Christmas Roulette; A Poem for Animals

This poem was written by a reader of the blog, House of the Discarded. It is so true and hits home for all animals. Please, think before you decide to bring an animal into your home. It is a lifetime commitment. And it is not ok to get rid of it because you're going on vacation or having company for the holidays. And remember all this too before you decide an animal wrapped under your tree is a cute idea!

Christmas Roulette

By: Kristen J.

Red and green stringed beads,Deafen ears once alert For the true souls in need.


Wide eyed and sweet,Once just a kitten at play,Has worn out his welcomeand can no longer stay.

Family time is coming;Turkey, stockings and snow.Too many guests in the house,He will be the one to go.


Kids have lost interest,A new dog is in store!The reasons are endless,He matters not anymore.


The entity of convenience;A commitment on sale.To Kijiji a loved one,Once they become stale.


In the crate he goes,A tearful goodbye even made.The memories are many,But too quickly do they fade.


“Don't worry” promises mom“He'll get a good home soon”.But he is left at the shelter,Heat is low, darkness looms.


The family is in bliss,“A good home” they had said.And still he sits at the shelter,crouched on a newspaper bed.


In fear and terror he sits,The cage so cold and black,He watches the door intently,Sure his family will come back.


Green eyes once so brighthave dulled with passing days.With confusion setting in,Ever vigilant, he still waits.


With empty promises of liesthe family has eased the load.But no happy home awaits,No fork at this end of the road.


He bears no ill-thoughtsNo anger or blind rage.He just wants to understandThe events leading to this cage.


With but one simple thought,A loved companion so easily goes,Blind illusions ease the guilt,And dim the lights on death row.


A new kitten for Christmasmarks where this tale started.But home for Christmas turnedhim to the House of the Discarded.

STOP BREEDING - PLEASE!!!!

UGH - because I am affiliated with a horse rescue, and I am listed as the contact for horses in need of a home, I get calls, DAILY, seriously DAILY folks. Calls for horses that have no home, are unwanted or soon to be in one of these situations.

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, if you are one of those IDIOTS (yes, you are an idiot) out there breeding horses, dogs, cats...WHATEVER...just to breed or to make a buck, PLEASE STOP!!!

There are SO MANY animals out there w/o homes. If you want to add an animal to your family, please choose to adopt from a shelter or rescue.

If you could hear the daily voice mails I get for horses that need a place to go, you'd be sick to your stomach. And if you aren't, there is something seriously wrong with you. Today alone I received a call for 8, COUNT THEM 8, Thoroughbreds that need homes. God Damn!!! C'mon! And the kicker for this call, the lady who has them was housing them as a favor to the owner because he had a barn fire....over a year ago...and has never come back for them!

I could go on and on all day about the sad stories I listen to daily on my voicemail for horses needing homes. Even though I am affiliated with a horse rescue, I do get calls too sometimes for dogs and cats. They are all sad and heart wrenching. I could go on for days on this soap box of mine, but back to my point...STOP BREEDING! It certainly won't cure this problem of unwanted animals, but it surely can start to curb it.

All my animals are rescues...horse, dogs, cat and even barn cat ;) This picture below is of Romeo when he came into the rescue. [He now lives on my farm] He was brought to the rescue by a couple who found him tied to a tree, starving and with no food or water...in the HOT summer. Can you see his hip bones, spine and ribs in this pic; he was so skinny it was awful. My hat goes off to the jerk who decided he didn't want him anymore and tied him to a tree, leaving him to starve to death.

This picture below is of Scarlett, and her filly Silk in the background. Oh yeah, and she is already in foal (pregnant) again in this picture. You would never assume because she was a BAG OF BONES and still nursing her one month old filly, but yep, she was already pregnant again. We rescued her from a auction where the fate of her, her filly and her unborn foal was most certainly a slaugher house. SOME IDIOT decided they didn't want her after they bred her, let her foal Silk and then REBRED her (Why? SERIOUSLY WHY did you rebreed her only to ship her off in a month?) and then a month later shipped her to auction. A$$HOLES! And yes, that is the auction tag number on Scarlett's rear that they slap on with glue. Nice huh!

There are 9 gazillion pics I could show you. I just use these two as examples. Animals do not deserve this!! STOP BREEDING!! There are way too many unwanted animals already out there.

(*I am happy to report that Scarlett, Silk and the foal Scarlett was carrying who is now known as Sprite, all have wonderful loving homes today...but it doesn't always end that way)