"1 year old blue pitt for sale. Im selling my handsome blue. He is house broken. Im looking to get some of what i spent on him and also some of what it costed to get him. Please no low ballers he is worth every penny im asking for him. Again only serious buyers.”
Overlooking the terrible grammar, one thing is apparent. This dog is nothing more to this person than a way to make money. Seriously??! It sounds like an ad for a car. ‘I put a lot of money into the motor so I’m trying to recoup some of the cost.’ Sold to the highest bidder with no thoughts of the dog’s well being. It’s disgusting. How do these people sleep at night? Every ounce of my being aches for these poor souls who are at the mercy of their despicable owners.
How about this one:
“Wonderful and loving black lab. Can be a family house pet or hunted. She is house broken and crate trained. Female just turned a year old. Don't have the time to mess with her can send pics of her and her papers. $300.”
Don’t have time to mess with her. Really??! So you put an ad up the same way you would for an old lawnmower. I cannot fathom the thought.
Or on the buyer side,
“ISO (means In Search Of) female Mastiff. Must have papers and not be spayed. 6 months or older.”
This person might as well have said, ‘Hey I’m looking for a female dog so that I can breed her countless times to make money off of the puppies.’
And this type of ad is all too common:
“Litter of lab puppies. 7 weeks old, dewormed and first shots. $250.”
My blood boils when I see these ads. First, these puppies should not be taken from their mother until at least 8 weeks, but the owner obviously has no interest in their well being or they wouldn’t have them on Craigslist in the first place. Secondly, you’d better hope this person (whom you’ve never met) isn’t lying about the deworming and shots and has some type of vet records as proof; otherwise you will unknowingly be getting a very unhealthy puppy. Again, a blatant disregard for the well being of these babies with only dollar signs attached to their necks.
I could go on for days and show you hundreds of ads that sound the same, with the same ignorance. It begs the question, why do some people think of animals as mere property? Why is their value determined by their AKC papers and how much money they can be sold for? To some, a dog is an object to be bought and sold without even considering what the animal wants or needs. It leads me to question how these people were raised and overall what kind of person they are?
Regardless of what you believe in or don’t believe in, the fact is this: Animals are living, breathing beings. They exhibit different personalities, experience emotion and are capable of understanding more than we know. Look into the eyes of a dog cowering in a shelter, and you will know with absolute certainty that they are able to experience fear. Watch the excitement of a dog when its owner comes home and tell me that they cannot feel joy. Just because we cannot speak their language, does not make us superior to them.
I think a piece of the issue begins with one’s upbringing. Many of us were taught to be kind to animals while also respecting them. I think of my 10 month old niece and how I show her to “pet Bella nicely.” I hope to show her, and all the small eyes that may be watching me, through my actions that pets are to be treated with kindness for as long as they live, not just while they’re convenient. Do some children not experience this? Are they shown that a dog is simply an object that can be disposed of when they become too much of a burden?
We have to end the cycle of thinking of animals as simply property. There are so many factors that come into play, but I think in general as a society, we need to do a better job of educating our young people about empathy and compassion toward animals and setting a positive example to be followed.
Currently there are no laws in place to regulate the sale of pets on Craigslist, so please think twice before getting a pet from this or any other website.