We have all seen it… The animal rescue community engaging in a 40 plus comment feed of someone who posted that they accidently let their unfixed pet have a cute litter…

It’s pretty much the type of post that brings out an inner Satan of anger in every good animal person, and fuels a wildfire so large that it spreads throughout an array of Facebook timelines and cannot be contained.

Stay calm in my next sentence…

 

We must be OVERLY kind to these people…

 

Yes yes I know… But why? And HOW? Try and hear me out on this one…

Just this week we had someone who had 2 female cats and 13 kittens that they were mothers to. They had no place for the kittens except for a friend who wanted two. They lived out in the country where low cost spay and neuter is non existent and they couldn’t afford $200 per spay surgery.

How Demi’s Animal Rescue responded was along the lines of this…

We want to help you. We wish there were more resources out there for you. If you will drive ALL of the cats to us, the adults you own and their kittens, not only will we take the kittens you don’t have homes for, but we will spay and neuter ALL of the cats for free. One of our board members even offered to drive and meet her half way.

Now you have to admit this person was going to get a kick ass deal. Take 11 kittens off her hands, her friend will get the two kittens she wanted, but now they will come spayed and neutered and her own cats will now be fixed free of charge.

This is how the rescue community or any animal lover should respond to these types of posts.

  1. Ultimately it gets the job done… The goal here is to fix these pets so that it doesn’t happen again, so get the job done.
  2. Make it easy and convenient. There is a reason why their pet isn’t fixed yet. Maybe they cannot afford it, maybe they work 2 jobs and don’t have the time, maybe they’re just lazy. Make it easy for people to do the right thing by offering what you need to.
  3. Be kind and patient. Accusing the person of being irresponsible, an animal killer, and horrible person WILL NOT encourage them to go get their pets fixed. People will only listen if you remain kind and helpful. I also don’t recommend running out of the gates with facts such as, “this many animals are dying each year in shelters, you need to get your pet fixed” or “getting your pet fixed will reduce your pet’s aggression.” I usually begin by figuring out if they have tried to get their pet fixed before and using that information to HELP them get it done.

 

It is a very large possibility that these people are simply uneducated on what is going on with homeless pets and they just need some education and help to do the right thing. You may be thinking that it is not your responsibility to make sure someone else’s pet is fixed, but if you are in the mission of saving animals, it is. It sucks and it shouldn’t have to be that way… but it just is.

 

You will also find that by being kind and helpful it is also possible that we may gain someone that is inspired to do more. They may pay it forward by adopting their next pet or volunteering, you just never know.