Throw Away

We live in a throw-a-way society. Planned obsolescence. Get it use it for a while and toss it. We can get another one at the big-box store and the new one will probably cheaper than the one we tossed. Computers, phones,  microwaves, and the list goes on.

I think growing up in a time of abundance, we tire of things when the shine wears off. That hasn't always been the case. I've written about this before, but Jilda's and my parents grew up during the Great Depression where there weren't always sure where the next meal would come from. It would not have occurred to them to toss something until it was completely "used up." Even things that were used for one purpose, were often pressed into service for something else. I have never known my mother to toss out a quart jar. Never. Jilda's mother washed aluminum pie plates and stored them in her pantry. They would have had a hard time coping this day and time.

The tossing doesn't stop with electronics, and other disposable goods. Unfortunately, people also toss animals when they are no longer "cute."

This past week, a mix-breed bulldog showed up at our doorsteps. He was painfully thin and he obviously had health issues. We checked around with neighbors, but no one has lost a dog. We
quickly discovered that the dog was also deaf. My heard sank because that pretty much ruled out having someone adopt him because no one wants a "defective" dog. My column in this coming Sunday's paper is about this one...but that's not all.

Yesterday, two more dogs showed up. These were also bulldogs, but they are much younger. They are probably less than a year old. I'm guessing someone cleaned house. They took animals they no longer wanted and tossed them.

We plan to adopt the older dog that's deaf, but we hope we can place the two younger dogs. We put a note out on Facebook with the picture below, but we haven't had any takers.

When we walked this evening these two young dogs joined us. They are delightful critters. And this evening when I sat down on the front steps for a few minutes the dogs ran over to keep me company. They are starved for love.

We'll have to make the hard decision next week if we haven't found them a home. Even thinking about taking them to the local shelter breaks my heart because the minute you take them in, the clock starts ticking. If they aren't adopted, they are euthanized.

I'm not sure how someone could toss the most loving, and loyal creatures on earth.