According to Lysander in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream - "The course of true love never did run smooth". Although he was talking about his own love for Hermia, it is a belief that may be ruefully echoed by those in the animal welfare community as they try to find the perfect adopters to provide "true love" for the animals in their care.
The finding of true love in the human world is elusive enough, even with the assistance of poetry, candlelit meals, flowers, and (of course) chocolates - how much more so for those homeless cats and dogs whose greatest assets may be submerged under layers of shyness and fear? Were we living in the Victorian era we could leave bouquets of flowers to speak for the animals - bunches of sweetpeas mixed with Queen Anne’s lace could be left outside the cage of a shy delicate female, a display of violets would be more appropriate for a faithful hound and a collection of cosmos mixed with forget-me-nots would speak volumes for the peaceful tabby who is so quiet it could be lost in the shuffle. But, the language of flowers is long lost in our society, and the animals unfortunately cannot speak for themselves.
The fate of all these thousands of animals therefore lies with you - the animal welfare community, and it is not an easy task. In the Sept -Oct ’07 edition of Animal Sheltering (Judgement Calls) some of the trials and difficulties facing adoption counselors on a daily basis were highlighted. Sadly the comment that "All it takes is for one person to have a bad experience with a shelter dog and it could turn them off from adopting forever." speaks volumes about the fickle nature of many potential adopters.
This week to celebrate Valentine’s Day we would like to hear from you about a special cat or dog for whom your organization has found "true love". To say thank you for all your daily efforts on behalf of homeless cats and dogs, we'll profile your stories on our new social network PawsConnect to get the word out to pet lovers everywhere. The winner will receive 75 24PetWatch microchips! Click here to submit your story!
Don’t forget to tell new adopters about their 30-day gift of ShelterCare Insurance - it may make the difference between a temporary home and a forever home!
