Dear Ashley – owner of 13 year old Cocker Spaniel who posted on Craigslist

Please re-consider giving away your 13 year old dog because your small children "aggravate" her. You have had the dog far longer than the children, so she is obviously used to them and I’m sure has ways to avoid them. If not, can you get her a crate or something that she can crawl into to get away from them when they’re awake and bothering her?


I wonder if it bothers you more than the dog when your kids aggravate her? No doubt she doesn’t like it, but if she could speak I bet she would say that she prefers to stay in her home of 13 years with annoying kids than be given away to a stranger at her old age.


No doubt you love your dog very much so I want you to know that giving her away at her age will be devastating for her. She will feel abandoned and probably become very depressed.


Also – please think about what you’re teaching your children by doing this. Wouldn’t it be better to teach them how to be gentle and loving with her instead of finding her a new home? By getting rid of her, it sends a damaging message to impressionable young that pets are disposable.
Whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE HER TO A SHELTER - THIS IS NO WAY FOR HER TO SPEND THE LAST DAYS OF HER LIFE. Shelters already euthanize thousands of young, healthy dogs because there are not enough homes for them all. Shelters know that 13 year old dogs do not often get adopted, or certainly not adopted quickly, and they just don't have the resources to keep her there for weeks. But mostly, sending her to a shelter would be the very worst choice you could make.

Please re-consider this for both her sake and that of your children.
Thank you.

p.s. I tried to post this on Craigslist but they now have many new stupid rules about needing to have an account, and needing to provide a phone number before posting which I really don't feel like bothering with.
And to others reading this: please do not email Ashley to harass her or make her feel worse than she probably already feels.


Very Loving Cocker Spaniel Needs Loving Home (Bear, DE)

Date: 2010-06-03, 5:52PM EDT

Reply to: comm-5kftc-1773865789@craigslist.org

Please help our loving dog Dimsum find a loving home. She is nearly 13 and doesn't care too much for children. I hate to give her up but I have small children in my home that aggravate her. I'm trying to find someone who may be older with grown children or just a single looking for a wonderful lovable companion. Dimsum gets along wonderfully with other animals. She has been around cats all her life. She is up to date on all vaccinations and has only minor ear infections every once and a while. Although she is older she is still playful and able to get around on her own. Please feel free to call me for any other questions you may have. PLEASE HELP DIMSUM!!!