For those who rescue...

Criosphynx

an interesting point of view. Warning parts of the site is graphic

http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/

I have read every word on this site...it basically holds the animal control system accountable for the euthanasia rate being so horrible...

I find this VERY interesting for obvious reasons. Shelters that adopt their methods have som'thing like an 80% or higher increase in adoptions. AMAZING.

Reforming Animal Control from No Kill Advocacy


this will kill you inside. I was sickened.

Tour of Shelters: No Kill Advocacy.

lazy workers, skipping steps for their convience and euthanizing animals despite having space. It also talks a bit about gas chambers, which are why I will personally drive strays 20 miles to another shelter, because my local one gasses.


successes..I suggest reading about the Reno shelter.
http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/success.html


anyway...thought I would share. Thoughts?

pawzaddict

I feel some of this is already in play and is part of the reason why they are euthanizing more animals. For example it states that shelters need to have more fostering for sick/injured animals...this is already being done here, however if they are severely injured or ill they are more than likely PTS'd because there is a shortage of foster homes. Also all the animals here are fixed before going up for adoption, so that is being done here They also have a low cost clinic.

The TNR has its up's and down...are they planning on spaying females? They tend to be a huuuuuge problem with males (intact and not) that are inside trying to get out. This also does not solve a problem if one were to get inside my home or if my cat got out and got into a fight with one who is possibly infected with god knows what. If these can be answered I think its a good idea considering they are wonderful pest controls!

Rehabilitation, longer hours, etc. call for more money and that is not an option right now, but in the future I see it being a great option! That is...if we can get the numbers down!

Socializing the pets I feel definitely can be done but the proper people have got to be the ones to do it.

I see a lot coming down to money and as much as I hate it, I have to say I understand why this is not possible everywhere especially in this economy. Where will all the sick and injured pets go? Bigger facilities? That is more money the state would have to fork over to build bigger buildings. Its such a difficult situation. Sorry for the rant, trying to show positive and negatives in this idea as well as where the shelters at least here in AZ are. They have 2-4 and even more dogs per kennel and the amount of cats makes me ill.

where do the pets go when they have no foster homes and no more kennels?

Criosphynx

Yes, this obviously isn't a problem with the entire system...for example I have a no kill that is in the community every week..they take adoptable dogs to public places... and has a huge network of people...the kill shelter will not euth if they have space (two dogs and a cat that live here now prove that)

The gassing shelter near me...well I didn't even know they existed (and Im into this stuff)... I even tried to drive there and you can't even get to the place...talk about not trying to make it easy for the public to adopt. Or even get their dog back


The closest Los angeles shelter (baldwin park) has small dogs 10-15 dogs PER RUN. No joke. And the dog are not segregated as to whos adoptable...no notation on the cages...you have to write down a ten digit number which belongs to the dog(they don't provide paper or pens) then a 5 or so digit kennel number...then you stand in line for an HOUR for them to tell you that particular dog isn't adoptable...btw they don't tell you that you NEED to do this...so you have to stand in line for an hour first, then go back to the cage, write it down and then stand in line AGAIN.

I spent many many many many hours at this shelter standing in line, and writing numbers on my hand and left without a dog. Every. single.time...I think I even cried once, the dogs there are so pathetic and I couldn't help them.....not to mention how frustrating the whole experience was.....That shelter could obviously make simple cheap changes to up adoption rates.

The other kill shelter puts a heart sticker on the adoptable animals cards...I've gotten three animals from them, no problem...its the simple...no duh...things that get to me. Why can't the other shelter buy $5 worth of stickers? Its so frustrating.


The reno shelter reached out to the community and som'how pulled 1,300 (i think I read that number) people to help as volunteers...thats mind boggling to me.

I don't think warehousing is the answer...I think the stats that are provided are for adoptable animals only. Meaning the sick ,injured and unstable aren't included.

Mikey

Very good read.

Very heavy, complicated topic. I have volunteered in many shelters (horse, dog, rabbit, everything-) both kill and no kill.

Two examples to the contrary-first let me say my dream since I was five was to open a no-kill shelter and in theory I am a big advocate, but some food for thought.

When our Humane Society went "no kill" (and I use apostraphes for a purpose) about five years ago, here's what happened.
They got way more funding, and they take in VERY little animals. All strays now go to the pound, only owner surrendered pets go to the humane society (and they pay a fee to surrender) Strays get three days at the pound with no id, and ten with id. Otherwise they are euthanized. Some get to go to shelters-but not many.
Our Humane Society that is 'no kill' yeah-that's public face. They euthanize BIG TIME. Over 80% of the animals that come through there door, they just call it 'behavioral or health reasons' . They took in over 200 rabbits two years ago from a hoarding situation. I was there when they came in the door, and were vet checked. They needlessly euthanized over 150 of them.
I don't know this for sure, but a legal group looking to take on our HS (they get too much funding and apprently try to squash smaller shelters, as well run many stores with charity status and dont' have to pay taxes) get money for picking up pets from the pound and euthanizing them for them.
This, to me, very very bad. Probablly not always the case, but food for thought.

