A Dog is a Serious Commitment (Cats Too!)

My son had found Molly, a chocolate lab on North Avenue in Plano, IL wandering around several times.

He always brought her back home to the owner's porch as they were never home.

They had a dog yet not a yard completely fenced in less than 100 yards from a train track on 1st Avenue in Plano, IL.

They had a dog and yet let her wander around.

And yes, if it had been me and not my son, I would have kept the dog and contacted the ASPCA or local animal/police agency because of the train tracks being less than 100 yards away.

One night my son and his fiance heard a loud boom as the train hit it's breaks hard to no avail.

Molly the chocolate lab had been hit by a train and killed October of 2011.

If you are going to have a dog, be responsible.................do not let them wander.

Why not let them wander?

Let's see -

* Poison meant for rats, mice and maybe even wandering dogs (there are mean cruel heartless people).
* Trains
* Cars
* Crazy, sick people that either catch and sell dogs (and cats) to labs or simply torture them themselves.
* Out in the country..............traps
* Coyotes that hunt in packs
* Fences a dog can try to jump or crawl under and get their collar hung on and strangulate.

All kinds of stuff can happen to your domestic companion being left on their own.

A dog (or cat) is like having a toddler....................if you really really love them, you will watch and guard over them.

There are too many dangers out there and getting hit by a train is a horrible way to die.

If you are going to have a dog, do it right, watch them closely, even in a fenced in back yard.



* Dogs should not be left alone in a car ever............something could detain you, weather can change, the brakes could go, any number of things could happen.

* For God's sake if you live near train tracks or a busy street really keep an eye on your dog. Mine I go out with her in our completely fenced in back yard and walk her on a leash for 3 miles every day. I never just leave my dog alone unsupervised outside our home EVER!

* A dog is a serious commitment....................if you are going to get one - do it right and not half arse.

If this message saves one dog or cat, just one in honor of a little chocolate lab my son said was a wonderful dog. He wishes now, he would have could have gotten involved more.

My son says that he will forever feel guilty that he did not get involved more and that he cared more for little Molly the chocolate lab in Plano, IL than her owners did...........

My dog says it's the other way around... humans are a huge commitment... at least until they get us trained.

Now, if you'll excuse me.. .I have ears to rub : /

reply to post by Resinveins


Good reply and mine has me trained very well.

Yes sadly too many dog owners see their 'pet' as little more than a status symbol, or a fashion accessory or too much work after a few months ownership. Unfortunately, these bad owners give all of us more responsible people a bad rep, and more importantly the dogs themselves suffer.

reply to post by ofhumandescent


I live in a college town. My wife noticed there are tons of college kids with puppies, but none with adult dogs? Are they just moving away before the dogs grow up, or are they getting a dog, realizing it is a serious commitment, and realizing apartments don't accept them very well, and then letting them go or taking them to the pound?

We were trying to be optimistic, but we let a college girl move in to our upstairs, she wanted a puppy, she had it a month or two, decided to get an apartment, and the dog got left behind. Then we let another college girl move in upstairs, she wanted to get a Chihuahua (I hate those), we said no, said no, then she found a great deal she couldn't pass up, so we let her get the dog. It's been 3 months, the dog has been for sale on Craig's List for 2 of those months. She hates it, we hate it, and it has to go.

Yes, dogs are a serious commitment!! I don't know about cats. Mine have always been outside. I just throw some food out and scratch their belly when they are on the hood of my car. They don't seem like much trouble, LOL!

I had two cats. From two days back I have three cats.
Because my mom bought a cat and two years into it's life she felt like it was "to much of a pain and not like a cat should be". So i adopted him to my cat-pack. He went from strange cat to normal cat in 1 and a half day of beatings from the other cats. But now he is like any other cat.

What i wanna say with this is don't try to rationalize the animals "feelings" or actions like you would with a human, because it's not a human. It's an animal.

And the cost for a cat might not be as high as for a dog, but they are in a huge need of affection and they can become smart as hell. So don't buy a cat "instead" of a dog.

reply to post by ofhumandescent
I would also like to ask people to consider other factors when looking to get a dog as well - some breeds need a lot of exercise, as well as a lot of space.

Not many things come closer to breaking my heart than seeing a large dog likely neglected, stressed out and anxious boxed up in a tiny pen. It almost seems like I can feel them dying inside. Animals aren't meant to be caged for long periods of time, or shut away alone.

If you can't properly care for an animal, don't get one.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I hope your cats are neutered or spayed..............we kill an average of 8-10 million dogs and cats a year simply because there are not enough homes.

And guess what, the needle is too expensive and they are now using compression chambers so they can render and resell the meat for $$$$$, everything now is about $$$$$..........yes I've researched this and it is not done everywhere but yes some places in America.

www.truthaboutpetfood.com...

Again, my second son has two cats and both are kept indoors and watched.

Sorry, if you're going to have a domestic animal companion or a kid................do it right or don't do it.

My own humble opinion and I happen to be a real child and animal advocate.

This is my dog.........My favorite episode of The original Twilight Zone is "The Hunt".



She was on death row in Georgia and saved by Pointers Rescue dot org..........these people are absolute heroes.

reply to post by ofhumandescent


Thank you for this thread. I agree. I feel so bad for that dog, I love dogs.

This also reminds me of something that happened this morning. This morning it was cold outside (about 29-30 degrees) and there was a cat sleeping on our porch. It was the neighbors cat and they just let him stay out in the cold all night. I unfortunately couldn't bring him inside as we also have cats and don't want to risk exposing them to anything/having the cats fight etc. My boyfriend wanted to put out a blanket or cat bed at least to keep the cat warm though. I am at work so I don't know what happened but I do feel bad for the cat. I want to take it to the shelter but they currently have about 600 cats already but we may contact them to see if they can talk to the neighbors or something. That just doesn't seem right to have an animal and then make it sleep outside like that when it is below zero.

