By: Linda Tilley
There are dogs, puppies, cats and kittens killed every week in this country’s animal shelters. These deaths are a sad and inexcusable fact.
To listen to the media reports, the number of animals in shelters is all the fault of dogs/cats being bred. If you breed, then more will be killed in shelters. If you buy a dog or cat then you are supporting breeders and one more will die in a shelter. The animal rights movement promotes that breeders are evil. To allow your dog/cat to reproduce makes you lower than dirt. Heaven forbid if you actually planned the event. Wanting to purchase a pet with a certain look, behavior and wanting it for a specific purpose makes you a bad person. According to the media and animal rights activists, over population (breeding) is the reason for all of the shelter deaths.
A large portion of the general public has been lead to believe these theories. These are only theories because reliable, credible statistics have not and are not being kept at an overwhelming majority of shelters as to why animals are being surrendered. There are some sections of this country that are importing dogs from foreign countries because of a lack of local dogs available for adoption. Large numbers in shelters seem to be regional not necessarily national.
Because of the media and animal rights movements there are numerous counties throughout this country that are requiring mandatory neutering or spaying of ALL dogs and cats in private homes as well as those in shelters. I do feel that all animals adopted from shelters should be neutered or spayed. The only way to be allowed to keep an intact animal (whether you breed or not) is to pay outrageous yearly breeding or kennel fees. This applies to Granny’s little poodle who is never allowed out without Granny, to breeders trying to improve their breed, to breeders striving to save a rare breed from extinction, to hunters and their hunting dogs. Some areas have already passed laws requiring mandatory neutering and spaying of all privately owned animals.
My main question has always been — Why are there dogs and cats at animal shelters in the first place?
According to Chief Cathy Hartley, Granville County Animal Control, “The main reason for animals in our shelter is irresponsible pet owners. It doesn’t matter if it is a mix breed mutt or a high dollar purebred. It doesn’t matter if it belongs to a drug dealer on one street or a professional living on another. It’s irresponsible owners”. I completely agree with Officer Hartley.
If the owners of those animals surrendered at shelters would accept responsibility for those animals then the shelter would not have to deal with the numbers that have to be killed. Those numbers would not then be deceptively used to impact the lives of responsible animal owners through animal rights backed mandatory neuter spay and breed specific legislation. Breed specific legislation is another whole can of worms!
Just a quick note: there is a huge difference between animal rights and animal welfare. Animals don’t have rights; people do, in my opinion. But, people do have responsibilities towards animals. Animal rights activists generally believe that humans should not use animals in any way. That includes having pets (slavery is their term), for food, research or any other use or association. There should be no domestic animals. Animal welfare is where people feel responsibility to care for, use and live with animals humanely. Please be sure of the agendas (often hidden) of those organizations you choose to support. Some of the animal rights groups have been determined to be domestic terrorists by the FBI. Other AR groups, while not actively participating in terrorist activities, financially support the groups that promote violent activities. You have to dig to find the answers. Make sure you are supporting what you think you are supporting.
If you choose to neuter or spay your animal then they will not reproduce. If you choose not to neuter or spay then keep your animal home and don’t allow it to roam. Many cities, communities and counties have leash laws currently on the books. These existing laws need to be enforced before new laws are written. If your animal isn’t allowed to roam it will not be randomly breeding, bothering your neighbor, their property or livestock. Roaming dogs, whether in a pack or a single, can frighten people, fight with other dogs, kill livestock or other dogs or cats, injure people and destroy property. It isn’t the dogs or cats fault, they are just being who they are, but it is sure the fault of their owner. Ever wonder what happened to that dog or cat of yours that never came home? If lucky, it did end up at the shelter. Maybe it was smeared across a road somewhere or left to die in a ditch. Or perhaps someone initiated the three S’s – shoot, shovel and shut-up. Again, not the animals fault but definitely the fault of the owner.
Did your dog or cat have babies that you want to take to the shelter? Have you tried to find them homes? Run ads? Ask friends or neighbors if they want a new pet? Taking them to the shelter should be your last option not your first choice. The shelter has enough to do without irresponsible owners contributing to the problems. Is your pet sick or old? Does it cost too much to care for it? Did your kids grow up and now you just don’t want the thing? Did you take on more than you can handle? Did you make the wrong breed choice? Do you work 60 hours a week and don’t have time? Did the animal’s owner die and it ended up at a shelter? Does it have behavior problems? Did it pee on the floor; again? Did it jump on the kids? Or does it bark all night? Did it get too big? Turn out to be the wrong color or shed? Again, the animal didn’t cause the problem but, in most cases, the owner’s irresponsibility to solve the problem caused the animal to end up at a shelter.