Next up is working in grass roots no kill shelters with little funding. As a no-kill, you can't take them all in. Your kill rate is zero but other groups have to take on that stat, if there simply isn't enoug funding or room for these pets.

People say to me all the time, they couldn't do what I do because it's hard. It is. But adopting pets is not hard. Cleaning poo, giving meds, even seeing sick/old euthanized humanely is not that sad. Turning someone down, turning animals away-very sad.

Is killing the answer? I don't think so, but I think the answer is very complicated, and we need to look at successful programs from all over the world and evaluate models; I don't think it's black and white

My two cents

ScentHound

There were two issues that just happened here in the last month at one shelter. The shelter finally got away from using Carbon Monoxide as an option for euthanasia, but they also put down the wrong dog because they took shortcuts. It was a lost "longtime" family pet that was about to be picked up by his family. It devastated the entire family.

pawzaddict

Do you live in AZ? This just happened to a Pit Bull in AZ that was picked up with its sibling and was accidentally PTS...

ScentHound

No, Texas, and the dog that was put to sleep was a golden retriever. One of the other people at the shelter caught the mistake, but he was to far gone (according to the news). I'm sure it happens more than we know. The circumstances of these two is the only reason why they hit the news.

pawzaddict

Wow that is very very unfortunate. Thought it was one freak accident. This is part of what overcrowding does

ScentHound

Very true.

fawkese1

not that i'm not aware, or don't want to be, but i cry when i read these things...couldn't reply til today

my opinion...
the problem isn't really with the shelter system...it's with the perspective that dogs/pets/animals are a disposable comodity/possession. i've never in my whole life understood this idea. just because you are capable of dominating something...i feel means you have an extra responsibility not to.....
anyway, this idea of "ownership" is what fuels the sort of unspoken cruelty that people just turn their heads away from..."well, it's his/her dog, he can do what he wants with it" sort of attitude. that used to be the same mentality towards women and children, you could beat either, sell them, use them in any way that you wanted, and it was generally expected that you do so by the population at large. atleast women and children have a voice; children grow into adults who can defend themselves. dogs do not. sure we cringe when we hear of extreme cases and horror stories, and everyone gets in an uproar over it....but it’s the little things that we don't see, we don't address, we don't object to, we don't take responsibility for.
after the idea of ownership comes the idea of dominance. for some reason not only do we "own" animals, but we constantly have to "show them who's boss" apparently showing someone/something "who's boss" means you have to intimidate him/her/it, and use force or violence in order to keep him/her/it in his/hers/its place. why?if my "boss" treated me that way...if my parents treated me that way....they wouldn't get very far....in all areas of life, when you are trying to get what you want, we know that using force and intimidation will only get you so far before what you are pushing, pushes you back...when its people who push back, we all cheer them on, we have support rallies and learn about them in history class...but when its an animal you get stupid videos "when animals attack" and crazy media coverage...a biting dog is never the "victim" even tho in almost every case the dog was taught to behave that way by an ignorant "owner" or finally pushing back after being forced to live in a world that to the dog was filled with terror and confusion....no, when the dog defends himself he is "vicious" and "dangerous" and "bad" then he is dead. man's best friend????? man's best friend gets the short end of the stick most of the time imo. gosh, i'd rather not have friends if this is how we are supposed to treat our friends.
so now we have a possession, that has a mind of its own btw...and we have deliberately/neglectfully created way way way too many of this possession...what do we do with all of them? we get rid of them, we dispose of the problem, we throw it away....first we create it, then we own it and pass it around, then we use force and intimidation to get it to do what we want, and then when we are done, we get rid of it....and most people just accept this situation.... many don't even feel that there is anything really wrong with it, while others turn a blind eye...out of sight out of mind.....if they aren't pushing the button or pulling the trigger, they aren't responsible....
so, imo, it is not the system that is at fault, but the mentality that created the system…change the mentality, the system will follow suit…how do you change the mentality??? first step…awareness, thank you crios for helping to make others awareand kudos to all of you who are taking sometime to read some disturbing stuff, and open your eyes, and spread awareness…next step...don't contribute to the problem....after that, action....lots of different people/organizations have an idea of what the right action is...look around, find one you agree with, then join up.
just one more thing then i’ll stop rambling i have no doubt in my mind that my dog would die to defend me....heck, my cat has jumped between me and something that he perceived as a threat ( my dog actually, when i first brought him home)...my dog also forgives me every time i mess up (my cat takes a bit more work, but he does too), he is always happy to see me, it is the least i can do to respect that, and honor it...