THE NEOPIAN POUND - Most Neopians have heard stories about the horrid conditions
at the pound. You probably know how many pets go there every day, how sad they
are, and how much they want to be adopted. That is not what this article is
about. This article is about what can happen when people want to help these
pets so much that they make bad choices.
On my main account, I have adopted Jermiah3808. My other three pets were created,
and after reading those horrible pound stories I began to feel guilty about
that. I, like many of you, wished that I could somehow adopt every pet in that
place. That is why I decided to create a second account and fill it up with
adopted pets. It was a decision I came to regret.
It soon became clear that I could not both abide by the laws of the site and
maintain two full accounts. I have always been a bit paranoid, and I refused
to get something from the omelette on both accounts for even one day. Since
I could not play games on the second account either, I could not buy food for
the pets there. I tried sending over supplies from my main account, but that
accomplished no more than to make both of my accounts go bankrupt. By this time,
the four adopted pets were all starving and miserable. I gritted my teeth and
did something I had always hoped I would never have to do to any pet: I abandoned
them.
They say that the worst problems are caused by good intentions. In the case
of the Neopian Pound, at least, I have found that this is certainly true. I
had once thought of writing an article on adoption that would be supported by
facts I gathered from a research on the time pets spend in the pound. I was
dismayed and happy at the same time when I found this would not be possible,
as no sooner had I identified a pet to be tracked than it was adopted. I soon
gave up on that project.
Months later, I checked again on those pets to see how they were doing. I was
astonished to find that most of them hadn't changed at all from when they were
adopted. The ones that were injured, sick, or knocked out were all under the
exact same conditions. I took a closer look at their owners' accounts, and determined
that they were no older than my long-abandoned research project, meaning that
they had adopted the pets as newbies. This immediately made me think of my failed
attempt at raising abandoned pets through multiple accounts.
When Neopets improved the way the amount of time between logins is tracked,
I used the opportunity to do another research on the pound. This time, I kept
an eye on the pets even after they were adopted.
The results of the project were shocking. After more than a month of research,
I discovered that only one out of five pets adopted from the pound goes to an
owner that ever logs on again. In addition, I found that the unfortunate other
four out of five were almost invariably adopted by newbies. At least, they were
adopted by accounts with a little shield that said “newbie,” but a gut feeling
told me they were really experienced players who had thought that they could
handle more than one account.
I decided I would try to talk to some of the pets who had met this fate. I
was lucky and managed to locate one of them from my studies. He is a little
yellow Chia named Chiaguy. That isn't his full name, of course, but I altered
it in order to protect him and his owner, should she ever decide to return.
At first he wasn't particularly eager to talk, but a little initiative on my
part changed that.
Me: Is the apple good?
Chiaguy: Yes, thank you. I was very hungry. You said you had some questions?
Me: Yes. I was wondering what happened with you in the pound.
Chiaguy: Oh, that. Well, I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all.
But that's pretty obvious, wouldn't you say?
Me: So it really is as bad as the stories tell us?
Chiaguy: Well... no. Not exactly. You get food, disgusting food, but
food all the same. There's more space there than most people would infer, too.
And there's air conditioning for the summer and heating for the winter. I think
that it's thought of as being so absolutely horrible because most of the pets
who get adopted and talk about it have a great life to compare it to. Basically,
I'd choose a poor owner over it, sure, but not a non-existent owner.
Me: But wouldn't you say you have more freedom now?
Chiaguy: In a way I suppose. But there aren't a lot of things that pets
are allowed to do without their owners. I've thought of going to someplace like
Meridell or the Lost Desert where there are a lot of ownerless pets, but you
Neopoints to travel.
Me: What happened when you were adopted?
Chiaguy: Well, the girl was really really nice. She kept talking about
what great friends we were going to become and how my pound days were over.
Then she left for a while and just never came back. I kept expecting her to
return, but she never did. Eventually I gave up hope.
Me: Good intentions, eh? What have you been doing since then?
Chiaguy: Well, I guess I've just been roaming the streets. A lot of
people assume that I'm a runaway or something. It would have been one thing
if my owner had a NeoHome. But she didn't, and I don't really feel as though
I can belong anyway. It's a really confusing feeling. What's that notepad?
Me: I'm trying to educate people about this so they won't make the same
mistake as your owner.
Chiaguy: Oh... okay. Do you have anymore food?
***
So basically, if you're reading this, try to learn from others' mistakes so
that you don't end up learning the hard way. I know it's tempting to take in
those cute little sad-eyed pets you see in the pound even if it means creating
another account, but just remember that what you really want is what's best
for them. If you really think you can handle it, try maintaining an empty account
for a while. If you are able to buy four pieces of food every day for that account,
then you might consider adopting a pet from it. But most likely you won't be
able to, and that's okay. Remember, it won't help those poor little abandoned
pets to belong to someone who can't take care of them. | 
