You're Specialer

I'm an animal-lover.  Way more than I'm a human-lover.  Especially those animals designated, bred, and recognized as pets or companions.


It hurts my heart that pets are killed daily in shelters because people don't want them.  Well, that and the fees to adopt have gone up into the hundreds of dollars.  Most people can't afford that, even if they would be the best pet-parents in the world.


So when a "special" animal makes national news, through abandonment and/or abuse, I should be ecstatic that so many people come forward wanting to give the cat, kitten, dog, or puppy a loving home.


But when they fail to become the proud new parents, do they go down to their local shelters and adopt?


I doubt it.


The "special" animal is a totem, a beacon to humanity.  They also become trophies.  They have worth not because they are pets, but because they are famous.  The more damaged they are, the more famous.


No shelter throwaway would bring that kind of attention to the new owner.


And that is what hurts my heart just as much.  The animal is only a vase, a piece of jewelry,  a new high-end car.  "Specialer" than some mutt in a pen.  Like a Cadillac is more impressive than a Ford Escort.