A Puppy’s Bill of Rights




1. I have a right to be adopted by someone who wants a dog. I will only be a puppy for a few months. Will you still love me when I am no longer a cute little baby?



2. I have a right to be adopted by you, not your children. Your children will not walk me, feed me, or groom me. They are quite likely to lose interest in me as soon as the novelty of my presence in your house wears off. They will grow up and move away and I will be left behind with you. If you don’t want me for yourself, please don’t adopt me.



3. I have a right to your patience and understanding. I will poop and pee in your house, terrorize the cat, chew on the children, the furniture, and you, jump on everyone and everything, raid the trash, and destroy your favorite pair of shoes. If you are not prepared for this, please adopt a grownup dog that already knows how to behave.



4. I have a right to successful training.



5. I have a right not to be the victim of your inability to train me. You have no right to condemn me to life in the back yard or crate me for hours on end because I misbehave. I am a baby dog; you are a human, supposedly an intelligent creature created in the image of God. If I don’t learn, it’s because you didn’t teach me right.



6. I have the right to be spayed or neutered. I am homeless now as a result of irresponsible breeding. Don’t make me make more homeless puppies.



7. I have a right to exercise. I need to be walked every day or have playtime in the yard. I should not spend more time in a crate than out of it. See right number three.



8. I have a right to your love and attention every day whether you are in the mood or not, regardless of how tired or stressed or busy you are. I never said that caring for me would be easy. Besides, no matter how tired, busy or stressed I am, I will always have time to show my love for you.



9. I have a right to be in the house with you when you are home. I am a member of your family. You don’t keep the children on a chain in the backyard or locked up in a crate or kennel, do you?



10. I have a right to be kept clean and healthy. Before you adopt me, please look at my coat and think about how much time you want to spend grooming me. Please think seriously about the cost of my food and vet care.



11. I have the right to die peacefully of old age in the arms of people who love me.