Bill of Rights for Pets
Strengthen your capacity for providing deeply responsible care for your pets, whose lives are quite literally resting in your hands and heart.
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The Principle |
The Pet’s Right |
Your Pledge that Supports the Right |
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| Daily sustenance | Biological needs are met | My pets will receive appropriate amounts of good-quality food and continuous access to clean water. | |
| Shelter is provided | My pets will have dry, wind-proof, shaded shelter, a soft clean bed, and sturdy fencing when needed. | ||
| Good health is supported | My pets will receive annual checkups and year-around parasite control, and health issues will be promptly addressed with veterinarian support. | ||
| Exercise is provided | My pets will receive daily moderate exercise totalling at least one hour. | ||
| Elimination is enabled | My pets are allowed appropriate daily opportunities to eliminate bodily wastes. If my pets are having accidents, I will devote time to reward-based training activities and seeking out expert advice. | ||
| Security and safety | Training and guidance is provided | My pets will receive positive reinforcement training to become cooperative members of the household, as well as ongoing guidance that encourages good behavior. | |
| Self and family protection is allowed | My pets may protect themselves and family members from harm under reasonable circumstances without risk of euthanasia. | ||
| Evacuation is guaranteed | In disasters, my pets will be evacuated with other members of the family. | ||
| Companionship | Affection is regularly offered | My pets will be dedicated a minimum of two daily 10-minute periods of affectionate one-on-one interaction with family members. | |
| Pet companions are provided | My pets will be provided with other pet companions if they are without human attention for long periods on a regular basis. | ||
| Comfort is freely offered | My pets will be comforted when frightened, have suffered a loss, or are suffering from health problems. | ||
| Fun is provided | My pets will be provided with the mental and emotional stimulation of toys, games, and playing with family members on a daily basis. | ||
| Respect | Divine life embodied in our pets is recognized | All pets will be considered worthy of our humble respect, because we share the divine energy of life. My pets won’t be euthanized for any reason, except to avoid needless suffering. | |
| Pet intelligence is appreciated | My pets will be respected for their special intelligences and unique talents that have cooperatively evolved with our own mental gifts. | ||
| Pet feelings are respected | My pets’ feelings of exuberance, fear, affection, aggression, and other feelings, will be recognized and and responded to with appropriate guidance, to support good citizenship in the family. | ||
| Pet diversity is appreciated | Each of my pets are unique in so many ways, and I will place equal values on all types and individuals. | ||
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Reprinted by Courtesy of Sunbear Squad. Sunbear Squad, Inc. is an all-volunteer, non-profit humane awareness organization with 501(c)3 status. Please visit their site and be informed!
Read the true story of Sunbear, an 18 month old Chocolate Lab that inspired Sunbear Squad’s beginnings, here.
I have 3 Shelties which are my life. I Love each of them equally and unconditionally. They get the best of everything (which means SPOILED) but I enjoy doing so and I receive the Love from them 100 fold. They adore me and they are totally dependent on me. I cannot imagine my life without them. I am a firefighter/paramedic and when I am away from them, I miss them dearly. They always make me feel better when I have had a rotten shift or just feel lousy.
I love my cats and dogs, my day revolves around them and their needs. I realize the good intention behind this Bill of Rights for Pets but I also see a bigger problem. Correct me if I’m wrong, but how many of you that are concerned about Pet Rights are concerned and fighting for our, people’s, Bill of Rights? Our rights are being eroded everyday, going unchallenged by the masses, so please focus on that first.
Please join me in fighting for OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS. Once we’ve won that battle, we’ll re-focus our efforts on the animals.
It is our pets that make our lives better. They give us unconditional love. All they want in return is food, housing, and a pat on the head. Very basic needs which many people ignore.
I have two dogs, one cat, and one corn snake. So my household is a full one. Oh, I almost forgot my husband.
I adopted one dog from the SPCA and then learned that he had been there for more than eight months. It is because of him that I started volunteering at the SPCA. That was six years ago this month. I have also become very involved in a Dog Rescue group that works hand-in-hand with the SPCA.
In my six years, I have seen what us humans can do to dogs. They come in beaten and starved. Sometimes it is almost unbearable to see. Surprisingly, these dogs turn around and make very good pets. My dog was one of those.
As I tell the new group of volunteers, none of these dogs walked up to the SPCA door and knocked, asking to live there. The dogs are at the SPCA simply because of human neglect and bad decisions.
I find the company of my pets very relaxing. Maybe we humans should take some lessons from these “dumb” animals. Our lives would be better and we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone’s bill of rights; human or otherwise.
I totally agree with you and i am going to look into volunting witn the lovcal dog shelters, we have one dog now it is my son’s, it was his turn as i just put my very beloved chelsea down due to thyriod cancer and it is still very disturbing for me as she was my love and my life and savor, she helped me thru the long days of depression when the demons came looking for me, she is forever in my heart and on my mind
I am so saddened today. I picked up a stray dog the other day (I always try to help the strays when we see them). Then my Sheltie was attacked to I had to take him out of our home. He was a Mixed Breed (Shepard and ???) under one year, had been neutered. Very friendly with people but not other dogs. We had put him on the online petfinder websites like pets911.com immediately after finding him.
After an emergency room visit with our Sheltie, I took him to a no kill shelter the next day. They could not take him because he lunged at two different female dogs. They had no room for his own kennel. Then I had to take him to Maricopa County Animal “Care and Control” dba: Killers. And in 72 hours they killed him. I just found out. I called within the 72 hours and they said they had not done the assesement yet. To call back the next day. I called when they opened first thing in the morning. He was down. Did not pass their test. I cried and cried. Still am crying.
I indirectly killed this puppy. And he was so adorable, lovable, and loving towards us. He was taught to kill other dogs, though. Or was part pit bull perhaps. I don’t know why people are so unresponsible. A dog died because of two people. Me, because I did not try to find him a home. The owner, because they let him escape without any tags, microchip, and they did not put him online as lost. We drove around looking for flyers too. I am trying to justify so I might feel a twinge of innocence. But it is not working. I feel like I gave him the killer drugs. I put him down. It is NOT a good feeling.
I won’t forget Decker ever (named him during the day we had him) and my stepson who passed away at the age of 12 had always wanted all stray dogs to have a home. I failed him too. That hurts as much or more.
Blaze, sometimes you do all that you can and still can’t save all of them. Yes, it is sad but there are only so many options open to people sometimes. It wasn’t safe for you to keep him at your home, you’d already found that out. The only one who can take away your guilt is you. You just have to know that you tried, honestly tried. That’s all anyone can ask, even a dog. And you did more than most people would have done.
I’m sorry that things turned out the way they did for him and you. Most shelters just do not have the means to deal with aggressive dogs.
Forgive yourself then try to help another. Wallowing in guilt helps no one and as much as it hurts me, not every dog can be saved in today’s society.
Deanna
Thanks, I will try to help another….soon.
I thank God for people who rescue and love animals