Love Can Never Be Bought Only Rescued!!!

There is a growing trend of wanting a four legged companion in our lives. People are realising the increased physical and mental benefits of having a household pet. With this the breeding industry is blooming. As a rescuer it is heart breaking to see the condition in which some of these animals are kept and used for, as a commercial item. The lack of stringent laws and regulations further make it extremely hard to keep a check on backyard breeders in India.

The term backyard breeder is used for someone who doesn’t have scientific knowledge of the same and neither a certification to breed. There a few key issues that arise out of this lack of knowledge. First, the ethicality of breeding is a huge concern. Ideally the mother should be given a break of six months after each litter for her body to recover. The female however in this case is forced to gulp down high amounts of hormones and made to stand on something we call as rape chairs to be mated forcefully. Also during the gestation period she is to be provided with the bestest of the care and regular vet check ups that rarely can be afforded by these people. Lastly, because of the lack of the right knowledge, the off springs can often be born with a lot of deformities and behavioural issues.

As a rescuer I don’t believe that any form of breeding should be supported whether ethical or not. Reason being, there are already a lot of strays roaming around homeless that deserve your love and compassion. Secondly the misconception that strays are less tamed makes people avoid them. They are as much lovable as any pedigree dogs or cats. Its love that matters and love is never pure when bought. How can you earn true happiness when it comes at the expense of the mothers of your pets being used as a commercial item.

Many people go to the extent of leaving behind all reason and logic to want animals because of their looks. As the animal grows looks often don’t match their behaviour and it leads to them being abandoned. Lastly the most disgustful of the people are those who come on these adoption forums and demand breeds because they somehow have the idea that they can acquire expensive breeds here for free.

To tackle the problem the adoption coordinators have to spend a lot of time behind each family or individual that approach us. We need to get to the root of each demand that these groups of people throw at us. Many of them do have good intentions as well and it is equally important that one doesn't start off on the wrong foot because that can force them to go and buy instead. So we make detailed forms and ask about all sorts of contingency plans they have, how well informed they are about what they are asking and if they have the means to provide it. There is a thorough house check carried out followed by signing of a contract before the final hand off. The key to being a good adoption coordinator is to find the right balance between being thorough but being polite as well. Coordinators are often sceptical of people putting conditions on adoption. Demands like a particular breed, age, colour and sex. These are things which thwart the essence of adoption. The whole point of it is to give home to a needy. And most of all I don’t get the fascination a lot of Indians have towards foreign breeds. At the end of the day it is sad that an Indian dog or cat has to feel homeless and unwanted in it’s own country where Indian people like itself doesn't want it.