Newsflash: pets are not disposable!

I have got to stay off of Facebook.

For one thing, it can be really depressing. And for another, it is definitely not good for my blood pressure.

Last week alone, I saw at least three different posts that made my blood boil. And I’m not even talking about the political posts. I’m talking about the posts about animal cruelty and neglect. I’m talking about the posts that clearly demonstrate that some people simply should not have pets.

By far the most disturbing of these was a post shared by a former friend. I stress “former” because I told him off as soon as I saw it. And then I “unfriended” him — on Facebook and in “real life.”

So what could possibly be so outrageous? It wasn’t so much the post in which he asked if anyone knew of a local rescue or pound that would take his two cats. It was his reason for giving them away. In the simplest terms, he said he was “done” with indoor animals. That’s it. He just didn’t want them anymore. Period. End of story.

Now, there are plenty of legitimate reasons for people to part with their pets. Illness. Allergies. Moving to another country or to a new apartment or condo that doesn’t allow pets. The inability to continue to pay vet bills or buy food… These are all heartbreaking circumstances… but at least they’re understandable.

But to simply say, “I’m done with animals,” or “I just don’t want them anymore,” is beyond unacceptable. It is irresponsible. And it is cruel.

Sadly, my former friend — whom I now classify as one of the most selfish, self-centered, egotistical, self-absorbed, narcissistic people ever to walk the face of the earth — is not alone.

Just as my outrage about his post was starting to ebb, I saw another post that was equally as outrageous. In this case, some people from Virginia were moving in a couple of weeks and didn’t want to take their 10-year-old dog to their new house. So they were willing to give him away, surrender him, or have him put down. But of course, that didn’t stop them from getting a 1-year-old puppy…

Fortunately, in that case, the little old guy was really cute, and the post generated a lot of responses from people interested in adopting him.

And finally, there was the case of an Australian man jailed for committing some of the most heinous and unspeakable acts against animal that I have ever heard of. Not only did he whip his poor dog, but he fed it sausages laced with broken glass! I kid you not.

As far as I’m concerned, there is a very special place in hell reserved for someone like that. And as far as I’m concerned, he can’t get there soon enough.