While I’m on the topic of animals, I want to address a big problem I see too frequently. As a self-confessed Craigslist whore, I visit the site all the time, and I particularly like the Free Stuff section because you never know what people are going to give away. If somebody’s giving away a bright pink Ab Cruncher, that means that at some point that person thought it was a good idea to purchase a bright pink Ab Cruncher, which is why I find the Craigslist Free Stuff pages so intriguing.
There is one thing that really disturbs me about the free section, and that is the number of animals that are being given away because their owner’s moving to a new place where they’re not allowed to have animals. As a person who considers their animals to be members of the family, I can’t understand this attitude. While I know well the frustrations of trying to find a place to rent when you have pets, with a little effort and patience it can be done. Trust me, I’ve done it many times.
The question that I keep coming to is, why get animals in the first place? Was your dog so cute as a puppy that his or her adorableness caused a momentary brain seizure that made you forget that you were planning to move to a new city in a year? Or are people really just that careless? This is something I just can’t understand.
Rather than just being critical of people who think their pets are just another possession they can give away when life gets hard (oops, there I go doing it again), I’d like to focus on how to help animal owners deal with finding a pet-friendly rental. Of course, there’s always the cat-and-dog feature on Craigslist, but not everyone lives in a place serviced by Craigslist’s joyous listings.
The Humane Society has an online resource for pet owners needing assistance finding a rental. Read the 13 Steps to Finding Animal friendly Housing, or use the provided links to begin your search for an apartment or house where the landlord will welcome your animals. The site even has a list of steps to take that will help make your move easier on both you and your animals.
So, you Craigslist people, now you have no excuse. Every time I see a posting titled “Free Dog-or-Cat to Loving Home, I’m Moving!”, I’ll send you these links. When you buy or adopt an animal, that’s your family. Don’t leave your family behind.
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