Rant about "rehoming pet shaming"
I was triggered by someone in another forum trying to rehome a mix-breed dog because it grew up into an 80lb animal that isn't suited for apartment/city life and has severe agoraphobia--and their owner predictably being shamed over their decision to rehome their dog.
Telling people "I hope you never get another pet" and sh*t like that is so self-righteous, so tone-deaf, and can be outright harmful to both people and animals. Yet I see it ALL THE TIME. These people would (apparently) rather see an animal suffer than be rehomed. But.. do they ever offer to take the pet in themselves? No. Do they ever offer to pay for professional training, or supplies, or whatever else might be needed to help keep a pet and their owner together? Lol, of course not!
No one should be shamed into keeping a pet, when doing so would mean a worse life for the animal (or the owner!).
The same people who shame others for rehoming pets will then be all "shocked Pikachu face" the next time they see a story about a hoarder who kept a bunch of animals that they couldn't actually take care of. "Why did they let their animals suffer instead of asking for help or taking them to a shelter?" they will whine... I don't know, maybe because owners don't like being treated like Satan for rehoming a pet? Maybe that has something to do with it. Just spitballing here.. You can't have it both ways though. If you don't want animals to suffer in homes that can't meet their needs, then STOP SHAMING PEOPLE for trying to help their pets via rehoming! I work in animal rescue, I've worked in animal rescue for two decades now. The last thing I want is for someone to try keeping a pet that they can't take care of. Our adoption contracts specifically require people to return their pet to us if they cant take care of it anymore, for any reason, no questions asked.
Don't accuse an owner of not caring about their pet because they want to rehome it. People who reach out looking for a better home for their pet typically DO care, which is exactly WHY they are trying to rehome it in the first place! Do you know what people who DON'T care do when they don't want an animal anymore? They take it out back and shoot it, or they dump it in the woods, or they throw it over a bridge or out of a moving car or into a lake. I grew up in a rural area. We found dead dogs with bullet holes in them, dead dogs in trash bags, elderly dogs tossed into dry creek beds barely clinging to life, skeletons of dogs that were abandoned in the woods in the middle of winter and left to slowly starve and freeze to death. THAT is what people who "don't care" do.
Part of ethical pet ownership also means being able to recognize when a pet would be better off NOT being your pet. You aren't "failing" your pet if you rehome it to someone who can take better care of it than you. You ARE failing your pet if you insist on keeping it when you can't provide for it. That includes psychological needs. That includes having to rehome your pet because you can't spend enough time with it, or it needs more space, or more exercise. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people being demonized over this. "No, you can't rehome Mr Pickles (even though you don't have any time to play with him or take him on walks or anything), because Mr Pickles LOVES you! All he needs is your love!!! He will be traumatized forever without you" Yeah, no.. Mr Pickles probably does love you, he probably adores and worships you. But you know what he would probably love even more? Being in a home where he has someone to play with, or who has a big yard for him to run in. Pet ownership isn't a romance novel where love magically fixes everything.
The other day I saw someone getting shamed for rehoming some god-d*amned axolotls.. Madness. And don't even get me started on people who shame others for remoming a pet because of behavioral issues that the owner is not equipped to handle.