Visions of animals dance in my head

There are a lot of animals here right now in our tiny 1700 sq foot house.
In fact I have a couple of candles lit at the moment to freshen the not so fresh air.
I look forward to a spacier home soon to accommodate the animals, who at this point, even outnumber our children.
But I must say that I so appreciate Abby's loving gaze and her sweet ways.
I love that Lucy thinks the kitten is her pup and she takes care of her, bathing her, protecting her and even scolding her.
Most of all, I am in absolute adoration with the kitten. She is the sweetest little kitty and lives to be held and snuggle under my chin. I love that there isn't the love hate relationship that seems to exist between people and their dogs.
There is just love because cats are just not capable of annoyance.
I am laughing as I type this because I just know that come December, when JuneBug rips ornaments off our tree or is found hanging from a stocking I might change my tune! :)

Also, I have a social commentary on self-righteous pet rescuers.
And, by the way, this message is coming from a girl who rescued the mice in her
Colorado home in the winter in an aquarium, feeding them peanut butter and crackers until it was warm enough to let them free because she couldn't bear to poison them, so I am not callous about animals!
Rescuing a pet from the pound or humane society is an absolute noble awesome thing, and I have witnessed many great family pets coming from that exact scenario.
Tim and I have always been faithful donaters to the ASPCA and I'm sure we'll rescue one day too.
However, there is nothing and I repeat NOTHING wrong with purchasing an animal from a responsible breeder.
Just because there are irresponsible pet owners out there who neglect their pets or allow uncontrolled breeding to occur does not mean that we should all be forced to take home the products of these uncontrolled breedings when we go looking for a new pet.
Many people have special requirements they have to consider as well, such as allergies, or perhaps they are searching for a particular temperment due to a bad experience with a certain breed.

Furthermore, I ask you, if it is so selfish to purchase a pet "when there are just so many out there to adopt" then isn't it selfish to have your own child when there are sooo many starving orphans out there in the world to adopt?
One might say that the adoption fees for animals are minuscule compared to those of children, but really? If the adoption fees were significantly less for a child, would you forgo having your own because it was far more socially responsible to adopt?
Lastly, those of us who take the time to research the type of pet we'd like to spend the next 10 to 20 years with and are willing to pay the price tag for that particular pet are FAR MORE likely to keep that pet till death do us part then those who pick one up at the pound.
After all, many of the pets at the pound right now are ones who have been adopted out and returned.

I thank God that there are people walking through the humane societies every weekend in search of their new best friend and believe me, before JuneBug I was one of those people. But I am also thankful for the breeders out there who are searching for and ensuring the best temperaments and health in their animals and who charge the prices they do to ensure their babies find forever homes.
Amen.