FREE to a GOOD HOME

"FREE TO A GOOD HOME-" These five words send chills down the spines of animal rescuers.

"Free to a Good Home" ads are placed innocently by people who have animals they can no longer

care for. It seems like a quick and inexpensive way to rehome the animal and let it continue with

its new life.

There are times when these animals find a wonderful new forever home. Those animals are the

lucky few who will never know the suffering and abuse that meets the remaining animals. Until

becoming involved in the animal rescue field, we all believed most humans were doing a good

deed by accepting the responsibility of the innocent animals desperately searching for a new home.

Unfortunately this often is not the case.

Callers responding to an ad may come across as kind and caring people searching for that perfect

pet for their family. They seem eager to meet the animal and welcome it into their home. The

apparent kindness comes from many years of practice. The fate that awaits many of these animals

is anything but kind. Once the animal is "adopted" by the eager family, it will be taken to the true

destination. The animal's new life will often fall into one of the following deadly traps:

• use as live bait to train fighting dogs

• sold at a flea market to anybody that comes along and decides to buy an animal on

impulse

• sold to a Class B Dealer or buncher who will resell the animal to a research facility

• use as breeding stock in a puppy mill

• sacrificed in cult rituals

• use as food for a large pet snake

• "rescued" by a hoarder

As much as we would like to deny that these tragedies occur, we must be realistic. Each of us can

play a part in preventing these tragedies. If each reader of this article shares the information with

one or two people, we can make significant strides toward ending this cycle of doom. As you will

see, the solutions are very simple:

• contact your community newspapers and ask them to post warnings in pet classified

sections

• call a person posting a "Free to Good Home" ad and inform them of the potential

dangers

• ask people not to give animals away anytime near Halloween

• do not give pets away

Studies have shown that people take better care of an animal if they have invested a small amount

of their hard-earned money into it. The most responsible people will find new homes for their

animals through a simple but life saving adoption process.

Prior to placing an ad to find an animal a new home, the current owner should be sure it is spayed

or neutered and all shots up to date. The costs incurred for this veterinarian care can be recouped

by charging an "adoption fee." The owner can also find a sample adoption application online.

Simply asking a potential new owner to complete an application with basic identifying information

will often deter a person with inhumane intentions. Just a few simple steps can ensure an animal a

truly good forever home as a family pet as opposed to the tragic alternatives.