Save a pet, make a difference

By Chelseas Craddock
CAMPUS TALK EDITOR

Well, here we are. This is the third-to-last issue of The Stylus for this year. Are you excited? I’m excited. I really don’t think my brain is capable of thinking of obscure topics to write about each week. I’m not as clever as I used to be — or at least as clever as I used to think I was.

For those of us who are single and graduating in May, the idea of having to move out of our parents’ house and get our own place comes with many different emotions. The first, of course, is “Crap. How am I going to survive without my mom?” The second is “Crap. How am I going to afford rent when I don’t even have a job yet?” The final emotion — at least in my case — is “Yay! I get to buy a kitty.”

At my parents’ house in Lockport, N.Y., I currently have two cats, Yoshi and Landie, and two dogs, Elvis and Macie. My hamster Falco Louise recently died of tumors which caused her eye to explode (poor baby). I’d hate to pick favorites, but I can’t help it.

Landie is my cat. My mom discovered her owners were trying to get rid of her while working with the Second Chance Boxer Rescue. At first glance, she was the ugliest cat I had ever seen. She weighed more than 25 pounds, had a disproportionately small head, and had a weird, black spot on her nose that made it look like she constantly had nasty snot hanging off her face. After a while, the shy Landie opened up to me, letting me pet her and she always wants me to itch her small head. I gradually found her less ugly.

As far as cats go, I fell in love with Landie. I was considerably heartbroken when my mom and dad informed me that I couldn’t take her with me when I moved out. It’s not that I favor her over the other three pets we have — OK, I sort of do, but my apartment building doesn’t allow dogs and I couldn’t bring my other cat Yoshi, because my parents told me not to even think about it.

My roommates are bringing their cats with them when we all move into the apartment next week. They have two cats, Minnie and Loren. I like their cats, but I’m moving into my first apartment, in a different city. I want my own pet. I considered not getting a cat, but instead getting another hamster or something small. Hamsters, although cute, are sort of useless and as for other small animals, I was told snakes and lizards are out of the question. I could get a ferett, but I’m terrified of them, so it looks like I’ll have to get a cat or have no companion at all.

I’ve begun looking at the Web sites of the local SAVE-A-PET chapters in Niagara and Erie counties, as well as local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). There are so many adorable little animals. I was originally set on getting a kitten, so I could sort of train it, but after some research, I realized there are literally dozens of grown-up cats that have been abandoned and need homes. Everyone wants an adorable little kitten, but once it grows up, some people decide they don’t want it anymore and it ends up in the shelters.

Some of the cats I found online have a lot of health problems. One cat in particular that I wanted to adopt, had only one eye. Her name was Sunshine, but I was going to rename her “Yarg.” Sadly, a week before I contacted the shelter, she was adopted.

Searching for the perfect pet is difficult. I mean, you can’t decide you want a pet just by looking at their picture online. That’s like buying clothing online and then realizing when it’s shipped to you that it’s the wrong size.

However, if you do go to a shelter and play with the animals in person, how can you tell if that is what they are really like? If I were a cat stuck in a cage all the time, I’d be excited to see anyone who came around and showed affection. You can’t really tell the personality of a cat after spending 10 minutes with it, can you?

Adopting a pet is a strange process. First, you have to find an animal you like. Then, you have to apply for adoption and provide references. After that, if you are OKed to adopt an animal, you have to pay the adoption fee plus an extra optional fee if you would like the animal spayed, neutered or declawed. After this has been done, you have to be on a probation period just in case something goes wrong or you decide you don’t want the animal anymore. After all of that, if nothing goes wrong, you get to keep your new furry bundle of joy.

Even though there’s tons of stuff you have to go though, a lot of good comes out of adopting a pet. Not only do you get a new friend, you get to save an animal. It’s a win-win situation.

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