Companion Animals are for a Lifetime - National Humane Education Society

Humane education aims to teach others the joys and the realities of living with companion animals. This is particularly true when counseling and helping the public consider whether or not they are ready to bring an animal into their homes.

NHES’ humane educators had the opportunity to talk about both these points while visiting a 2nd grade class with a 12-week-old puppy from NHES’ no-kill rescue, The Briggs Animal Adoption Center (BAAC). After a few minutes in the classroom, nearly all the students wanted to adopt her! We were happy to see this many youth excited about animal adoption, but wanted them to understand what adoption really means. As the puppy weaved between the desks, one of our humane educators asked the students, “If you took this puppy home today, how old do you think you would be when she reached old age?” We heard a variety of answers, mostly from students speculating they might be in the 4th grade by the time this puppy became a senior dog. Jaws fell when we informed the 8-year-olds that the puppy before them will reach old age around their twentieth birthday. The students slowly began to realize that if they adopted the puppy that day, their family would be responsible for the puppy’s care for the rest of their childhoods and all of their teenage years.

While it is normal for young children to have a limited concept of the future, it is no laughing matter when we as adults fail to realize the lasting consequences of our decisions–such as the decision to adopt a companion animal. In the United States, 10 million dogs and cats enter shelters every year. At BAAC, NHES’ flagship animal adoption facility, we are inundated weekly with calls from people wanting to surrender their cats or dogs. Sometimes, the circumstances are sudden and dramatic, but more often than not the cat or dog in question is given up due to a normal, if not expected, life event such as a new baby or a change in residence. Did these adopters consider the kind of owner they would be 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years in the future? Or, like the 2nd graders in our program, could they see only as far as their immediate want? We know that life can change profoundly in an instant. However we also believe that with better foresight, and at times greater self-control, that the surrender and abandonment of companion animals can be prevented. That is why it is so important for potential adopters to understand and fully accept all the effort and sacrifices that will be required of them over a period of many years.

Unlike a child who grows up and becomes independent, companion animals trust us to care for them until their final breath. Because of this, animal adoption is not something that we just do one day. It is a decision that we make every day for a lifetime.