If you want CHANGE get off your butt and GET INVOLVED!

I am a dog trainer, and I know that every time the country goes into a recession thousands of animals are strayed. This also means that thousands of dogs are left to breed at will. Breeding at will creates of course an over abundance of puppies. Our neighbors to the south in the U.S seem to think the answer to this overpopulation problem is to take these animals and place them in what are known on the rescue circuit as High-kill shelters. These are shelters which hold the animal for a short period of time and then euthanize it using the excuse that it was an unadoptable animal. Thousands of dogs meet their end each year in this manner. Some have not yet seen their second month of life! I have never met an unadoptable puppy, have you?

This is not however the subject of my rant, although I will file it away for later addressing. I write today to ask a question which has been annoying me now for quite some time, "Why does everyone seem to think that rescuing the lives of these animals isn't their problem?" Now let me qualify that question with a little background.

I of course am on the social media giant Facebook, I also belong to many animal rights and animal rescue organizations. As such I see an awful lot of postings about animals in high-kill shelters in the U.S states. Urgent cases that need attention now. I also see the replies to those postings, responses like "oh, the poor things! Well I hope someone takes them before it is too late!" and "I would help if I could but my dog doesn't like other dogs." or "if I didn't already have a cat..." You have one cat and don't have room for another? Baloney, I have five, and if need be there is always room for another. You hope someone takes them before it is too late? Why is that someone not YOU?

Everyone reads the same posts as I do, they comment about how sad they are they can not help but hope others will. This is what is wrong with the planet, all of us waiting for someone else to do the work, for someone else to solve the problem, no one willing to be the person who effects the change. So you already have one dog, is one more really going to make that much difference to you? If every household that already had one, took in a second cat or dog imagine how far that could go toward solving the problem?

Do not applaud or pat me on the back and say "great idea!" The concept is not mine, but comes from the brain of Viktor Larkhill of Let's Adopt! International. Viktor calls it +1. For more information on +1 and Let's Adopt! go to http://canada.myletsadopt.com/

My point even though we have arrived here by a meandering path, is simply this, are you going to be the one who sits on the sidelines and never gets into the game, yet blames everyone else for the score? Or, are you going to be the MVP get in there and make a difference?

Balls in your court now! So what's it gonna be? Talk about it here talk about it where ever you like, but talk about it, and get off your ass and make a difference!