I get really pissed when I see list-serv messages or flyers that express sentiments such as the following (and I’m paraphrasing):
We are about to move. Unfortunately, we have still not been able to find a good home for Lulu and Oogie. We’re not able to take our beloved doggies with us and I’ve been desperately trying to find a home for both of them ‘together’.
The owners never go into specifics as to why they’re “not able to” take their precious pets with them. I have often seen the excuse that the “new place doesn’t allow” pets, which always makes me wonder how hard the people looked for a place that would accept pets.
Have they lost significant income to the point that they will barely be able to feed themselves, which then would seem justifiable to let the pets go?
I am certain there are a fair number of legitimate cases when owners have to part with their pets. But I see so many of these listings, that I cannot help but think that there are just a lot of shitty pet owners out there who just had their pets as accessories and are ready to dump them when they become nuisances.
And I think, “Well, shit, now someone has to go adopt your awesome dogs, who seem to have been cared for very well…instead of going to the shelter to rescue a couple of dogs that truly don’t have homes”.
Or perhaps I am just very ignorant…is it really tough to find apartment and house rentals that accept pets? I always figured the ratio was about 50/50, and you pay a fair monthly fee and extra deposit for the privilege of keeping pets.
I suppose putting the ads out is not nearly as bad as the people I read about who leave their foreclosed homes with the pets left behind.
I suppose this is why pet adoptions are a bit of a catch-22. I have heard complaints about rescue organizations that seem very stringent in reviewing adoption applicants while it’s very easy to bring a pet home from certain shelters. On the other hand, a lot of people seem to adopt pets without the aim of making a lifetime commitment, as if they’ll just see how it works out. I just don’t get it…
bullcitydave 
The first time I heard of someone doing this, I have to admit I lost all respect for her. I don’t understand it either. They’re our family members, too. 😦
Okay, so my case involves a particular set of circumstances that may not apply to everyone, but hopefully sheds some light. In my early 20s, pre-marriage and pre-kids, my roommate adopted a cocker spaniel from the pound. The roommate then took off to another state and I inherited the dog, to whom I became very attached. However, we had been advised the dog was NOT good with kids.
When I later moved out of the city, said dog was very happy to be outdoors in the country. She lost some of the nervousness that came with being an indoor dog, but still detested children.
When it came time to move back to the city, we could only afford an apartment. For us, it wasn’t a matter of paying the $250 pet deposit and additional $50 a month in rent to have our dog… it was that I could NOT stand the thought of confining that sweet animal in a 1000SF space day in, day out… with two elementary-aged children… after she’d had an acre of space for seven years.
It was a very difficult decision, but I know that asking my uncle to take her to his farm in VA was the best thing for her. She spent her last couple of years running in a ten-acre, traffic-free tract of land, and she was happy.
I guess my point is that sometimes people don’t adopt pets, but are adopted *by* the pets. Sometimes we don’t know what life will be like in a few years, but try to do what we can for the pets we inherit for as long as we can. It’s not always a case of someone treating a $500 puppy mill ‘purchase’ as disposable.
ACW: I have no qualms with what you did. It’s the roommate’s behavior that seems to be problematic: “…my roommate adopted a cocker spaniel from the pound. The roommate then took off to another state”. That’s the problem…people adopt pets and then “take off” without the pets.
Apparently, I’ve been Snoped. The whole list-serv story about the dogs is some made up chain letter.
That was a waste of a rant. The genie has only granted me two more..