To be honest, it isn't just 'copy pastas' that I get upset about, but all those general 'motivational' memes.

Two types that I particularly dislike (and why) below (and apologizing in advance, I do not know the meaning of the phrase 'Short and Sweet'):

'Thinking of adopting a pet? Take the time to get to know the shy ones, the older ones, *insert any sort of 'not happy bouncy, ready to go home with you' behavior'.

This seems like good advice on the surface, but to me, it is damaging, because you have so many people who want to 'do good' with regards to animals, but often, those pets that are listed in that meme could have various underlying issues that cause them to act that way.

A better meme, to me, would be:

'Thinking of adopting a pet? Research breeds. Even if you want a mixed breed, it may be subject to both behaviors associated with the breeds that comprise the pet, and health issues also associated with the breeds. Discuss what you expect of the pet with your family, or yourself'

People who go for an animal because it is 'not immediately adoptible' could be putting that animal in a worse situation, because they cannot handle the issues that animal brings. It may have underlying health issues that cost a lot of money later on, it may have triggers that certain situations will unexpectedly reveal. It may not be the right fit for your family. So, research before you get any animal, and determine what breeds might be a good fit for your situation and what breeds are least likely to fit (you have a small apartment and aren't very active, don't get an active dog, unless you want to become active.)


The second one is basically telling people that if people have a problem with you, that is *their* problem, and just be yourself.

I saw someone else mention this, and it stuck with me. This is fine for the most part, except this is also saying that if you have a negative personallity trait, you should just 'be yourself' and don't worry about trying to correct that trait.

It isn't just reinforcing positive traits, such as finding joy in simple moments or things like that, but also reinforcing negative traits that really *do* need addressing.



Most of the motivational stuff is always so generic that it ends up being less helpful and potentially more harmful. (and this isn't just online, I remember a while ago, there was a dove commercial and it got flack as well for things like this.)

ditto. while it is better generally speaking to adopt (rather than buying from pet stores), if you can't handle behavioral issues/trauma/anxiety/terminal illnesses, it may be better to find something from an independent breeder with a good reputation.

mills are never the best option, because while they may be cheaper than other pets, if you're in a financial situation where you need to find the cheapest you can possibly get, it's likely unwise for you to add a living creature to the equation :<

I have nothing against adopting, and am generally against 'pedigrees' (and the new trend of 'portmanteuing' breed names to disguise that it is a 'mutt' :P), I am more talking about the trend of trying to guilt people into adopting animals that they might not necessarily be able to handle, rather than trying to get them to do their research into the type of animal that they are physically, emotionally and financially fit to handle, and that will fit into their life.

Even mutts(whether cats or dogs) are affected by the breeds that went into their parentage, so researching pedigree breeds can give you an idea of how a mixed breed pet might behave. We have a Maine Coon mix that just showed up, and he has some of the traits of his maine coon parentage. He probably also has some traits from whatever else went into his make up.

But, not every pet from a shelter will have behavioral issues, or things like that (and I believe many shelters now try to 'get to know the pets' to let the adopters know about the issues), so I feel it is better to adopt, just don't get guilted into taking on a pet you can't handle, because it is the pet that will suffer.

But I do agree with that if you have to go with the cheapest choice, you probably shouldn't have a pet, but, from what I have seen, most people who go to 'puppy mills' aren't the ones who want the cheapest pet, they want a 'pedigree pet for cheap'. Otherwise, there are plenty of pets out there that are cheaper, but they don't have that 'pedigree' designation. They probably could afford the more expensive pets, but not the pedigree types they want.

Sadly, there are a lot of people who follow 'trends' (which is why I hate the cockerpoo, or puggles, or whatever other cutesy names they come up with, naming trend, instead of calling them crossbreeds or just mutts), and they will go the cheapest route, or be easily led into getting the wrong pets.

One thing that stuck with me was a story I heard about when 101 dalmations came out. The Humane Society said that they pretty much hated that movie, because when it came out, people rushed out and got the 'cute white puppies that developed spots', then realized that a dalamation is not a good fit for anyone not extremely physically active, and the shelters became flooded with puppies 6+ months down the road, because people couldn't handle them.

