Congrats to Goldie on her new home!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there (whether you have human kids or animal kids)!

We spent yesterday morning down at Hop Along Hollow cleaning cages.   My boyfriend and I tag team it and it usually takes about 2 hours for us to do the whole shelter, which consists of anywhere between 25-30 cages.   We have 14 pairs and 15 single rabbits, totaling 43 rabbits....and that's just the ones that are available for adoption (not sick or injured) and not including the few we have in foster homes. 

Of course one of our longtime residents, Goldie, was adopted yesterday afternoon...but almost immediately, a new one came in to take her place.   A seven year old boy that someone just decided one day they didn't want anymore, so they stuck him in a box and left him at a pet store.  Imagine doing that to a human kid?  Of course, some people HAVE (and worse) but at least they're punished for it.   You can't leave a human kid in a box at the store because you just don't want him anymore, and get off scott-free. 

At 7 years old, a rabbits life is more than half over (in general, they'll live 8-12 years).  He's considered an old man.   The chances of him getting adopted are slim to none.  Which means he's pretty much guaranteed to spend the rest of his life behind bars...and he's 100% innocent.

But at least at The Hollow he'll have a clean cage, fresh food and water, a warm place to sleep in the winter and a cool one for the summer.   He'll have people come in to visit him everyday, sometimes give him a treat.  One way or another, he'll be taken care of and not neglected.  Not dumped in a box somewhere because someone grew tired of him.  

This reminds me of a story I read a few months ago, about a girl who went to the Emergency Room, gave birth in a bathroom stall, and dumped the newborn baby in the trashcan on her way out of the hospital.  The baby lived for a few days but subsequently died.   This happened in a state where they have Safe Haven laws, meaning you can drop off any baby within 10 days after it's birth to any hospital, police station, or fire station and no one will ask you questions.  You're giving up the rights to your child but at least he/she will be taken care of.    This woman was IN THE HOSPITAL.  And just tossed her baby in a trash can.   How do you live with yourself? 

It's always depressing when you hear stories like this because as a species, human beings are able to make choices between right and wrong.   Animals make choices based on survival and instinct.  We make choices based on selfishness and greed and a sense of self-importance.   A woman CHOSE to throw away her baby just as someone CHOSE to just dump their rabbit...a companion for 7 years, in a box at a pet store.   Both knew what they were doing and did it anyway.   There's no sense of responsibility, no compassion, no love.  Just an old toy that wore out it's welcome or an unwanted burden in the form of a newborn.

It's really just pathetic and sad to think that, as a species, as a race, these are the kinds of choices that human beings make on a daily basis.  Lives are disposable...there's no emotion, no attachment. 

If you take away anything from this post, it should be to always be responsible for your actions and show some compassion with the choices you make.   What's easiest for you may be hurtful (or harmful) to others....including the creatures that can't speak for themselves...whether they be animals or newborn babies.