Hypocrite: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
You will not like this post. You will not like it because it is quite possible that you will see quite a bit of yourself in it, and truth so openly expressed is often painful to bear. I am sure I will be submitted to a lot of abuse, people will leave hateful comments, and that will be ok.
This post is about trying to find a home for two puppies rescued not by on single person but by an entire group of “animal lovers”. This post is about Hope and Pipas.
Ever wondered what happened to Hope and Pipas after they were found crawling on the floor in Istanbul? They were both in a critical condition. Both of them were operated, Hope had a broken Hip and a broken leg. Pipas had a broken jaw, the skin had to be grafted back.
The operation was paid thanks to the small contributions of a whole lot of people. It was a success!
This happened four months ago. Since they they have been languishing at a cage in one of our vets. They are left out often, they run happily, they are just puppies spending their most precious months inside a cage because the community that rescued them is one of is formed by a majority of hypocrites. The majority of animal lovers of
Istanbul (with very few exceptions) is a community that speaks a lot but does very little. A community of breed-obsessed self-serving individuals happy to go around announcing their love for animals when the only thing they love is themselves and how their own dog or cat makes them feel.
For the vast majority of you is not about animals, it is about YOU only.
One would think that animal lovers would be primarily driven by compassion, unfortunately this is seldom the case. I receive thousands of emails a week, thousands, and believe me, compassion is the very last thing in the mind of animal lovers. What I see is a lot of urgency, inability to cope with the responsibility of a rescue, and a desperate attempt to unload that responsibility onto someone else.
It is not a secret to our readers that I feel a profound dislike by those who use the expression “animal lover” lightly, but above all I disdain hypocrites.
Don’t get me wrong, every day I enjoy the privilege of interacting with some of the most amazing human beings in this planet (yes… you are one of them), people whose generosity and dedication is truly making a difference, they know it, and I know it, and its enough for us.
But the rest? useless…..
So this is an appeal to that small and select group of people out there reading this message that will be in a position to help, or that even if they are not in a position to do so they will, because that’s the kind of people they are. They take action, they solve problems, they make a difference.
Adopt or foster Pipas and Hope. It’s time for them to go home.
Viktor Larkhill
Viktor@myletsadopt.com
Oh Viktor, your words as always hit home hard…..and so they should. You can guarantee if it were at all possible for me to help them both I would jump at the chance, ther is nothing more rewarding than opening your heart and home to an un-wanted animal….. however, my home is full of dogs/cats…all recued!!!
I am always amazed at the length of time it takes these unfortunate souls to find a loving new home, and even more suprised that there are not more adoptions happening within your country. There are as you say many thousands of animal supporters, however, actions speak so much louder than words in cases like this. These two adorable babies have been through some tough times, they dont deserve to be shut in the vets any longer………I am praying as always that someone, somewhere will come forward and take these darling babies into their lives…..their reward for doing so will be never-ending.
Dear Victor,
You are right. I wish there was something I could do to help but as we know the rules and regulations involved in bringing an animal out of Turkey are lengthy and quarantine in the UK is 6 months, these babies have suffered enough without languishing in a quarantine kennels. It is the easiest thing in the world to take a dog out of a pound/shelter and pass it onto someone else, thereby taking no responsibility for its life in the long term. It is for that reason I have so many dogs, dogs that faced death because no-one would take them, they are my responsibility for life. There are many who see it through and many that don’t. Words are not enough, action is what’s needed here. Someone, please come through for these two and give them the life they deserve.
nice….very nice post…I fell like a crap coz I cant adopt these 2 sweeties
It’s NOT about feeling guilty because you CAN’T adopt either one of them – it’s about the apathy of hoping someone else will find them a home, someone else will repost/share/tweet/ share with their networks…
It’s the apathy.
It cracks me up when I see people wasting hours if not days, herding imaginary chickens or whatever people chase on farmville.
Yet there are real animals fighting for their lives, real animals waiting to be snuggled and exhale from all the stress of living in a cage.
You can’t adopt? How about fostering?
Can’t do either? How about spreading the word with everyone on your email list – ESPECIALLY if you live in Turkey, but don’t let nationality stop you.
We are willing to send animals overseas, if THAT’s what it takes to give them a save place.
BE the change….
Viktor…. I just adopted a rescue puppy…this one was thrown in the woods with his brother..the vet thought about 7 or 8 weeks old…firemen found them as they were about to start a controlled burn… thank God they were found. They took them to Sam Houston State University where my grand daughter is a professor and is in the athletic office. They ended up in her office. One of the coaches got one and she called me to see if I would take the other. Not really what I wanted to do, as puppies are very playful and need a lot of training. About the only thing I’ve managed to do was spoil him to death. He is the sweetest little guy. He’s already cost me $200.00.as he had demotox (sp) I suppose picked up in the woods. He’s now had his 2nd set of puppy shots. One more set to go. The vet gave him a clean bill of health though. He scraped him to see if he still had mites and they didn’t find any. They think he is a border collie/Austrailian Shepard. Doesn’t matter though I love him. I wish I could take one of yours….they are beautiful but I know I couldn’t handle another one. At my age 3 is one too many…..My two is all I can handle…Sure hope you find someone to take them. Surely someone will open their heart and home to them.