According to one article I just read (from 1997), people found the animals weren't good around children, and needed a lot of exercise, and tended to snap and become aggressive (probably from pent up energy and not being trained properly), so they started dumping them.

So it isn't just because people want 'cheaper options' that they go to puppy mills, but because they want to be 'with it' with the latest trend, or want 'that cute little animal they just saw'. (I mean, look at how many people have aggressive chis (not even going to try to spell that :P not up to it right now) My sister had a pedigree one that she found roaming near where she lived, she found the owners and they didn't want it, and it was a sweetheart. But, she didn't encourage it to snap and be afraid of everything like you see people in the YT videos, because it is 'cute that they snarl and shake and shiver at everything or how cute that it is standing up to that big great dane!'. It only once barked at my cats, and I barked back, and it never did it again. The only 'problem' with it was it had BAD separation anxiety and would whine when she had to be out of its sight)

^ yes. I have been *terrified* of chihuahuas and pomeranians since I was little because the only ones I ever encountered were ancient and improperly trained.

I never knew about the dalmatian thing actually, weird.

The Dalmation thing was something I heard a throwaway comment once , a long time ago, and yesterday looked it up to get more info, and found that one article (there were more, but didn't look beyond that one as I just wanted to confirm that it was true. I have heard other things that I can no longer find any evidence of, and heard them years ago, so don't know whether they are actually true or just a 'rumor' someone heard and repeated)

Honestly, my sister's chi is the only one I have any experience with. I live in the country, and am more of a cat person, so most dogs we see are at least medium sized. (hunters mostly). But, as said, his only problem is that he didn't want to be separated from her, though I understand she did have a few issues with her other dogs and him trying to 'bully' them, but she wouldn't let them (after all, one of them WAS a great dane), and a lot of that was probably because he wasn't neutered (he had an issue that made it so he wasn't a good 'breeder', which is why his original owners didn't want him, and by the time she got him, it was deemed too 'unsafe' to neuter him)

But, sadly, as said, people tend to follow 'trends' and want to get in on the trends. Which is why I dislike many of the 'inspriational/uplifting' memes you tend to see.

Reminds me of I believe Dove Soap had a commercial campaign a few years ago that backfired. It was meant to uplift girls, but there started to be concerns about it was projecting the 'wrong' messages. (about body image etc..)

I think I've heard the dove soap thing.

There's something similar to the dalmatian thing that happens basically every year. Right around the holidays massive amounts of pets are given to shelters/abandoned because people buy pets for themselves/family and they realize after a month they can't take care of it (or simply don't want to).

This happens to parrots a ridiculous amount, considering how long they live. They're loud, messy, and not all of them are going to behave the same way- picture this: you buy a cockatoo expecting it to dance/sing/talk like the one you saw in that video, and spoiler alert, it probably won't (or at least right away).

Suddenly, you find yourself with an unwanted creature in your home that can also probably be at your funeral. So instead of doing proper research, and discovering that tossing parrots around from owner to owner like a hot potato is really detrimental to their health, you send them to a shelter.

Rinse and repeat. I've always had a fondness for parrots and animals in general really, so shelters that rehabilitate pets that have been through the worst are very dear to my heart. When I was a kid I always wanted a parrot but never realized how big of a responsibility it was- I still want one now, maybe someday :'>

conures are super cute

edit: i momentarily forgot about how parrots are very social, so shutting them in a closet in hopes they'll shut up, or sticking them in a corner like decoration is like, the worst idea ever.

Yeah, it does. Easter has Bunnies and Chicks returned (or just dumped into the wild) yearly, Christmas has puppies and kittens, and I am sure there are a couple of other times as well, though those are the two biggest areas.

Usually it is people getting these pets for their children, and then children realize 'wait a minute, this thing takes WORK to keep' and stops wanting it, leaving it to the 'poor overworked parents' to then take care of the animal, which they don't want to.