These are but some of the reasons why animals end up being abandoned or surrendered to shelters. While some situations are legitimate reasons for surrender, they are the exception not the rule. A shelter should be the considered only after you have exhausted all other paths.
Most of the reasons for surrender seem to cluster around behavior/training issues, lack of animal care knowledge and owners not knowing what the resources are available that can help. Of course, you will still have a certain segment of people who just don’t give a dang.
For those people who are at a loss of which direction to turn, there are people out there that can help. This is where a call to your local shelter should be one of your first moves. Shelter staffs are often a wealth of information. Often they can offer suggestions that may solve the very problem you are having. They usually are aware of trainers or instructors who will be able to help you with your problems. Local humane societies can often point you in proper directions. Local training clubs and parks & recreation departments often have classes or trainers they can refer you to. Talk with your veterinarian. If you don’t have a vet then call around to the different offices. There are numerous rescue groups available to assist in one way or another. You have to ask for the assistance. No one is going to know what you need if you don’t ask. If you don’t accept the responsibility for seeking solutions to problems then you become just another irresponsible owner whose animal will, probably, eventually die an early death. Often at a shelter, often giving fuel to the myth that over population (breeding) is the sole reason for the numbers of animals in shelter.
Owner irresponsibility is far reaching. Not only does irresponsibility impact the animals themselves, but it also impacts neighbors, the community at large while at the same time overburdening shelters and rescue groups. Irresponsibility also impacts the rights of others to responsibly use and enjoy their own animals by giving fuel to the animal rights movement. Not only are you doing a disservice to yourself and your own animals, you have become a pawn in the animals rights agenda.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Shelters should be what the name implies, a shelter. Most of these places (more aptly called pounds) put only minimal, if any, effort into finding the pets homes. My local “Humane Society” does animal control for our county. It’s a fairly affluent county in the mid-atlantic. We usually have less than 10 dogs available at any time, but an exceptionally high number of dogs fail the “temperament test,” and are killed (almost 1/2 of the dogs that would need to be found a new home.) Stray cats are often never offered for adoption, the are kept for their stray hold, then killed immediately. Very little effort is made to find their owners. Recently, my shelter killed a dog for temperament that was, by all accounts, a very sweet animal. He kept getting lose. The owner said the kids kept leaving the gate open, but the dog was not neutered, and when he got out, he bred unspayed females in the neighborhood who were left outside, so I have to wonder if he did not just figure out how to get the gate open on his own. You would think our Humane Society staff could have pieced this together, too, and advised the owner and the neighbors that altering their dogs may solve the whole problem. They did not, they hit the owner w/ a huge fine, persuaded him it would be best to surrender the dog, so they could re-home it, and then they killed it. Do you think he would have surrendered it, if he knew this was a possibility?
The shelter also has a policy of accepting all cats and kittens with a smile and a “thank you,” never telling people that the animals are likely to be killed, or the number of animals actually adopted out. Last year, they killed almost 2,300, and only managed to adopt out 365. Do you think most people would leave their pets there, if they knew those numbers? I doubt it. I’ve talked to people in this community who do not believe they kill animals there. They are certain since the shelter is called a “Humane Society” it is staffed by animal loving people who find homes for all the animals, when in reality, the main focus there is animal control, and the killing is population control. We have no Low cost S& N program here, either. The director tells me she doesn’t think we really need one. She says everyone here who is willing to do it, already is. Can you imagine? Killing 2,300 cats a year, but getting people to spay and neuter is not a priority. I don’t blame the public for the killing, I blame the shelter director. She is in the best position to recognize and address the problems. Instead she deceives the public, and kills everything so no one over there has to work too hard.
Thanks for your comment Laura. That is a very sad situation.
I worked as a behavior consultant for some shelters and I saw a different problem at one: people were charged a fee for surrendering their dogs or cats at the shelter, so they left and the next morning we would find their cat or dog in the parking lot, wandering around or tied to the fence – they would just dump them to avoid paying the $35.00.
