kicking puppies is bad

In the time I am brushing my teeth in the morning, 19 animals are euthanized in US animal shelters.** Of course, if you are the average American, only 9 animals are euthanized while you brush your teeth because you only brush your teeth for 54 seconds (as opposed to the recommended 2 minutes). Why do you only brush your teeth for 54 seconds? Oral Hygiene is important. Regardless, that is a *lot* of puppies euthanized in the duration of your toothbrushing (even if you *are* only brushing for 54 seconds).

I have fostered 3 dogs for rescue organizations this year. Assuming that this means 3 dogs were saved from euthanasia, this means I have had a 0.00006% impact on the euthanasia problem. 0.00006% is not a enough. This makes me sad. Dead puppies make me sad. They should make you sad too. You should spay/neuter your pets. You shouldn’t give crappy reasons for not doing so like: “It’s not natural” or “I want my children to witness the miracle of birth” or “My dog is cute and unique there should be more of her”. Show your kids a freaking video. There are (literally) millions of “cute unique” dogs dying at animal shelters every year.

One unspayed female dog, her mate and their offspring can produce an obscene number of puppies in 7 years (various sources suggest numbers between 5000 and 67000 – it is exponential, so small changes in assumptions about average litter size and litter per year have a huge effect on final numbers). Either way, it is a LOT of puppies.

Spay/Neuter your freaking pet. I can’t take in more foster animals – I’m already turning into the “crazy dog lady”. And spaying/neutering your pets has a HUGE impact on the problem. I apparently only have 0.00006% impact.

** This assumes a constant rate of euthanasia, which is crazy. There are over 5,000,000 animals euthanized each year in US animal shelters, but most animals are euthanized during normal business hours. Since I get up at 5:27am, there probably aren’t 19 animals euthanized as I brush my teeth. But you get the idea.