Craigslist diatribe, author unknown
This is long and graphic but very true. Animal rescue is not all hearts and flowers.
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, all you people who have ever surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society 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 stop flagging the ads on craigslist and help these animals find homes. The puppy you just bought most likely will end up in my shelter when it is not a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know, there is a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it's dumped at. Purebred or not. About 25 % of all the dogs that are owner surrenders or strays that come into a shelter are purebred dogs.
The most common excuses: "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to 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 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 and 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 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 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 his pen with a high powered hose. If your dog is big, black, or any of the "bully" breeds, (pit bull, mastiff, rottie etc.) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how sweet or well-behaved they are.
If your dog doesn't get adopted within its' 72 hours and the shelter if 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 but not for long. Most dogs 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 those hurdles, chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed.
I am leaving out the graphic euthanasia description, not because I think adults cannot handle it, but I don't think kids should have to.
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? Or used for the schools to dissect and experiment on? 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 those of you who still have a beating heart are reading this and bawling your eyes out anc can't get the pictures out of your head. I deal with this every day. I hate my job. I hate that it exists and I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and start educating the public. Do research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they are these days. Animal shelters are an easy way out when you get tired of your dog (or cat) and breeders are the ones blamed for this.
Between 5 and 7 million animals dies every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I just hope I changed one person's mind about taking their dog to a shelter, a humane society, or buying a dog.
Once again, this was on craigslist list and the gist is very true. We destroy many more animals than can be adopted. Please think about what you are doing before you take your animal in. Please opt to adopt instead of buying. Please put all the shelters out of business by having your animals spayed and neutered.
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, all you people who have ever surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society 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 stop flagging the ads on craigslist and help these animals find homes. The puppy you just bought most likely will end up in my shelter when it is not a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know, there is a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it's dumped at. Purebred or not. About 25 % of all the dogs that are owner surrenders or strays that come into a shelter are purebred dogs.
The most common excuses: "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to 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 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 and 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 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 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 his pen with a high powered hose. If your dog is big, black, or any of the "bully" breeds, (pit bull, mastiff, rottie etc.) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how sweet or well-behaved they are.
If your dog doesn't get adopted within its' 72 hours and the shelter if 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 but not for long. Most dogs 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 those hurdles, chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed.
I am leaving out the graphic euthanasia description, not because I think adults cannot handle it, but I don't think kids should have to.
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? Or used for the schools to dissect and experiment on? 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 those of you who still have a beating heart are reading this and bawling your eyes out anc can't get the pictures out of your head. I deal with this every day. I hate my job. I hate that it exists and I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and start educating the public. Do research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they are these days. Animal shelters are an easy way out when you get tired of your dog (or cat) and breeders are the ones blamed for this.
Between 5 and 7 million animals dies every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I just hope I changed one person's mind about taking their dog to a shelter, a humane society, or buying a dog.
Once again, this was on craigslist list and the gist is very true. We destroy many more animals than can be adopted. Please think about what you are doing before you take your animal in. Please opt to adopt instead of buying. Please put all the shelters out of business by having your animals spayed and neutered.
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