When we are educated we do better

I grew up in the 80s when most dogs were out on a chain 100% of the time. It was not strange or even commented on. In 1988 when I was in second grade, I got a dog. She stayed in the house 100% of the time and never ate table scraps. She was housebroken, flea and worm free, and ate a relatively good brand of dog food. Most people that I knew at that time if they purchased dog food, which most of them did not it was a very low in quality. Table scraps were the majority of their dogs diet. Not sure how because I had a older mom for that time, I was always taught dogs were not to live outside on a chain. That was unfair and if you were doing that you should not have a dog. I was taught the dogs did not eat table scraps and that you bought the best brand of dog food you could. I was taught that vaccinations were important that we were never able to afford them and going to the vet with something you should do if you had the money. Unfortunately most people around me and my low income neighborhood did not have the same thoughts when it came to dogs. If your dog got sick it just died. That care was never talked about. I’m sure some of that was economic status they probably just did not have the money, but I’m not so sure even if they did have the money if vet care and vaccinations would’ve been considered. No I know now some people do not like vaccinations but usually it’s people who have done research. I know there’s a lot of controversy when it comes to dogs in their care nowadays and that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m sure back then no one did any research because there was no Internet so I’m not sure how they would have done research. I remember once in middle school I got a dog book and read it and wanted to implement a lot of the things that I learned in the book, such as training, and the care of my dog but of course back then things were way different and that was strange to get a book and try to implement new practices in the care of your dog, now that’s common place. It always broke my heart to see dogs living outside. I just thought that was not a fair life. I wanted to do better back then but did not know how. I wanted to take my dog to the vet to get vaccinations and things like that. I remember when we got our dog spayed around 1990 that was a really new innovative idea in our community. I remember telling people proudly that my dog was spayed and that she would not have puppies. The fact that my dog had never had puppies was foreign back then. I’m not saying we were the first to get our dog spayed of course because we weren’t but we were the first of the people that we knew. I was thinking recently about the first time I saw a leash. We had a leash for our dog and we used it but it was like an old plastic retractable lease that we probably got at the dollar store. I remember the first time I saw a better leash. I remember thinking that the retractable kind was the only kind there was. Most people did not even have a leash further dog. Of course yes we had a chain for our dog that we chained her up when she was outside. She did not live on the chain, and only was out there for potty breaks but back then everyone had a chain but nobody really had a leash. I remember when my grandmother put her cat on flee preventative. I knew that you could get it for dogs but we couldn’t afford it and I remember her talking about a new innovative product that would keep your animals from getting fleas. I remember once a kid coming to my house and saying I don’t want your dog near me because it has fleas. I said my dog does not have fleas. The kids said of course your dog has fleas they all have fleas there’s no way to keep a dog from getting fleas. We did get flea collars and things like that and our dog did not have fleas but of course back at that time people just did not know that there was a way to prevent fleas. So many things are different now than they were back then. We know so much more and have information at our fingertips. There’s no reason for ignorance anymore. We’ve came so far with advancements in our pet care, pet health and information. There’s no reason to be stuck in ignorance. Pets are a huge responsibility and there’s a lot to taking care of them. It frustrates me to people talk about how in their day pets didn’t stay in the house and it was OK to let your dog wander the neighborhood. They don’t understand why Raby shots are required and there’s rules to taking care of a dog and people take dog care so seriously. I always say well in your day there wasn’t car seats, or child labor laws or whatever, does that mean we stay stuck in bad things when we learn better we can do better.