Savings liberals from themselves

Finding a dog has been quite an adventure. For starters, we're really excited about it, but technically can't take one home right now. We need to actually move in to our new place. But we've been looking anyway, and it's surprising how hard it is. In the past, I've just looked in the classifieds and gone out to get a dog, but most of the dogs around here are about $1000. We even saw an ad for $500 for a mixed breed. Or if you wanted to adopt a dog (our first choice), you went to the shelter, found a dog you liked, petted him a little bit, paid a fee and took him home. (By he, I mean he or she. I've decided all dogs are He and all cats are She, even our males cats.)

Around here that process works something like this. Fill out a long condescending application asking 30+ questions along the lines of "List every pet you've ever owned and why you don't have them anymore." After spending a half hour defending your ability to own a dog, you submit your application. If they like it, they'll pick out a dog that they think would be a good match for you and set up an appointment so you can pet him and pay $150-250+ to take him home (as much as many purebreds in Missouri). Oh wait, I forgot about the home inspection. And the second home inspection 6 months after the adoption.

Okay, so some places aren't that bad, but a lot of them are. We went to the SPCA and managed to wiggle out of the application by finding a dog already out of his pen and asking questions. Turns out, they wouldn't adopt a dog to us. Any dog. Really. See, we're apparently cruel to dogs because we want to keep them in a dog run, as opposed to a crate inside all day. Now, never mind that there is considerable debate among dog trainers on crating versus kennels or dog runs, but to say that you won't adopt to somebody for that criteria seems a bit harsh. Not only that, but it seems to run counter to their mission of saving dogs' lives.

I posed this question to one of the online places that was among the most restrictive. They said, "we've adopted over 600 dogs so you're in the minority." I asked them how many more they could take from the pounds and adopt if they were more reasonable. I never got a response to that question.

Really though, this goes to the heart of the problem with the liberal movement. It's been hijacked by liberals. Or ultra-liberals anyway. And honestly I think it's one reason why conservatives are winning the hearts of America. I'm a liberal, but I've had to go through professional counseling to come to terms with being called one:-) I opposed the Iraq war, but when people started protesting, there's no way I wanted to be associated with a bunch of hippies chanting "WAR IS BAD" through a megaphone like mindless drones. (I think they started to realize it too, but not enough to change.)

People don't identify with liberals, because they see granola eating, tree hugging, dope-smoking, VW bus driving, tie-dye wearing, long haired freaks spouting about how the Iraq war was primarily about oil and that they should be vegetarian because eating cows hurts their feelings. Nobody outside of Berkeley identifies with that.

Anyway, rather than send a dog home with a cruel family like us, they'd have us go to a breeder, which will only result in more dogs dying. Which I'm only slightly ashamed of saying we're more than happy to do. It was a tossup whether to get a pound dog or raise a puppy of our choosing anyway. This way we don't have the hassle, the searching for a dog that fits what you're looking for, and the condescending looks when you say you're going to be gone for *gasp* 8 whole hours a day rather than staying home from work to raise your pet. As for the $1,000 adoption fees, turns out the central valley is not too dissimilar from the rest of the country. We should be able to find one there that's perfect for one or two hundred. I think we're leaning heavily towards another Australian Shepherd.

We looked carefully at nearly every dog breed and they all have drawbacks that we don't want except the Aussie. We liked a few terriers, but they bark and dig, and we still are open to the idea of a Golden, but I've heard they can have separation anxiety, and I can't guarantee we won't board them for a weekend to go hiking. I want a dog that likes to fetch for exercise, can walk all day, and I want a pretty dog. That's the Aussie. If all goes well, we'll have one within the next few weeks, and we'll post more pictures than you care to ever see. You think that's bad, wait'll we have kids!