island dog and cat need a home

i hope you find someone. also ask at vet offices if they know of anyone who would be willing to give them a home

Of course I'm likely to come across as belligerent but if you take them to the Shelter they're: (a) going to be cooped up in cages; (b) separated; and (c) probably euthanized given the fate of most older animals..

I'm so glad you "really don't want to abandon them" but the inescapable intimation is that you'll do just that if push comes to shove.

Why can't you take them with you? All the animals I've had throughout a long life have easily adapted to new surroundings and to inside/outside situations and all combinations thereof.

The very least you can do is offer to cover cost of food and flea/tick meds for a couple of years if some kind soul is able to offer them a home.

Disappointed you will leave your animals behind, not to mention the fact that you feed your dog cat food which is not healthy for the dog
just as it would not be healthy for the cat to feed it dog food. Chicken and rice is okay as long as no bones. Cats and dogs have different metabolic needs and their foods are based on the needs particular to each animal. Check with your vet if you don't believe me and give the dog its own food.

Hope you shall find a good home for them and not abandon on the side of the road, somewhere as so many animals are when people
"need to relocate" without their so called, beloved (?) pets. I'd sooner chop an arm off than leave mine behind.

I would suggest posting their pics at all the vet offices as well as every single message board you can find every where you go on island to give these animals a chance as the shelter is already overflowing with abandoned and discarded animals because there are just too many of them on our islands. Try reaching out stateside, post on facebook but find them a home. They are your responsibility that you willingly and knowingly took upon yourself. I do wish them the best of luck in finding a "FOREVER HOME!"

When you take responsibility for an animal, it's for the life of the animal.

Which island?

Which island?

STX.

Good morning, six years ago, we had an island dog adopt my family.... she was probably at least 2 years old back then... a neighbor in the complex had her neutered and got her all her shots... when we moved into out new house, we brought her with us.... we also brought a cat (then a year old) that another neighbor had spayed. The two of them are best friends. Both are "fixed" and both are GREAT at catching rats and mice! Both eat cat food.... or rice and chicken if you like to cook for them. Both are out door animals... They are independent and low maintenance animals but don't mind our 4 year old daughter playing with them either.

We really don't want to take them to the shelter, or abandon them... and are hoping someone will be willing to give them a home..... because ...sadly my family and I are moving to the states and we are unable to take them with us...

I can send you pics... dog is a small white coconut retriever (looks a lot like Bolt)... cat is a grey tiger cat... would ideally like them to stay together if possible...

Thank you for considering this.

Breaks my heart when peeps do this to their pets ... I just don't understand how anyone can leave part of their family behind when they leave.

Perhaps the neighbors that were kind enough to have them spayed and get them their shots would be willing to welcome them back? Why did you bother to take them in the first place?

Are you also leaving any human children behind?

While I can appreciate everyone’s concern for why we are not able to take the animals with us, please also appreciate that we ARE doing the responsible thing by finding them a home. We are not the ones who made them homeless. We are the ones who kept them out of the shelters and gave them a safe place to live.

We came to the VI moving Center board only after reaching out to friends and colleagues. However, like us, they have taken on many pets from people who have had to leave the island and cannot take on any more.

Of course we know what happens if we take them to the shelter or abandon them. That is why we came to this board. We have been a member of this board for six years and know that there are many animal loving people here. That is why we have turned to you for help.
The focus of my request should not be about me, my family or our circumstances. It should be about helping these lovely animals find a home.

We are on St. Croix.

there are many reasons why someone can not continue to care for pets. a lot of these reasons were posted on another thread when someone was trying to do the right thing by finding them a loving home.

i do hope you can find a loving home for them.

and you are correct, the focus should be on finding them a home and not berating her for her choice.

... and you are correct, the focus should be on finding them a home and not berating her for her choice.

I think the issue here is a bad choice of words or expressions - twice. In the first post the option of abandoning them was raised ("We really don't want to take them to the shelter, or abandon them") and in the second it was repeated ("Of course we know what happens if we take them to the shelter or abandon them.") To even raise "abandonment" understandably raises hackles.

The animals would be much much better off if you brought them to the states before taking them to a shelter. It would be more humane to have them put down at your home, than take them to our over filled shelter to have them do it without you. I know that sounds harsh, but so is the reality of homeless animals.

Take them with you and find a NO-Kill shelter, stateside, if you can't keep them and can't find homes for them on island.

Take them with you and find a NO-Kill shelter, stateside, if you can't keep them and can't find homes for them on island.

Where I'm from (the NorthEast), No Kills don't do intake. They only pull from the Kill Shelters, which are needed because there are so many unwanted pets.

When are you leaving the island?

oldtart, i understand what you mean and those are a bad choice of words. i think sometimes in desperation we say things to get people to react, in this case take her pets. a better choice of words might not have raised the hackles it did

Yvonne, thank you for taking in the dog and cat for all those years, and thank you for trying to find a good home for them now. I wish you and them the best of luck.

Yvonne..god bless you for trying to do the right thing. We had a really hard time trying to figure out a way to even get our dogs off island last year in August! We had to kennel them for a month-- before we could arrange a private flight to pr then a commercial flight to the mianland. Total cost close to $ 3000. We were fortunate that we had the resources to do that and I recognize that not everyone does. My husband calls them the most expensive free dogs we ever had! Good luck and I hope you find a good home for them.

emzmom--I applaud you.

emzmom is lucky because she did have the money to allow her to do that. not everyone has that option.

I am so frustrated with this post, I am going to keep my ranting to a minimum. Looks like everyone else has it covered. I have a 4 year old indoor only cat currently at the vet, going on day 3, and we still don't know what's exactly wrong with her. I did not choose to abandon her b/c of the cost of treatment. We rescued her from a shelter at the age of 10 weeks, took her into our home and we love her. We transported her here from stateside when we moved, and will endure the cost of treatment, if it's in her best interest. It's our obligation to see that she is fed correctly, sheltered and healthy. We may very well have to cancel an upcoming vacation due to the cost of treatment. Animals deserve proper care and respect, not tossed to the curb b/c it's the easiest/cheapest thing to do.

i agree with that in theory, but sometimes things beyond a persons control dictate what can be done. i know someone that was in the hospital on pr for two years, what should they have done. i know someone who became homeless, what should they have done. what about people who have great jobs and all of a sudden find themselves jobless and have no money for necessities. what should these people do.

that is my only point. if you have the money than obviously you should continue to care for your pet. but sometimes life throws you serious curve balls that you can not, no matter how hard you try, overcome in a day, a week or even a month. sometimes you have to decide do you pay wapa or buy food for oneself or buy food for the pet. or do you try to find a nice loving home for the pet. not everyone has it easy nor do they have the resources to continue to care for their pet

Speedy? Really? This isn't beyond their control. If you cant afford $300 for tickets then you have NO business having pets. So mad I could scream, I will never be able to understand nor respect people who toss animals aside like an inconvenience.

i did not say this instance, but people seem to think all people who need to give up their beloved pets do have it in their control. that makes me angry. peoples circumstances are not ours, we should not judge all people because we do not always have all the facts. i know she said she could not take the stray animals she had been taking care of when their original owners left them behind.
i do understand that when you take on the responsibility of a pet, you need to do your best to take care of that pet until either one of you dies. i have three babies myself. they go where i go. end of story. at least she is trying to find the strays she has taken care of a new forever home.