There are four main categories of people who are interested in adopting a dog but ultimately end up with failed adoptions:
-Those looking for a 3-4 kilo, white, fluffy dog because this type of dog “fits” in their home (in their opinion, bigger dogs aren’t suitable for a house!), is easy to handle, and they want to hold it in their arms all the time.
-Those looking for specific breeds (e.g., a Labrador) not because they know and can cater to the particular needs of each breed, but because someone told them they are “good dogs” and suitable for a home.
-Those who want a guard dog for the house.
-Those who want a dog for their children to play with.
All of them tend to ignore the matter of the dog’s personality and character, focusing instead on its color and size. And like prisoners of a photograph, they believe that dogs have an on-off switch, that they have no needs (or that these needs are minimal and easily manageable), that a dog is easy and quick to train, and that it will tolerate their children doing anything to it. The result of all this is that they either get bored of the dog quickly, or the dog starts developing behavioral problems. Thus, it easily ends up (very easily, in fact, since for all these people the dog is disposable) as a stray, on a rooftop, or even abused…
The phenomenon is more than sad. Not just because they can’t grasp what a dog can give to a person and because they consider it a simple toy. But mainly because, in trying to satisfy their own egos, they destroy living beings, with thoughts and feelings. Creatures who would have to be doubly lucky for the rest of their lives to find someone with the willingness and ability to help them.
Of course, it’s never their own fault. The dog is always to blame—the one that bit and pooped in their house. The one that destroyed their furniture and slippers. It doesn’t matter if the dog was never taken for a walk or if it ate wood. What matters is shifting the responsibility. The excuse. The elimination of guilt (do they even have any?). And the unhindered continuation of their lives.
Don’t adopt if you haven’t informed yourself about the needs of the dog you want and if you aren’t sure you can handle it. Don’t adopt if you consider a dog a toy and a disposable item. Don’t adopt if you believe a dog’s place is on the rooftop, on the balcony, or in the yard. Don’t adopt if you believe that hitting it with a stick “will fix it.” Don’t adopt if you think it deserves and is satisfied with permanent chaining. You won’t get into trouble, and you won’t get the dogs into trouble either. After all, they deserve to be loved, just as, and so much more, dogs love people. A lot, and forever.
