Letter from a Shelter Manager

[Snuggys Mom]

If this should go in "Off Topic" could a moderator please move it?

This was posted in the "Best of Craiglist". It was not written by me.

YOU SHOULD ALL READ IT. Everyone who wants a pet should know exactly what happens
if they decide they can't keep their pet anymore. Not all shelters are exactly
the same, but this was written by a shelter manager, and I appreciated the post:


"I am posting this (and it is long) because I think our society needs a huge
"Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with
you all...a view from the inside if you will. First off, this is a forum to for
adoption and/or rehoming as clearly stated in the rules. All of you
breeders/sellers on craigslist should not only be flagged (and I hope the good
people on craigslist will continue to do so with blind fury), but you should be
made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you
saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your
mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know that puppy you just
sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy
anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that
dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at?

Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or
"strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I
hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are
you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we
thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't
have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6
dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family?
They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place
for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog". Odds are your pet won't
get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell
you your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off
sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay
completely healthy if it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small
run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have
to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry
constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have
enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet
won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door
and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose.

If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie,
mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.
Those dogs just don't get adopted. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72
hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full
and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of
execution not for long though. Most get very kennel protective after about a week
and are destroyed for showing aggression even the sweetest dogs will turn in this
environment.

If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel
cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters
just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a
perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken
from its kennel on a leash they always look like they think they are going for a
walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them
freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door it must smell like
death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it
happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by
1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a
euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process they will find a vein in the
front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet
doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk I've seen the needles tear out of a
leg and been covered with the resulting blood and deafened by the yelps and
screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes spasm for a while, gasp
for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pet's corpse will be
stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other
animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next?
Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it
probably won't even cross your mind it was just an animal and you can always buy
another one, right?


I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't
get the pictures out of your head I do everyday on the way home from work. I hate
my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you
people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much
farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die
every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life
I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday
than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me or flag me if you want to…the truth hurts and reality is what it is I
just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their
loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my
shelter and say "I saw this thing on craigslist and it made me want adopt" that
would make it all worth it."

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

This was a great post Laura. Veryinformative and straight to the point. I read it a coupledays ago on craigslist myself. Very sad. I hate howpeople can just discard their pets like that. It's terrible.

 

[missyscove]

As a shelter volunteer, I can personally attestto how sad it is, say on the days where we have to "pull" cats becausethere are just not enough cages. Yes, the feral or unhealthyones go first, but it is still sad. The thing is that ashelter can't afford to have any sick animals because disease spreadsso fast in such close quarters. Basically every animal thatwalks through those doors ends up with an upper respritory infectioneventually.

The other day I was in there and some young women wanted to know whathappens to the bodies after they are euthanized. They wereasked multiple times, do you really want to know? Then thestory began, let me just say it involved boiling and layers andplastic, quite gruesome.

I hate seeing any animal taken through that door, but I can see there is simply not enough space for all of them.

 

[katt]

i might be a complete chick for saying this. . .but that post made me cry. . .

i think that post should be posted in the letter to the editor in every newspaper in the world

 

[Haley]

I agree. I am so sick of people bringing homepets because theyre cute and then losing interest after the initial funwears off. It just makes me sick.

I think at least with dogs and cats, people have to know that it is avery long commitment. When people buy rabbits, they forget that theylive just as long as many dogs. They dont plan for where they will bein ten years... and the pets suffer for human ignorance.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

That's so sad.

Unfortunately the moving excuse is a very common one here but it's alsoa legitimate one. There are so many people moving into this areabecausewe're in oil rich Albertaand they arehopping between rental to rental and I'd say that 90% if not more ofthe rental properties do not allow pets what-so-ever which means theyhave no choice but to surrender their pets.

Although I'm not quite sure if out shelter is a no kill or not... It'snot directly stated anywhere but I've seen some animals there formonths.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

MyBabyBunnies wrote:

Although I'm not quite sure if our shelter is a no kill or not...

Unfortunately it is. There aresome tests to see how aggressive a dogis, and if theydetermine if there is no chanceof adoption, then theyare putdown.
The shelter is old and overcrowded.They are looking for foster homesto take in the extras.

Rainbows

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Almost all shelters will put down agressiveanimals. There are a few rescues that will try to rehabilitate but theESPCA does not have the facilities or staff to do that so I'm notsurprised about that but do they put down perfectly adoptablecandidates after a certain time frame?

 

[Spring]

That was tough to read, but I felt it should besaid. It makes me upset about all the animals that are sitting aloneand frightened without a loving home. I don't know if the SPCA aroundhere is a kill shelter, I hope not. It's just so terrible.

Lost souls forgotten by the world.