Hello Viktor, I’m really proud to be on your friend list … and from the bottom of my heart I wish there could more Viktors around the world who speak the truth and say things the way they are…
And I dearly wished I could take on these two pups but having two ‘social cases’ (rescued dogs that no one else wants) already + several cats, my budget it stretched and so is the available room … if I could, I’d take in far more animals … but one has to remain realistic, one of my boys (read ‘dogs’) needs £10 of medication each day + 6-monthly heart scans & tests (he suffers from dilated cardiomyopathy), he was found as a stray and no one wanted to adopt him since he was so fearful of humans, he has loads of scars all over his body, it took us 6 months just to be able to approach him, he still fears some men after 4 years but he’s much better (who knows what happened to him…), the other one was born at the local dog rescue, a young couple took him in when he was 5 weeks old (far too young) and because he didn’t want to listen, sit and obey straight away when they told him to, they locked him in their little back yard (all concrete, about 5 square meters no shelter, no contact with exterior) for 5 months, then they decided that since he still did not want to obey, to bring him back to the rescue … he was scared of everything (even clouds, the sun, the moon, birds overhead, public bins, electricity poles, cars …), so again, no one wanted him… he is a very social dog now but still has bouts of fear on and off …
I’ve decided ages ago I only would take in animals that no one else wants, with the least chances of finding a forever home, but unfortunately my means are not limitless …
Wishing you and these two pups (and all other animals waiting for a forever home) all the best in the world and I sincerely hope they will soon find their right place in the world
☺xxx
thanks Ida…
xx
Don’t worry, you probably won’t get any abusive comments, because everybody will think you are referring to someone else. None will take it on themselves, nobody will say, “Oh, I think Viktor is talking about me!” We are too arrogant for that. Now, I think I need to shut up, because if I let myself really get going, I will become abusive – not to you, but to the community you have so aptly labeled…
Maybe, if I win the lottery, I will have enough money to buy a farm somewhere, and get out of this rental. Maybe then, I will be able to adopt all the little ones that need homes. At the moment 3 cats and one dog in a complex that wants to get rid of all pets is a bit difficult…
Lale
Perhaps you can not take these two into your home. Perhaps your home, like mine, is already over-run with dogs and cats you have taken in because no one else wanted them and your love for animals would not allow you to see them without a home. But, and here’s the rub, it is not enough to take an animal into your home, you must also take FULL responsibility for that animals care and health. You must also take that animal into your heart. Only those who truly take an animal into their heart can call themselves animal lovers. Taking an animal into your heart means living in part for that animal. It is not about YOU it is about the animal you have “saved.” There are seven rescued dogs and five rescued cats in my home. My husband and I truly work for our pets for each of them are vetted yearly to keep up on their shots and ensure their health is ongoing. I spend my days as a dog trainer in order to be able to take my dogs to work. In fact my dogs are trained to train other dogs. They have a purpose in life and enjoy life because of it.
I wasn’t always a dog trainer, it is a career change I made because I chose to share my life with so many dogs. Changes had to be made to my lifestyle in order to adequately care for these animals I have taken into my home, and that my friends is the difference between a true animal lover and one who only dabbles in rescue work. I make sacrifices in order to ensure my rescues are properly taken care of because I have dedicated my life to them through the simple act of taking them into my home. I can truly take in no more, but that does not mean that I do not continue to help by passing on the bio’s of adoptable animals all over the world to as many of my contacts as I can. I also train rescued animals in order to make them more adoptable, and work with owners having behavioural problems with their pets to ensure that those pets do not become strays themselves. All of this I do because no living thing should have a life of misery.
We don’t all have the freedom to change our entire way of life to accomodate rescued animals however, in that I am lucky. Some of us do not have the patience and gentleness to deal with a rescued pet, and if that is the case, you are better off to leave the rescuing to someone who does. I think what needs to be said here is simply this, be honest with your self-evaluation, a rescued pet needs you to truly be an animal lover, because going from the street to a chain in the yard or a cage is not a step up for these animals, it is just a milder form of abuse. If you are not going to take an animal into your heart and home, don’t take one at all and leave it to someone who will.
Thanks Janette,
We dont only need adoptions, we need foster homes as well..
Eres un fosforito! 🙂
I’m with Lale on this one… maybe when I can be less dependent (financially) on my family and have a larger house I’ll be able to do more to help… But right now, 2 dogs & 7 cats in a 1 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment where the management of the complex is already trying to get rid of me and my babies, and 1 stray dog and a few stray cats that live on the streets nearby that I feed regularly is already more than I can handle… financially, physically and emotionally…
but I do hope ur message reaches someone who’ll be better equipped to handle these two babies… they’re adorable…truly
Viktor,
I think you hit home on this. The people who you speak about, and maybe I am one of those to you, probably won’t even read this. The people who take action are the ones that will take the time to read this. I think that a lot of people would want to be able to do more that talk about rescue, but for varied reasons cannot. Unfortunately, the animals are the ones that suffer for this. It is tragic. I do what i can, and like others, if I had more money, and time, I would do even more. Yes, as one person stated, hours are wasted playing mindless meaningless games online here. I was one of them for a short time and gave up my stupid game. It is a definite waste of precious time. Now, my time is spent cross-posting and sharing important information regarding adoption, spay and neuter, and rescue.
I pray that one day, shelters will no longer take the lives of innocent animals and do what they are intended to do which is be a temporary place for an animal in need until someone can adopt them. We are working on doing this in the United States. I hope that is doesn’t take too long, because I am sickened by all the death around me.
Sincerely,
Barb Daskal
Thanks Barbara… thanks for your note, glad to have you in Let’s Adopt!
Doing what I can at Safe Haven Pet Rescue and others.
Can we share the appeal for homes for them ?
of course.. pls do..
Viktor,
Should you get hurtful emails & comments, Shame on whom ever sent them.
I am in the states (North Carolina). Myself and my family would like nothing more than to foster a needy, abandoned, neglected pet. We have fostered many cats, dogs, bunnies, birds etc. and am happy to say, have successfully found new careing forever homes.
If all I am able to do: is keep re-posting the posts with hopes someone will step-up and adopt. This, I will certainly continue to do.