Wishes of an animal welfare advocate may seem simple. But they may take time to manifest.
This is okay as one lesson that an animal welfare advocate has learned is to be patient.
It takes time for a rescued dog or a cat to heal physically, mentally and emotionally.
It takes times for a rescued dog or cat to be adopted. Some may not even be adopted because they are too old or they have a disability.
This is why we, animal welfere advocates, have become very patient beings.
Though my wishes may not manifest soon or even in my lifetime, I would like to list these down and I now claim that they have come true.
Here is a list of my top 10 wishes for Christmas:
1. May people adopt animals from shelters of animal welfare groups and the pounds, instead of buying pups and kittens from backyard and irresponsible breeders. May people stop giving . pups and kittens as presents this Christmas without even finding out if the recipient is indeed an animal lover. May there be a law regulating breeding.
2. May all pet owners learn to be responsible and truly loving parents. May they have their pets vaccinated against illness and rabies, and provide the appropriate food and other needs of their pets. May they find time to hug and play with their pet. May they give them time to roam and to walk.
3. May all people be kind to animals, specially to stray dogs and cats.
4. May all circuses and zoos be closed, and all animals used for entertainment be freed from such an abuse.
5. May all kill pounds be turned into shelters where caught animals are provided proper care as required by the law. May the dogs and cats be put up for adoption instead of killing them or allowing them to die slowly due to hunger and illnesses for which they are not given treatment at all.
6. May more people feed the hungry stray dogs and cats, and not hurt them.
7. May more people support animal welfare groups by adopting rescued animals from them, fostering and donating funds, food and medicine. May they be more discerning and careful, and avoid supporting scammers and pseudo-rescuers who make money out of the misery of dogs and cats. There are a lot of these people who live off on donations for the dogs and cats they “rescued” but who put the animals in dirty places. These people “self-medicate” the dogs and cats to save on donations and do not provide sufficient food for the dogs and cats despite the donations. May these scammers and pseudo-rescuers be exposed, now.
8. May there be more veterinarians who are truly compassionate towards animals.
9. May the government make spaying and neutering of pets their priority project, hand in hand with the anti-rabies campaign. There will never be an end to the anti-rabies campaign and government will just need more funds if the animal population is not controlled through spaying and neutering.
10. May all government agencies tasked to implement the Animal Welfare Act be strict in enforcing the provisions of the law.
All these I claim now. And so it is. And so be it. It is done!