An educated owner is a dog’s best friend. An uneducated one can sentence that same dog to death.

In the past few years, there’s been an alarming increase in the number of relinquished and abandoned pets in our country. The reasons for this tragic phenomenon are many, and none of them are a mystery.

But the greatest contributing factor is the failure of dog owners to educate themselves BEFORE they get a pet. If potential owners first armed themselves with the essential ABC’s of animal care, it would help to slow this unfortunate trend and save thousands of innocent lives.

They would know that puppies don’t stay puppies forever; that they grow quickly into dogs.

They would know that puppies must be housetrained promptly and socialized early in order for them to develop into well-behaved and friendly dogs with good bite inhibition.

They would also know that certified trainers and supervised puppy classes can be of crucial assistance to them in raising calm and balanced dogs.

Pet parents seeking the help of knowledgeable trainers are, in effect, working to save their animals’ lives. They will learn everything from perfecting the most basic commands and obedience training with their dogs to participating in numerous activities, including various sports and agility courses together.

Uneducated owners, on the other hand, raise their dogs unassisted and in ignorance. The results, sadly, are untrained, ill-mannered and often dangerous animals. Those who will prove too much for their poorly equipped and frustrated owners to handle. Those who will ultimately be abandoned or deposited at shelters.

To be adopted – and probably returned – by unsuspecting people intent on doing the right thing by not buying from pet stores or unscrupulous breeders.

Or, more than likely, to be euthanized due to overcrowding or their own people-biting or dog-aggressive behaviours.

Thereby perpetuating an all-too-familiar and vicious cycle.

And the only way to break this cycle is through education. Education in the schools and in the workplace. Education among the puppy-buying public and throughout the community at large. Education spread by word of mouth and by the media.

Ignorance never was, nor ever will be, an excuse.