sharing. Thank you for caring and thank you for passing these thoughts along.
When you said you had sort of a breakdown, I had to come over and see what you were talking about even though I had a good idea before I read your post. I totally understand. It breaks my heart every time I read about a dog or cat that needs a home. I didn’t realize how hard it would be when I started the Tuesday’s Tails Blog Hop but believe me, there have been days when I have just sat at the computer looking at all of the dogs that need a home and I have shed my fair share of tears because of it. But then I have to believe that if we share and if just one of the dogs or cats gets adopted it is better than none, so I keep sharing.
That is great that you are thinking about fostering. I have thought about fostering but I have four dogs and where I live, more than four dogs is considered a kennel and you have to have a license. If Phe ever goes back to my son, I want to try to foster but I really don’t want to give Phe up! She’s such a hoot.
I hope you keep joining Tuesday’s Tails! One dog and one cat at a time! That’s all we can do!