We also have coyotes and foxes and have seen them both chase cats and run off with dead cats before. I will always keep my pets indoors (and with a dog, in a yard).

reply to post by Praetorius


How right you are..............a English Pointer (and Lucy turned 7 October 22, 2011) requires a three mile walk a day plus a run about in our big fenced in back yard (supervised).

Very good post.

People should do research and think long and hard on which breed to get.

Also, please adopt, spay and neuter....................my Lucy was a puppy mill "brood #itch. She produced puppies that were sold either at auctions or pet shops.

We adopted Lucy because she was rescued from doggie death row.................and in the seven months we have had her, not one drop of anything in the house. No on the furniture, she is one hell of a dog, sweet, gentle, smart and loving.

She's quite a dog, my sweet little Lucy.

worst thing i can remember hearing in cruelty is that greyhound owners once the dogs are no longer able to race just used to grab a ferry from England to Ireland and half way chuck the unwanted dogs overboard to save them the cost of getting them either put down or the hassle of rehomeing them

What a cute lab! Im sorry for your loss!

reply to post by ofhumandescent


Yep, they are both neutered. They came from SOCKS. A no-kill shelter. "Save Our Cats and Kittens." I didn't get them on purpose, not really a cat person, but my brother is, and he thought I needed a couple.

My dog, (my dog, not the inherited one, or the chihuahua), but my dog is from the humane society, and he is neutered as well. Our humane society claims to be a no-kill shelter, but they rotate dogs with a bigger unit in Tampa, and the bigger unit does kill, so our shelter is really lying. If a dog isn't adopted here, it is traded for dogs there, and then they kill it.

reply to post by ofhumandescent


Your dog is so adorable! I'm happy to hear that she was rescued. It makes me so mad when my aunt says she doesn't want to adopt from a shelter because they are "second hand animals." She buys her puppies from pet shops.

I also adopted my last cat from the shelter. She had been left behind in a house when her owners moved and was skinny and malnurished when someone brought her into the shelter. She had been at the shelter for about 5 months when I found her and fell in love. She had most likely been passed up because she is a black cat. She is the sweetest cat I could have ever asked for and never tears up anything and is not noisy etc.

Quality thread here!

My neighbors are the definition of the people you are talking about. They kept letting their dog wander the neighborhood and chase cars, and guess who hit it one day? ME!!!!
I didn't even see it run out. I'm just glad that I didn't kill it. It was limping for a few weeks, but the real clincher was when I got out and went to their door to tell them that I'd hit their dog (he'd already scurried into the house when they opened the door), they actually replied, "Well, we knew it was going to happen eventually."

I'm amazed that they just don't teach their granddaughter to stay out of the street in the same way.

reply to post by LoveyLadybug


A star for your post and your boyfriend wanting to put a blanket out there sounds very nice.

Possibly contacting your local animal agency, like the ASPCA and having this cat picked up would be best.

Eventually this cat will either freeze to death or get hit by a car or truck and maybe die slowly. Also many smaller dogs and cats do get torn apart and eaten alive by coyotes..........sorry to be so graphic but this is nature. And it's a horrible way to die.

You would truly be doing this cat a favor by first talking to the owners if you feel they would not get mad at you. I have found that many people that have this old style attitude are not receptive or friendly to trying to show them how to treat a companion animal correctly...........so maybe your best best is talking to your local animal welfare agency and seeing what your options are. Maybe this can be handled anonymously so you do not jeopardize your relationship with them.

Also, maybe leave some information in their mail box about leaving your companion animal out to roam.

We have coyotes across the street from us and our Lucy is only 44.5 pounds so I go out with her at night even in our fenced in yard.

The coyotes have never crossed the street and come near our house but if they do, I'm ready, got a steel base ball bat.

Lucy gets along surprisingly with our squirrels..........they stay on the other side of the fence where our Chinese Elm is and she points to them.

Ive seen this all to often growing up near train tracks. I for one dont agree with "owning" animals. I think they should be left to roam free in their natural habitats though we've taken that away from cats and dogs over the centuries.


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reply to post by ofhumandescent


Thank you so much for the suggestion (aspca). We really weren't sure about what else we could do. I just felt so bad leaving this morning knowing that the cat was curled up in a ball on the porch freezing. I'm positive my boyfriend did something after I left (of course I forgot my phone today...). He is an animal lover (he's the person who actually got me to like cats so much-I've always been a dog person)

Thank you again for creating this thread. S+F

My Ellie was a street rescue - weighed about 25 lbs. She's a healthy 50 and sleek, muscle-y and a darling!

My Chihuahua is a Mexican-bred one, so she's stocky and strong and opinionated too. She finally taught my daughter how to be a proper dog owner, and my Ellie is velcro'd to my side whenever I am home.

reply to post by ofhumandescent

Dogs have feelings too...

In looking at the bigger picture as well as the current economic situation...

This poor soul (note how I leave the species of animal out of it) is most likely another product of a broken family due to the economy and was likely simply discarded.

The house being abandoned was likely foreclosed upon and the occupants most likely couldn't take the dog with them.

This is occurring nation wide AND these are the types of things I do support the OWS in protesting about and that is the vast ripple effect of this planned economic depression we are currently in.

Unfortunately this poor soul was discarded and left to fend for itself and as fate would have it and as a result has met his/her untimely demise.

Of course a Dog is a serious commitment but in times like these when the Bank orders you out of your home the Banks couldn't care less as to where you OR your Dog go.

Sad.....sooo Sad....and we still claim to call ourselves civilized.

RIP Dear Kindred Soul...for you are simply another casualty in the ongoing economic war between the Haves and the Have Nots..Rest In ....

Peace