Ditching the family dog :(

[Corinna]

I think Ed and Shadow are the heros and winners in this story.
First of all this woman had no right to adopt a dog with out consulting with her partner. it all went down hill from there.
I'm glad for Ed and Shadow they have each other and it's very apparent they have a great partnership.

[K9soul]

I think the wrongness here is the desensitizing effect the article could have on people 'ditching' pets. The more we hear, support, agree with lame reasons to ditch our pets, the more it happens. It is changing the minds of individuals, one at a time, to support inclusion, responsibility, commitment and love, that needs work here. Not articles putting a positive spin on 'ditching' family pets.

This really states well why I felt upset by the article. The title, the use of the word "ditching," the way she seemed to feel justified and talked about how the dog listened to Ed better than he ever had her. Well that's called training. She seemed to have an attitude like "Oh well he's got a better home now and happier so it was fine to 'ditch' him." Which by the way she didn't even have the courage to ask Ed herself and who knows where the dog would have ended up if her husband hadn't stepped up and asked. Thank God for people like Ed, those who constantly step up to clean up the messes of people who just "don't have the time" to properly care for an animal THEY have committed to when they brought it home.

It just seemed like the point behind the article was to say "it's fine to ditch the family pet if you just don't feel like working through the problems." I agree with Johanna, the article seemed written to assuage this woman's own guilt.

I don't really see it the same as a marriage breaking up because that is two adults involved and both making decisions for themselves. A dog or cat is helpless at the hands of its humans and has no say in what happens. I see it more like dumping a little child one doesn't want to deal with.