 

[cheryl]

Ohhh that really pulled at my heart,that is so so so sad

but i think that a lot of people need a good dose of reality though and that hit the spot



cheryl

 

[Snuggys Mom]

When I got my dog Casey from our high-killshelter, he was depressed and had kennel cough. They thoughthe might also have Parvovirus, whichis usuallydeadly. He'd only been at the shelter for a couple ofdays.

My vet gave him a 50/50 chance of survival.I amSOOOOO glad we got him out of there when we did. He's thebest dog I've ever had.

Every "back yard breeder" should have to work in a shelter for ONEday. It really infuriates me how some people breed for nogood reason, especially the ones who have no clue what they are doing.

 

[stephiemarie78]

I know that is the truth and I hate to even think aboutit. In fact, in 99.9% of my day I simply put it out of sight as thoughit doesn't actually happen in this world. I cannot fathom how peoplecan treat animals like used furniture that can merely be dumped offsomewhere and not think twice. They fail to realize the commitment theymade to that animal when they brought him/her into their home.

 

[BACI]

I agree the article is heartbreaking butthe reason some people don't go to the shelter is becausesome of them are so strict on their adoption rules. It truley breaks myheart when you want to rescue a pet and get the third degree from theshelter so they need to take some responsibility for the overcrowding.I know I am setting myslef up for some negative posts but there are twosides to every story. I also believe if shelters did more publiceducation people would understand prior to purchase just what they aregetting into.
I was just at petco the other day.... they sell/adopt out shelterrabbits now and it says right on their glass enclosure/playpen area.Please adopt before buying and keep in mind buying a bunny is a 10yrcommittment which reminded me of those posters we had in our highschoolback in the day that said having a baby is like being grounded for thenext 18yrs. That got people's attention.... there has to be some way todo that in this type of situation. Where I live the shelters do thatwhen you volenteer they ask if you are willing to do public awarenesseducation.
Sorry this is so long but it is food for thought.

 

[Haley]

I agree that shelters often do make it difficultfor people to adopt. I know they have the best intentions,but there need to be exceptions in some situations.

For example, the rule about having to notify the landlord if you are arenter. I would never have gotten Basil or Max if they hadbeen shelter buns. My landlord did not allow rabbits, I had them anywayand they never knew any better. I know the shelters are just trying toprevent people from bringing back an animal if their landlord catchesthem and makes them get rid of it, but I would never adopt an animal ifI didnt have a plan for if something like that happened.

I think the most important thing is education.... I hope as rabbitsbecome more and more popular as a household pet, people will becomemore aware of their needs.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Haley wrote:

Iagree that shelters often do make it difficult for people toadopt. I know they have the best intentions, but there needto be exceptions in some situations.

I can see the contacting a landlord because when we rented out a househere, the renters snuck a pet in and my dad could not go in the housewithout a mask because his allergies were so bad. He had to redo theWHOLE house because of his allergies -- ripping out carpets, etc. Hadhe not, he would have never been able to go in the house to fixanything that needed it.

Anyways, I do agree that they make it too hard. I would not be allowedto adopt simply because my rabbits are outdoors. Who cares if they areout or in? An inside rabbit can be ignored just as easily as an outdoorrabbit. I care for my animals a lot and would adoptbutbecause I've had some very bad experiences with the shelter, I wouldnever recommend to anyone to adopt from them. They told me I shouldsurrender my pets because they are housed outside and were very rude tome when they found out I had outside pets. I think that's uncalled forwhen they do not know the care I provide.

And Spring cannot adopt from a rescue because Pebbles isn't spayed.What does it matter? If she were to adopted a neutered male, then Idon't see the problem.

 

[missyscove]

I know that some rescues do extensive backgroundchecks and such, but the city shelter where I work will basically sendthe animal home as long as you can pay for it. Of course, wedo our best to discourage people who won't be able to care for itproperly, or encourage people to look for something different, but theycannot tell someone no. We have to let them adopt if theywant to and the animal is avaliable. I wish it was a bitstricter, that would keep so many animals from coming back.

 

[Jess_sully]

I think this post was a great awakening to manypeople out there. I volunteer at our local shelter for two hours everyday after school and five hours every Saturday. Although we have a "nokill" policy, those animals are still sad, scared, and neglected. Ithink the cats in the open cat room have it the best, because at leastthey aren't crammed into cages and they have other buddies to loungeand relax with. The dogs, on the other hand, I feel deeply sorry for.I'm not in a position to adopt a dog right now, but really wish that Icould. The sheer joy they recieve just from going for a walk every dayamazes me. I think it would be great if more people would volunteer atshelters... most of the people I volunteer with are middle school kidsand people who HAVE to work their to pay off their court fees ascommunity service.

