What if there were a branch of family court that was able to trace homeless puppies or kittens to an owner’s pet and find that owner responsible for those young animals?

For example, what if an officer of the court found a homeless puppy or kitten on the street, took a sample of its DNA and was able to trace its parentage back to your dog or cat and hold you responsible for the care of not only that puppy or kitten but the litter it came from?

Well, there are no “pet police” around, and that’s too bad, because so many pet owners in Demopolis, Marengo County and the surrounding areas don’t take the time or effort to spay or neuter their pets. The result of that irresponsibility is hundreds — maybe even thousands — or homeless animals wandering the streets, checking our garbage cans and back yards for food and shelter, maybe even becoming dangerous.

It doesn’t matter what the excuse is: “It’s not natural to spay or neuter pets.” “My pet doesn’t walk around loose.” “Those puppies/kittens could have been fathered by someone else’s pet.” None of them stands up to the thousands upon thousands of pets left homeless that were created by the pets of people who would not spay or neuter their pets.

The Bigbee Humane Society is starting something today that will help it fund its quest to provide loving homes for these animals.

The Bigbee Humane Society thrift shop, located across from the Rosenbush Building in Demopolis, offers a wide variety of items that were donated by people. The funding from the sale of those items will help to spay and neuter the animals it takes in so that when they find homes for these animals, it will not continue the cycle of creating unwanted dogs or cats.

The thrift shop will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will be open on the first Saturday of the month. I encourage you to buy something to support the Humane Society or to bring unwanted items for them to sell to support unwanted animals.

Our courts will track down deadbeat human dads who will not support their children and force a parent to pay child support if that parent refuses to do so. There is no such action for the hundreds of orphaned dogs and cats in our area. Do what you can to adopt one of these animals, and spay or neuter your own pet to ensure that you do not contribute to the problem.

David B. Snow is the managing editor of The Demopolis Times.