How to Deal With an Unwanted Pet

A pet can bring much joy to a person’s life, or it can bring much pain and misery. You see that adorable kitten in the window and you just have to take it home, or your daughter has a fit to buy that cute puppy your neighbor is trying to give away. You purchase the sweet pet and take it home only to discover you have allergies to certain animals, or you realize too late that you can’t afford to feed a pet, or the worst nightmare is when you picked the cutest puppy in the litter only to take it home and find it to be the most stupid animal on the face of the earth. All these scenarios are true incidents for many people, and if you are one of those unfortunate people here are some tips on how to handle that unwanted pet.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Water
• Pet food
• Dishes
• Patience

1. Regardless of how you came about having an unwanted pet, the fact is you do. You can’t, or shouldn’t, kill it, dump it or throw it out of the car while driving down the road. You got it, it’s yours and you need to care for it until you find it a home. Place flyers in the stores, veterinarian offices and with the local Humane Society to find the pet a new home.

2. If your case of an unwanted pet is due to allergies, you can either get medicine to hold you over or you can confine the pet to one room until you find it a new home. Be sure to feed and water the pet until this mission is accomplished.

3. If your pet is stupid, remember, it isn’t the pet’s fault. It could be due to bad breeding or it could be you! Maybe you’re simply not cut out to train a pet, so be patient and look for a new owner. However, be honest and tell anyone interested in taking the pet that it isn’t working out for you and tell them why.

4. Contact your local animal shelter. Chances are it will cost money to give the pet to them as they will have to care for it the same as you would, so don’t flinch at the cost and remember it will be money well spent. If you keep the pet until a new home is found, it will cost money to feed it anyway.

5. There are cases when certain people are allergic to certain animals. You may already have a cat and have no problems, then acquire a new cat and discover you are allergic to it. This is not uncommon and the best way to prevent it from happening is to either be tested for allergies or spend time around an animal before taking it home.

Tips & Warnings

• Nothing can better prepare you for discovering allergies to pets than an allergy test. They are somewhat painful and costly, but well worth the information.
• It’s best to discover you don’t want the animal before taking it home and having the whole family fall in love with it. Set rules for the caring of the animal and let it be known that if the rules aren’t kept the animal must go.

Resources

• Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Your Local Animal Shelter

[lynnkies]

on 8/11/2009 It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. ~Mark Twain