The Importance of Being Charitable by icestorm162 |  |
THE NEOPIAN POUND - It is becoming a growing trend in Neopia to adopt homeless
pets from the pound and transform them into "desirable" pets. I myself am guilty,
as are two of my friends. Take a peep into the Soup Faerie neighbourhood of
the guild HQ and every third guild is an "adoption guild".
But, my main cause of concern is not for the pets, but for the owners. I adopted
a small red Grundo about five months ago, in hopes to blast her with the lab
ray until she became painted or limited edition and then I was going to pop
her back in to the pound. Easy right? I'd done it about seven or eight times
before, each time the pet was transformed within a week or two. But not this
little grundo, no, she remained with me for two months, before eventually transforming
into a lovely little rainbow Pteri.
Well, when it happened I couldn't believe it at first and had to go to the
look up to make sure. The next step should have been easy, run along to the
pound, find her a new home and take some other poor thing home with me. But,
no. I arrived at the pound and waited there. I had had this little bird for
two months and we had gone through a lot together. I took a deep breath, gave
her a hug and a clean handkerchief and said goodbye, as a young lady from Singapore
approached to adopt her. I eventually agreed to become neofriends with her new
owner and we talk still. She's getting on fine.
I still haven't got over that feeling either. Every time, the selected pet
is painted, I get this overwhelming rush of selfishness and want to keep this
little thing for myself, after all, I paid to adopt it, paid for the map to
get to the ray to paint it and then of course the fee to put it into the pound.
But I think of the good I could do, and all the pets I can help and it is a
great feeling. I can afford paint brushes, and potions to get rare or painted
pets, but some others can't. And knowing that somebody is wondering up and down
the corridors of the pound looking for a pet that they could never afford to
have, and that I could possibly give it to them, well that's worth the fact
I'll never have an Island Tonu. But, I do have a Purple Cybunny, Starry Chomby
and a Shadow Kougra. And I got all of these because my brother quit neopets
and gave me his eight map pieces he was saving until he bought the last one.
So now I've come full circle. Because of someone's charity to me, which has
given me pets I couldn't afford to get, when I started out on Neopets and made
me so happy, I can use it to make someone else's day. And I just love it now
when my pets are adopted and I get a little neomail saying thanks. Well, it
makes the whole thing worth while.
I know I can't save the whole lot and the fact is that when I re-home one,
ten more are being dumped. But maybe if we all chipped in and started re homing
then maybe people would visit the pound more to adopt rather than abandon. And
if we all thought before we created a new pet "Maybe my dream pet is in the
pound" then our work is complete!
And to those who cry from the back, "I want to name my pet myself, I don't
want a stupid name for my Meerca", then please remember the immortal works of
William Shakespeare... "What's in a name?" |