 

[Joy2006]

I read it too.It is sad,very sad.I have humanesociety bunnies.One of them was named "elmo" She was a girl!!!Theynever even bothered to check.Her name is Eve now.I think another thingabout people who (mainly) own rabbits is they think they can handletheir illness on their own.Meaning they just don't get...you have totake your rabbit to the Vet!!!Hello!!OMG...that really gets to mealso.You'd take your kids to the dr. if they were sick,it's thesame.Except rabbits are furry "kids".(that wasn't meaning you,it is towhoever don't get that ,yes,you have to shell out money to the Vet foryour rabbit to get better sometimes)

 

[Rogue]

I agree that shelters make it verydifficult. I have been told by several people that the RSPCAwould turn me down flat for adoption because I already have "so manypets" (I have two birds and a snake at home and my horse is kept at alocal livery yard), because I work a full time day, because I amdisabled (can you say "discrimination"??) and because I don't have alarge garden.

 

[Bassetluv]

Whenever I read articles like that, my stomachpulls into knots and I feel physically ill. It is extremely hard toaccept, but what the author wrote is so true...so many animals wind upbeing euthanized because there is no room, or they contract acontagious disease at the shelter, or they become so depressed andstressed from being in a shelter that they are eventually deemed'unadoptable'. And even sadder is the fact that the ones who read thesearticles and are truly affected, tend to be animal lovers who wouldtake in every stray and unwanted pet if only they could. The people whogive up their pets, in many cases (certainly not all...but a greatmany) would not even bother to read it.

I volunteered at the Humane Society here for about a year and a half,many years ago. I was working full-time, but took one day a week to goand walk the dogs there. And it tore my heart out every time I walkedthrough those doors, wondering which of the dogs would be gone thatweek, not daring to ask which had been adopted, and which had gone intothe 'back room', never to come out. The most heartbreaking times for mehad to be when I'd walk into the shelter and see a sign posted saying,'Parvo outbreak...please disinfect your shoes, wash your hands beforeand after handling animals'. I'd walk into the dog room, which wasnormally overflowing, to find only 4 or 5 dogs left...all the rest hadbeen euthanized. I tried not to become attached to any of them...yet ofcourse that was impossible.

And the cats...I still burst into tears whenever I think of the cats.They were forever overflowing...cages stacked on top of one another,cat room filled to the brim, hallways lined with cage upon cage uponcage...and each one held a large-eyed, scared little creature who wouldreach out at every person who passed, pleading for attention, desperateto be returned to their family, unaware that they were no longerwanted. The turnover rate for the cats was enormous; less than halfever left the society once they were brought in.

I finally stopped volunteering at the shelter after I adopted my dog,Kaya. The reason was two-fold; first, Kaya was one of the dogs that wasbeing deemed 'unadoptable'...she was very close to being put on thelist for euthanization, as every time she was adopted out she wasinevitably returned. She suffered from separation anxiety, and becauseof it she needed a lot of extra attention and love...and my volunteertime at the shelter after I'd adopted her was taking some of that timeaway. The other reason was simply that I could no longer stand the painof walking through those doors every week. It was tearing me apartinside, and I just couldn't take it any more.

My feelings about the shelter here are somewhat divided. They do manageto rehome an incredible amount of animals, and they do take care ofthose animals as well as they can while they are at the shelter. But Ifind that their rules and regulations are terribly strict. Forinstance, as I mentioned...Kaya was very close to being put on the listfor euthanasia because of her issues. Yet when I filed to adopt her,they very nearly didn't allow her to come home with me. The reason? Myson, who was 15 at the time, was away for the summer visiting hisfather in another province. When they asked how many people lived in myhousehold and I responded, 'Two', they said that my son would have tocome in and meet Kaya before I could bring her home. I explained thatwas impossible, as he was going to be away for 2 months...and theystopped the adoption proceedings, telling me that if he could not comeand meet her first, then they couldn't allow me to take her home. Theywere afraid that the two of them might not get along. I was so upset Iwas in tears, and literally begged them to let me take her. It took alot of pleading, but they finally did, and after a long period oftraining her, of absolute patience whenever she ate another part of thehouse, and of dealing with a dog who does not abide other dogs, she hasbeen my constant companion - and best friend - for the past 9years. If they had absolutely refused to let me adopt Kaya that day,she most likely would have wound up being euthanized.

I just wish there were better solutions to the problem of unwantedpets. The humane societies and shelters around the country have theirflaws, but they do a great service as well. But more needs to be doneto curb the flow of animals in the first place. Personally I'd love tosee stricter laws introduced with regard to breeding animals, and -most especially - real punishment to those who torture, abuse, and/orneglect animals of any kind. The current slap on the wrist meted by thecourts does nothing to deter such offenders.

Guess that was my rant for the day....:?