[IanDrake]

>I have a small ax to grind over people getting pets who aren't prepared to give the pets the attention they need to be happy.

While I generally agree, how do you reconcile this with the thousands of dogs euthanized every day in kill shelters because no one will take them?

[yannyu]

I love dogs, I think it's terrible that we have so many in shelters and so many being euthanized. I wish we could provide happy homes for all of them.

That being said, I would rather euthanize a dog than put it in a home or half-a-home where it isn't cared for in the way it should be. I would rather it not suffer at all, than for it to be ignored, not loved, or not looked after.

[slipperyp]

I'm not thrilled about that at all, either. My dog is from a shelter (it was a no-kill shelter but I looked at kill shelters, too). Basically, I think more people need to take care of their pets and more people need to help sterilize pets that there don't appear to be anyone to take care of. My parents got a few ferral cats in Texas "fixed" and I know a guy in rural Peru who was supporting this mostly out of his own pocket. I think those types of things are probably the best approach (and I donate money to a local shelter and know one of the services they perform is sterilization of stray animals). Mostly, though, I think that's just another sad situation in addition to people not taking care of their pets (a mild form of animal abuse) and think they are mostly separate issues.