Or, they get these 'cute little animals', and six months down the line, that gangly great dane pup is not longer so little, and all those cute little actions they thought were cute, such as chewing up papa's shoes, or 'play attacking' the kid, are no longer so cute, because that dog is BIG. (we had what we are pretty sure was a great dane/greyhound mix that just showed up. He used to regularly bounce higher than trucks... though he was an excellent dog. One of the few types of dogs that I, as someone who prefers cats, would want to have), or they are ACTIVE, and need lots of excercise, and guess what? Their child no longer finds it funny to go outside and play with the dog, it is now work.

And yeah, I imagine it is even worse for the 'exotic' pets that they occasionally feature, such as birds or snakes. People all the time talk about how 'low maintenance' a snake is, and there are videos of the snakes 'just chilling' then people find out, it can still be a lot of work to take care of the snake in the way it is meant to be taken care of. Same for birds.

Same for horses, though you don't hear about them that much. All kids want horses, but as someone who DID have horses (Sadly not my own, so couldn't ride them when I wanted) while growing up, most of those kids would nearly immediately stop wanting horses if they had to actually take care of them. IE, take them grain every day, check their water, give them hay (which I am allergic to, so that was a nice little 'plus' :P). Even more work if the horses are in stables (ours had pasture that they could roam, and just a little shed for their feed. There were also a small forest they could take shelter in if they wanted), because they need grooming and you have to basically ride them every day.


Sadly, people, as I have been saying, will tend to only look on the surface of things, and not look deeper, such as into 'what does it take to keep a parrot?' 'What do I need if I want to own a horse?'. They will look at all the happy Youtubers who are out there riding their horses, teaching their parrots to sing Queen, and think 'they can do it, I can!', not realizing they are seeing only five minutes out of 20+ years of taking care of the animals. (our horses lived to 25 and 28 or so) and that a lot goes into 'producing' those five minutes of viewing pleasure.

yes. yes yes, yes. I have owned a snake, I will be getting one soon. While relatively low maintenance, you do need to clean their terrarium regularly, feed them regularly. My father was horrible about this. He only cleanded maybe a couple times a year and fed him every few months. I would constantly bug him to feed it but he couldn't be bothered. That was my mom's snake. That she had since college. It was not his to mistreat. I can safely say that I will be able to care properly for mine, I will not let that happen again.
He passed at 17 and it's likely he was highly malnourished. I miss him every day :<

While they are pretty chill (most of the time), snakes are wild animals. They are not toys, and they lack the mental function to feel affection so they will not love you back. It's a vicious cycle :') They will bite when they feel threatened, and while they can become accustomed to you, they don't care for you in the slightest (that's your job).
We had a ball python, which, like most snakes, strikes quickly to get a grip on prey before constricting it. Sometimes they miss, big surprise. Aiming at a wiggly thing dangling from the hand of a giant slab of meat isn't exactly easy, I'd say- my dad got bit several times. I imagine getting bit by something that's pretty difficult to get un-bit by is a large factor in why pet snakes get thrown out into the wild so often.

As a Florida native, please do not release your pets outside- the everglades are full of invasive species because of this. It's not healthy for either party.

edit: snakes also require special lighting to account for their living indoors, which I assume some people don't know. they also should have a terrarium proportionate to their size, because think. do you want to live in a tiny box for 15-30 years? no.

The copy-paste spam is honestly just annoying at this point, and a lot of people's bios just have them there instead of any other information.

The ones like the Bieber copy-paste [and its variations] are just scummy, encouraging suicide is not 'quirky' it's not something to put in your bio just because you don't like someone's music and want to be seen as 'different' compared to other people.

It's all toxic, needless, cringey, and I honestly gag at the fact that there was a point where I found them genuinely funny. Just thankful I never wound up putting them in my bio, they are definitely NOT something to brag about.

Once upon a time I was a young, impressionable child- I managed to fall in with some of these things a while back (they still made me feel icky even back then, I think I just wanted to fit in lol. that lasted.) Needless to say my am is pretty quick and to the point now.

Specifically I had the one about bullying, but I removed a few of them because I thought they were "inappropriate," oh well.