Rumpydog

If you’re connected to me on LinkedIn, you know what I do for a living.  If you don’t know, then suffice it to say I work with people who are in crisis.

Sometimes what I face makes me very angry.

Sometimes it makes me cry.

Love shouldn’t hurt

As an objective observer, I can often see how the current crisis could have been averted. The most common roadblocks are misunderstanding, miscommunication, and a lack of support.

In many ways, I see the same roadblocks hindering us from being effective advocates for animals.

Bubba in a basket

We are quick to tell people what to do, and slow to listen to what they have to say.

We are quick to condemn and slow to offer a helping hand.

We have a long list of people to blame for the problems instead of focusing on solutions.

I am sad that few of you chose to take the challenge

Why do we act the way we do?  In my case it usually boils down to me feeling overwhelmed and insecure.

And when I feel those feelings, I come up with all sorts of excuses why I should just stay in my safe little cocoon and not choose to take action.  I’m afraid. I can’t afford it. I don’t have time. I don’t want others to make fun of me or berate me for not taking the “right” stand. And then there’s my personal favorite- I don’t think it’s right to be concerned about animals when so many people suffer.  I have been guilty of using each one of these and more.

Sometimes I think, with all this infighting within the animal welfare community, why should one even bother?

We are a movement in crisis. We are being attacked by shadow organizations fronted by puppy mills and animal agriculture. Our voices compete with businesses who want us to spend our money, which they will donate a percentage of to charity, but don’t ask us to think about the problems they claim to want to fix. We live in a world that continues to allow mass breeding of companion animals with impunity and mass exploitation of wild animals. All the while, we sit on our hands and argue about the best way to train our dogs and the best food to feed them.  

So why do I keep writing this silly little blog in the voice of a goofy dog and angry cat, trying to evoke in my readership an epiphany? Maybe because somebody needs to.  And with enough of us somebodies calling for positive action, change WILL come.

Will you join me and be a positive voice for change?

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Here’s your daily reminder to vote for Rumpy in the World Spay Day Pet Pageant!  I can’t stress enough to you the importance of your asking your friends to vote. This is about getting them to think about the importance of spay/neuter, and asking them to vote does just that! Plant those seeds!