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Adopt Me!

Pet adoption is a good thing. I love dogs. I have written a lot about my beagle over the years. I happily adopted her from a Fort Worth shelter. I grew up with dogs. I took care of my previous housemate's dog for five years. I helped take care of an Akita that belonged to a New Orleans police officer for a couple of weeks after Hurricane Katrina. I love my girlfriend's dogs. And I gladly took care of my neighbors' dogs while they were out of town a month ago.

But if there's one thing I cannot stand, it's seeing friends of mine on Facebook clogging up a news feed with pictures and links featuring dogs that might be put to sleep if they aren't adopted in time.

I don't mean to be heartless, but I'm not so sure what "good" there is with posting picture after picture with a description like, "Scrappy needs a home by Friday or he will be put down." I understand the idea of trying to put the word out if anyone is looking for a new dog, but not everybody wants a dog or can take care of a dog. And not every dog can get the care it needs in one household if the house is overrun by dogs.

I'm not about to run a kennel in my house. My daily focus is on Victory, and I happily help out with my girlfriend's two dogs. They all receive plenty of love and care, but I can't even fathom trying to save every at-risk dog in the metroplex. No, I don't like seeing dogs get put down, but I don't want to feel some guilt that I'm not Crazy Dog Man. That pulling on the heartstrings can be overbearing. I can only hope that dogs and cats find loving homes and live fulfilling lives.

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