Making a commitment

Commitment: a pledge or promise to do something; dedication to a long-term course of action, engagement or involvement.

Sometimes, people use the term commitment in an inproper fashion. This happens with too much frequency in the world of animal adoption. It even happens when people do the wrong thing and buy a dog or cat.

I find it interesting that long-term means different things to different people. To some it means until the new wears off. Others believe it means for the life of the animal. Still others think commitment only lasts until the next change happens in their lives.

Many of us in the animal welfare world see this happen on a daily basis. We see animals leave, with wagging tails and shiny coats and then come back two or three years later with matted fur, covered in ticks with cataracts in their eyes. When we ask what happened, there is no explanation, simply excuses. What happened to the commitment made to the animal?

Fortunately, we see the other side. Where the commitment was made and the person followed through to the best of their ability.

One of my favorite shelter dogs of all times was an English Bulldog/Pit bulldog named Munson. I have written of him often and saw him returned time and time again (4 times in all) to the shelter because although the people adopting him made a commitment, they didn't keep it.

His new Mom, Pam, made that commitment. He has been gone for almost a year now. He lives down south with a German Shepherd named Sere and spends lots of time at the dog beach. His life if good now as you can see by the contented way he is sleeping.

Munson never let the lack of commitment on a human's part get him down. He still loved people. He never lost that. The last time he was returned we wondered would he recover. He did and several of us made our own commitment. If he was ever returned, one of us would take him. He deserved that.

When you make a commitment to own a pet, please follow through. Pets need that stability in their lives. They may not all turn out to have a happy ending like Munson did.