I am addicted to Craigslist!

I admit it, I am completely addicted to Craigslist. Well, at least partially addicted. I only cruise certain sections. Not a day goes by where I don't check out the "Farm and Garden" section in both New York and Vermont. I am not in the market for anything in particular, I just like to look at the pretty pictures of the animals that people have for sale. Where else can you find a pair of trained Belgian draft horses for $900? Or free chickens? Or an apple cider press? It's wonderful. There's everything you would ever need for sale by someone, somewhere. I have sold a couple of goats and chickens on Craigslist and I have bought a couple of bunnies and goats through it.

Sometimes you find really weird things on Craigslist, which is part of the fun. Like today there was an ad for a "chicken/poultry rescue". Some people are actually getting together to rescue birds from people and giving them to foster homes. I thought of responding to the ad because I can offer a foster home for an unwanted chicken -- in my crockpot! Hah! Other times you find some really funny ads for things, like the person that was selling his black locust trees from his backyard. They were for sale for only $1000 a piece (including clean up of the branches and chipping). I printed that ad off for my husband so we could have a good laugh over this person thinking someone would actually give him $1000 for a black locust. In reality, he would be lucky to have to PAY someone only $1000 each for them to be removed.

Another weird part of Craigslist that gives me a laugh is the way people sell pets. Most farm animals are "sold" to someone who "buys" them for a "price". Most pets are "rehomed" to someone who "adopts" them for a "rehoming fee". It kills me! Hah! If you pay a price for any animal and bring it to your house to live, then you aren't "adopting" it for a "fee" to be "rehomed" -- YOU ARE BUYING THE DANG THING!! I get a total kick out of people's use of manipulative language to guilt other people into buying their unwanted dogs and cats. It's like it isn't PC to sell an animal anymore. Also the overuse of the words "rescue" and "adoption" baffles me. I think those words are used to make people believe that they are giving the animal a better home by taking it, when in reality, they are probably just getting it from someone that no longer wants it for some reason -- and those reasons can be anything from "it bit someone's child", or "it barks all the time", or "it's 6 years-old and still poops on the floor", or "it claws me every time I touch it".

This kind of stuff really makes me laugh because I truly believe that there are some animals in the world that just don't deserve to be. Some animals can't be rehabilitated, can't be fixed, can't be tamed. Some animals just aren't going to figure it out and live peacefully with each other or with their human caretakers. There's so many "rescue" places out there and so many animals that need good homes but there aren't enough good homes for all of them. Some animals will have to be euthanized humanely in order for others to live up to their full potentials. I am not saying at all that any animals deserve to be purposefully mistreated. But I do believe that for some animals the only option should be to humanely and safely put an end to their lives. This is how we need to act if we are truly going to represent the lives of the pets and animals we own. We need to stand up and take account for our husbandry decisions and be responsible for our animals. We shouldn't just pass them on to someone else to be stuck with.