Animals Aren't Toys For Your Kids or Yourself

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

Every time I log onto Facebook, I come across one or more posts about cruelty to animals. Some people -- too many people -- treat animals like they’re toys instead of living beings. From abuse, to neglect, to torture, to entertainment, and more, some people tend to forget that animals have feelings.

My kids and I used to rescue abused, neglected, injured, sick, or otherwise “unsellable” or “unwanted” hamsters and other small animals. The only reason we put it on a temporary hold is that we no longer have the means to do so. See, we know when we should take on more animals and when we shouldn’t. We currently have what is our limit. It’s only rescuing if you can handle caring for those you save.

Often, small animals like hamsters and gerbils get abused or neglected because parents who fail to teach their kids proper animal treatment adopt them for their children. Later, they end up returning them after the damage has been done.

That’s when we would come in and adopt them. We’d have to nurse them back to health, teach them to trust people again, help them to be calm instead of aggressive, care for those with disabilities, and more.

Animals are not toys for your kids to play with and abuse. They are living beings with feelings. If your kids don’t know how to be kind to them, teach them how. But don’t adopt an animal for them before that happens.

Animal abuse is sadly not limited to kids who don’t know better. I’ve seen several news stories and a couple television episodes regarding different cases of newborn animals being thrown into the trash by adults, most often kittens and puppies. It’s sad that there have been so many instances of this. Baby animals are not toys. You can’t just put them in the trash when you’re done with them.

On one pet rescue show, I watched as some newborn puppies were rescued from a trash can, where a woman and her mother had thrown them. Their reason was that they couldn’t afford to take care of puppies. Well, why did they allow the mama to get pregnant then? Why didn’t they spay her if they couldn’t afford puppies?


If you think these stories are the worst of it, think again. People use animals as entertainment (i.e. fights and circuses where they’re badly abused), as breeding factories, as test subjects for experiments, and so much more. These are living, breathing creatures, like you and me. Animals aren’t toys.

In case you haven't guessed, yes, I’m one of those “crazies” that crossposts shelter animals, abused animals, etc on Facebook (on my timeline, on my page for that, in groups dedicated to it, and more). But there’s a reason -- and until people get that animals aren’t their toys and they stop abusing them, I’ll keep doing what I do. It’s saved many animals, but even the chance of it saving one is enough for me to keep it up.

Animals aren’t toys and until people start acting like it, those like myself and my children will have to continue doing what we do.