I was shopping yesterday and was picking up some dog food, I use a good brand because my feeling is our animals are only as healthy as we allow them to be. I overheard a couple arguing that the good brand was too expensive and the eight dollar bag for fifty pounds was good enough. I must have made a gesture because they were aware that without saying anything I was appalled at her statement.
I walked away and thought to myself that some people should not have pets, and for that matter I wondered if she had kids and they were living on Top Raman? I left the store and went home and later that day I took a few of the Border Collies to the park, I can only handle two of them at a time. Border Collies are very intelligent and any more than two their combined brain power will most likely be more than mine and I am a goner!!
We arrived at the dog park and a half hour later guess who showed up with two of the skinniest unhealthy looking Great Danes I have ever seen, yep, the cheap dog food lady. I waited and watched these poor under fed dogs walk around, you could see their ribs and I kept quiet as long as I could. I walked over to the table where she was sitting, and two ladies were actually pointing and commenting on the skinny dogs. I walked over to the lady and said may I ask you a question? She said yeah, so I asked why she had dogs. She said I love my dogs, I said no you do not. I reminded her of the morning conversation I overheard, and now seeing the evidence I told her that I would be reporting her to the ASPCA. She said "dogs are expensive", I said "you should have realized that before you got the dogs". I then commented on the Mercedes SUV she drove up in with new car tags on it, not that it should be an issue, and was none of my business, but I was stating priorities and she had a bad set of them. I said you should immediately put these dogs up for adoption. She was upset but soon six or seven people came up and started giving her HELL. She got up, went to her car and came back with a folder. She opened it up and signed two pieces of paper, she then threw them on the table and said, they are yours now, have fun. I looked at the papers and they were the AKC papers on her dogs, she left us all sitting there in utter amazement.
She drove away, and to be honest this is the longest time in my life I have ever been speechless. Soon after this a lady came in the park and came up with a beautiful and healthy Great Dane and came over and said is this a party? Her dog out weighed the others by almost fifty pounds, she looked at them and said she was going to be sick. She said she was here visiting her sister from San Diego where she owns and operates a large dog, no kill rescue center. I filled her in and she said she would love to take them, but for herself not for adoption.
We turned around and all three Danes were running and playing. It was as if the two knew they had been saved from the Hell they have been in. Everyone looked at me to make a decision, and instantly the answer was yes. The women formally introduced herself to us and presented papers and articles on her center. Rave reviews from the city of San Diego, articles from the newspaper and her book had hundreds of thank you letters from satisfied adoptive humans.
So the moral of the story, sometimes we do need to get involved as animals cannot speak for themselves. Some people should never have pets, or children and some should not even have friends.
While we are on the subject here are a few healthy tips for your animals. Always get a good quality food, maybe not the most expensive, but at least the highest quality you can afford. Add fresh vegetables to the diet either in the food or as treats, they are great for their breath and digestive tract. Large soup bones are a wonderful treat, the marrow is good for their bones and for their teeth, most butchers will cut some up for you if you ask. Supplement the diet with things like Barley dog green food powder, Mezotrace pet minerals, Barleans flax oil for joint lubrication and joint health formulas for older dogs with problems. One thing, I mean another plus, all of these steps can save you costly vet bills while you keep your animals in top shape.
Just as you car will run lousy on bad gas and cannot run at peak performance, your animals are only as healthy as you take the time to allow them to be..Remember unconditional love is a saving grace for many people, and dogs never care that you are having a bad hair day, they just want to be there when you need some lovin.
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