Dear Kid,
It was too early to go to a party at a frat house (“too early” being defined as anything before midnight), so Pi and I were deciding what to do. We decided to go to the mall.
It turns out that there is a pet store in the mall. With puppies and other live cuddly things.
Including a hedgehog who was sound asleep and did NOT want to wake up to play with me.
Back to the puppies.
Let’s be clear: Pet store puppies come from puppy mills. Puppy mills are terrible, horrible places that treat animals in a terrible, horrible way.
PSA: Do not buy animals from pet stores. Do not buy animal supplies from pet stores that sell puppies. Don’t encourage them. Don’t create a reason for them to purchase more puppy mill inventory.
I feel strongly about the horrors of puppy mills. I also feel incredibly drawn to these poor little dudes in the store.
Pi and I went in and asked to see a little bulldog puppy. He was fast asleep but woke up enough to blink at us. Then he cuddled himself in our arms and (mostly) went back to sleep.
He was the definition of adorable. Or should I say adorabull.
He was also not in great shape.
I am not a vet, but it was obvious that there were several health issues screaming through his fur. Still not a vet, but I suspect some of it was nutrition, some of it was genetic, and some of it was environmental and behavioral. (Yep, pretty sure I covered everything possible there.)
As we sat there cuddling this lump of fur, Pi said she felt really sorry for him. I did too. But—as I said to her—at least we could make him feel safe and loved for a few minutes of his life. It’s all we can do.
I love that there are puppies for college kids to snuggle. Sometimes college students need to be reminded that there are puppies in the world, to have the opportunity to hold something small and precious and warm, to look into a pair of eyes that hold nothing but trust and acceptance no matter what happened on the calc exam.
As long as the store is there I hope students go in and snuggle the puppies.
As long as they don’t buy them.
Recent Comments