Puppy love

I'm what you'd call an "animal person."

No, let me rephrase that.

I'm a sucker for animals, and someday when my kids come home toting some stray dog or cat and asking, "Mom, can we keep it?" they won't even have to add a "pleeeeeeeeeeease?" because I'm a pushover when it comes to helpless critters. I still cry buckets of tears every time I read Where the Red Fern Grows.

This is how I ended up with a cat. I found two sad, helpless kittens on the street.

"I'm only going to keep them long enough to get them healthy and then I'll find good homes for them, I swear!" I insisted. Yeah right.

One unfortunately died after only a day-he was too far gone when we found him but at least he had a nice, full tummy and a soft, warm place to curl up for a little while. Poor kitten. (Um...OK, now I've made myself get teary-eyed. How lame am I?) As for the other one, well, he found a good home. My home. And don't think for one second I could even consider moving back to the States without him. Spoiled rotten cat. :)

Anyway, I recently learned something about one of my least-favorite people. This individual is an unfit pet owner. Surprise, surprise.

This person has a puppy who is almost a year old, and the poor little thing-who has never seen a vet before-is sick. She's got some weird skin disease (possibly mange) and some tummy problems and this person won't get a vet. It's just a dog, so it's a waste of money.

JUST A DOG?!

I'm sorry, but when you decide to become an animal's person, you have responsibilities! It's one thing if you can't afford expensive medical treatments (and if you can't afford basic treatments, then you probably can't afford a pet).

It's entirely another if you're just a jerk who doesn't feel any sort of responsibility for the living creatures in your life. It's even less excusable here, where the vet comes right to your house and is outrageously inexpensive.

I very nearly didn't move here because I could hardly stand the thought of leaving my dog. It took a good nine months for me to convince myself I wasn't a bad person for "abandoning" him, and we'd left Charlie with my parents! If you aren't an animal person (and if you aren't, it's OK to admit) it might seem stupid, but pets are family.

Now, I'm a (sort of) rational person. Hearing about celebrities spending thousands of dollars on Gucci sweaters and Swarovski collars for their pocket-sized pooches makes me want to smack my head against a wall. A $3 can of tennis balls and a scratch under the chin is all it takes to make my dog happy, and our cat's favorite toys are various invisible things he chases around the house.

But if someone has a noticeably sick, miserable pet and their reason for not getting it medical help is that "it's not worth it"...wow. I would think this would qualify that individual as a bad person. There's just no excuse for being mean to a helpless creature.

I've gotten myself all worked up about this now. I feel like 7-year-old Erin, crying indignant tears about the sad puppies and kitties of the world. Some things a person never outgrows.

I suppose, though, that there are far worse things than caring too much.

Go hug a pet. If you don't have one, don't worry-I'll hug mine extra.