I’m an animal lover who has only worked retail for the last 8 years… I can kind of understand why they’d want to shame them. Because first there’s the obvious:

A) You should not have adopted a pet living being if you weren’t absolutely sure you could ensure it’s well-being along the way. (btw I’m realizing the analogy between plant and animal is only so perfect)

And B) Now they have to deal with it. Not only that, but they know that the person returning that living being knows that they’re perpetuating a very dark problem in our society.

I’ve never worked with animals professionally, but I do have very strong feelings on the matter… I think recognizing that they fucked up and still bringing the living being to someone who can take care of them is commendable, but they still deserve to be shamed. Because while it will extend their life and give them another chance to have a life, they still catastrophically failed that being in a way that’s just sad, and there’s no way around that.