Dog Days of Recession

Posted on March 5, 2008
Filed Under General |

This is no light-hearted, middle of the road offering from the coffers of Muttspace. No, this is a call to arms! It seems that the family dog is the latest victim of economic fallout. Cut down on the rawhide you say? Doable. Maybe a switch from Nutra to Purina One may help allay some food cost fears?? Surely it must, at least on the surface. What other adjustments are some Americans making in regards to the economic pressure the family dog inflicts on the budget? Well, what some responsible dog owners have taken to is the most un-American of all choices…they are giving up. Cut and run. Drop the dog at the shelter and go fill up the Hummer 2 with some petrol. Beyond Hillary v Obama, beyond WMD - doggonnit beyond Brittney for mutts sake. Is this what our country is coming to? We know about consumption and a disposable society - but c’mon. Our dogs are not disposable!!!

Seriously, due to the economic woes facing the nation, some people are actually giving their dogs up for adoption because they can no longer afford to keep them. This seems totally unacceptable from our point of view, but then again that is four-legged. How do the masses feel? Commiserate for the dogs, not the poor owners. Maybe if they dropped Starbucks everyday, they could afford to feed their dog. Maybe, the $600 family cell phone plan could use a bit of restructuring to accommodate Fido’s sustenance. Maybe one day, people as a whole will be a lot more fun to be around than dogs…Probably not as far as we’re concerned. The kibble ball foresees economic adjustments being made by responsible dog owners in the near and long term. For the stupid, ill-prepared people out there; A bit of preventative medicine - please do not adopt a dog in the first place! Just as those wrongfully on public assistance drain the system, so too can wrongful pet adoption. Take a look at the swelling shelter populations, or the ever increasing annual numbers of euthanized animals. Please learn to take care of your own behind before you elect to be responsible for that of another. Did someone say too many apathetic, narcissistic, undisciplined kids?? Oh, ahem…uh no, sorry, we didn’t mean…uh, different story. Has no relation here whatsoever…

We at Muttspace wonder how the Greatest Generation - of Mutts and Men; how they would feel about our present state of affairs.

Too many questions to raise here - I’ll leave the opinions to the Mutt masses. From our tone here, Muttspace sentiments are crystal clear. How does the rest of the canine contingency out there feel? Are these just irresponsible dog owners giving up their pets regardless of the economic situation? Are people really that affected by this economic downturn, that our pets are suffering? What steps can we take to mitigate our budgetary concerns, while keeping our precious pooch’s best interests at heart? That should be the main focus - stay tuned for more there. We’ll do some research, run some surveys - and see what we come up with. Again, we’re not the WSJ here, so don’t expect forecasts. Just take everything with a grain of kibble…and don’t be afraid to bark out every once in awhile.

Your Dog will thank you for it, they love you anyway.

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