how do you deal with it?

[lulu]

  I recently did a speech about reasons to spay and neuter your pets (for my public speaking class at school) and in doing research for the speech, i found so many disturbing statistics about all the unwanted animals brought to shelters every single year, and the millions of animals that are euthanized every single year because there are simply not enough people to adopt them. i found a quote that said " for every animal that dies in a shelter there is someone, somewhere responsible for its death". and that is true. after doing all the research, i am feeling profoundly depressed and hopeless about the whole situation. the animals who are in shelters could be great companions if given the chance, but unfortunately most of them will not be given the chance. how do you deal with that??? i mistakenly was looking at the dogs avaiable for adoption at the local shelter and found many that i could fall in love with. but...i already have 2 dogs and 3 cats and though i would take a hundred more, my husband wouldnt. nor do i have the funds and the space for that many animals but...it is just so frustrating and heartbreaking. i want to save all the animals in the world, i want to take them all home and make them feel loved and special and wanted. my husband tells me that i cant save all the animals, and of course he is right, but that doesnt stop me from wanting to. Sorry for the depressing subject but... i am just feeling so friggin' sad and hopeless and helpless and PISSED off at all the stupid people in the world who think " its just an animal"
  Leah

[Kermit]

I know exactly how you feel. It is horrifying how many animals are euthanized in shelters every day.

The way I deal with it is to promote spaying and neutering of pets any chance I get. Also, I vow to only rescue dogs for the rest of my life and never support a "breeder". I also foster when I can. I have adopted 6 dogs myself. I think that's my limit, and it's certainly higher than most people's limits. I sometimes think I could take in a few more but I have to keep in mind that unexpected vet bills could come up. I have two kittens living in my bathroom right now waiting to go to new homes, and I have a colony of feral cats on my porch which I am slowly gaining trust with and I will catch them one by one and have them spayed and neutered.

These issues that you have brought up are exactly what has inspired me to find my life's purpose, which is to help animals in need and bring awareness to people. Keep in mind that there are A LOT of people who are aware, and a lot of people adopting shelter dogs. I have met so many caring people just recently, who are more than willing to talk and share stories of rescuing shelter animals. It has been a big relief to me to meet so many like-minded folks.

If you are really feeling like you would like to do something to help animals, I'm sure you could think of a way to spread awareness!! Your speech was a great start!! I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "please spay and neuter your pets"... anything is worth it, no matter how small!!! What I do is try to be "pro" spay/neuter instead of "anti" homeless/neglected animals. That way I can focus on the solution and it will help me stay positive. That's one thing I have learned, if you think too much about all the death and ignorance you will sink into sadness. So I just try to keep my spirits up and do what I can to help.

[arkydo]

My wife and i anytime we can go to the humane society we do  walk dogs and play with them and stuff Arkyd comes along too play with his good friends . and where i live it sucks big time hunters will get them selves a lab and expect a 1 year pup not to want to play and give it away. We got our boxer\lab mix Chav from their and even though at first he was overly energetic but now hes calmed down. He's a great dog (He given up because the people who had him before let their 8 year old  constantly annoy him to the extent that his tail got broke then wondered why the dog try to bite the kid when he was pulling the broken tail!!!!! )
Well it turns out he doesn't try to bite you the dog is so good natured he turns around slowly and mouths your army gently as if to say 'stop it'

some people are absolute idiots and shouldn't be allowed kids let alone dogs or cats!!!