When I saw the news story the other day about an orphaned baby humpback whale, I was tempted to put it in my blog, but I didn’t because I had a feeling it wouldn’t end well.  I’m sorry to say that I was right, and I’m only writing about it now because the saga is over.

There was a baby humpback whale off the coast of Australia who was trying to suckle from yachts; they estimated him to be about 1 or 2 months old.  For some reason, he had been abandoned by his mother, even though he was obviously still nursing.  They tried to help him; they tried leading him out to sea, integrating him into another pod of whales, and they speculated about what to feed him.  But because he was still nursing, they didn’t know how to take care of a 12 foot orphaned whale.  Throughout his plight, Australians following the story grew attached to the “little” guy, and they affectionately named him Colin.  They watched as Colin grew weak with hunger as the days went by until sadly, the decision was made to euthanize him.  Suddenly, he was no where to be found….  but I guess it was just the darkness cloaking him because they did find him the next day, and they pulled him ashore and administered a lethal injection.

As an animal lover, this story was very sad for me to read, but mostly, I just don’t get it.  Why did humans have to take it upon themselves to euthanize the whale?  Why couldn’t they have at least tried to feed him?  It’s not that I think any animal should suffer, but this was nature…  it wasn’t humans who injured the baby whale, so why not let nature continue taking its course and just leave him alone?  Who knows, maybe he would have found a pod of whales to nurse him back to health before it was too late.  But no, the humans just had to intervene – they had to drag a baby whale out of the water, his natural habitat, and kill him.  They didn’t want him to suffer starving to death in the ocean, but what about the terror he felt when he was captured and dragged out of the water?  And let’s not even talk about how much all this costs.  Seems like they could have fed a few starving people, put a roof over someone’s head for a few nights, or provided medical care to the sick if they had extra money laying around to execute a whale.  After all, every little bit helps, right?  But what’s done is done; the saga of Colin the whale is over.  Maybe humans will eventually realize that their constant meddling with nature sometimes brings more harm than good. 

As an animal lover, I am a big believer in getting as many of your pets from a humane society as you can.  Sometimes there are reasons why a family might need a “purebred” animal (allergies to certain breeds, professional showmanship, etc.), but for the most part, I don’t really like when pet stores carry dogs and cats for sale, especially when they try to make “breeds” out of dogs that are mutts!  Case in point – we visited a Petland this weekend, just something to do to pass the time while we were in Fort Wayne, Indiana visiting the zoo, and I noticed that at least HALF of their puppy stock was mixed breeds!  The same animals you could buy (rescue!) for a small fraction of the price at a humane society, or even a pound, where they euthanize (KILL) animals just because they have too many!  And here these pet stores are creating more, just for profit and to “design” a custom-made dog for somebody that in my opinion, does not have their priorities straight if they’re willing to spend extra money just to have a “designer” puppy.  Petland, etc. will make up breeds; for example, the store we went to had “puggles” (a pug crossed with a beagle), cock-a-poos (cocker spaniels mixed with poodles), and “borderjacks” (border collie mixed with a jack russell terrier), to name a few.  Anyway, I won’t go into the reasons for choosing to adopt your next dog from a shelter vs. a pet store (except to say it will SAVE A LIFE!!!), but I just thought I would post a copy of the letter I’m going to send to my local humane society to thank them for the awesome family pet we adopted a few months ago from their shelter:

Dear Humane Society:
We just wanted to say thank you for our new family member.  We adopted “Sasha” from your facility on March 4, 2008.  We renamed her Beesley after a character from our favorite tv show, and not only has she learned her new name and some new tricks, she has become a very much loved part of our family.  She gets along with our 2 dogs just like one of the “pack”, and she is an energetic, obedient, and gentle playmate for our 3 young children.  She seems really happy in our house, and we couldn’t be happier after choosing any other dog for our new pet.  Thanks so much for taking such good care of her while she was a homeless dog and for having patience with us while we got to know her to see if she would fit into our family.  She fits like a lost piece of our family puzzle, and we couldn’t imagine a better dog…  well, except for our “old lady” of the house, the pack leader named Charity, who Beesley worships and spoils along with the rest of us!  Here is a picture of the kids with Charity and Beesley.  Thanks again!