Take your pet out to dinner. The price of a nice meal for two is what it would cost to have your pet spayed or neutered, a couple days of doggie day care or the fees for the appropriate vaccinations to keep your pet healthy.

I am a foster mom for the Bangor Humane Society. I take in animals that are too young for adoptions, need socialization, young mothers and her pups. My last experience with fostering has really made me wonder about what goes through pet owners’ minds. I say that because I had a 2-year-old lab mix “Lady,” a really nice dog and her eight puppies. I got them when the pups were three days old; I had them for two months. It was then time for them to go back to the Humane Society for adoption.

The puppies got adopted quickly as puppies do, but the mother on the other hand had a really hard time adjusting to this situation. She was barking excessively and got so stressed out that she had violent diarrhea. The employees feared she was going “kennel crazy” which meant it was only going to get worse, not better, being in that environment. For the lab mix, her sanity and therefore, her life was in danger. The Humane Society would have no choice but to have put her down.

The hard part for me being her foster mom was that myself and the people who met her knew she was a good girl; she was kind, gentle, sweet and affectionate. Being placed into a shelter environment and having her babies adopted, stressed her out to a point that if she did not get adopted, she would have died. Fortunately, Lady had four people and the staff who cared enough about her to quickly find her a new home.

For the low cost of a dinner for two, you can help cut back the overpopulation of cats and dogs, eliminate the situation Lady was put into. You may know your pet is sweet, kind and gentle, but put them into an unfamiliar situation and they may never have a second chance. This could be your animal I am talking about. Spay or neuter your animal, take him to obedience class, take the time to find a new home in which she can join you, make sure they get their shots and are licensed.

Judy Glover

Bangor