The other problem was that they did not do a good enough job at screening and the animals would sometimes end up back in the shelter. The employees where I worked were all excellent and we euthanized only when the animal was a dangerous liability or would require a lot of expensive medical intervention. In the few years that I worked there, we never had to kill to make space…and we took in dogs from surrounding shelters as well.
Our local “no kill” shelter is no kill only because they limit the number of animals they will take in. They are not open to the public for consideration of any/all animals. They also charge a fee to take an animal. I cringe when I think of all the animals dumped and abandoned because this no kill shelter will not/cannot take them in. What can I do to influence this shelter/the board controlling it to consider dropping the input fees?
IMO, articles like this are just — I don’t know, scary. When I read this, all I see (and I won’t be the only one), is that it’s okay for people to breed their “cute” dogs/cats for whatever dumb reason they want. Need money? Want to have a puppy from a cute dog? Want your friend to have a dog? [insert other ridiculous reason]? Hey, it’s okay, because you’re obviously not a huge factor for all those animals being killed every day – look at this article!
We should be telling people over and over again that random breeding is the main and biggest cause of all those animals being killed. If that meant that the only breeders left were the responsible ones who actually care about long term health, temperament, and betterment of breeds or working animals, then EVERYONE – including breeds of dog who are having their reputations ruined by the masses of indiscriminate breeding – would be better for it.
TL;DR… So much better to just shout loud and clear for people to spay and neuter their PETS… Leave the breeding to folks that really know what they’re doing and don’t just have a pretty dog/cat.
I understand that this probably wasn’t the point you were trying to make with this article… but that’s how it came across. And actually, I just read from someone else that they figured the point here was that it was okay to breed whatever as long as you “know” (because you never *really* know) that they will all go to good homes and not shelters… And that’s the message I was afraid of. Because if people would buy a puppy that has an unknown background and they don’t care, why not adopt a shelter puppy instead?
As a breeder, I am obviously very against indiscriminate breeding – I breed rarely and people have to jump through hoops to get one of my puppies!
I understand what you are saying – but there are more than enough homes for cute little puppies and kittens – it is not very often that puppies do not find homes. Sadly, it is when they become dogs, or more to the point, untrained adolescents, when the honeymoon is over and they are out the door. I agree wholeheartedly that breeders should not breed to fill a demand because there will always be a demand for puppies. It is our responsibility to make absolutely certain that every puppy we send out has a home for life – and if that doesn’t turn out, then we must be prepared to take them back without question. So I agree, the finger should be pointed at both irresponsible and unprepared pet owners but also the breeders who sell to them. Especially now that the economy is so poor and people who desperately want to care for their dogs are finding it difficult to keep them.
“We should be telling people over and over again that random breeding is the main and biggest cause of all those animals being killed. ”
Why would you lie to people? The vast majority of animals in shelters are there because their owner dumped them. If someone breeds a bunch of puppies and finds them homes, how are they adding to the problem? They didn’t force anyone to dump their dog and shouldn’t be blamed if Joe Schmoe gets bored of his dog and takes it to the pound.
Unless someone breeds a bunch of dogs and can’t find them homes/gets sick of them and dumps them, then placing the blame on them is stupid. It’s like saying people who have their own biological children are to blame for the existence of orphans/kids in foster care and trying to make them feel guilty about it.
If Bob wants a purebred doberman and goes to a breeder to get one, he is not causing a shelter dog to die, as he was never wanting to get a shelter dog in the first place. If a dog is killed, it is the fault of the person who surrendered it or the shelter staff if they didn’t put in any effort to find it a home.
Instead of pointing the finger at BYBs, I think it would be better to spend the time educating people on what it takes to own a dog. Most people believe only exotic pets are hard to take care of properly, when in reality a dog is harder to take care of right than the majority of exotic pets you can buy at your local pet store. A lot of people seem to expect a dog to train itself and are too lazy to work patiently with it, so it ends up being dumped when it is no longer a cute puppy.
Before you label everyone you know as “irresponsible,” I think you need to consider whether “shelters” are providing the kind of holistic programs that ALLOW people who would like to “choose” to be responsible, to make that choice. “Shelters” have for the most part remained in the 19th century while the rest of society is moving on, becoming more sophisticated. Pounds that don’t aggressively work with community groups; that know veterinary care is difficult and costly yet provide NONE for the community; that reject volunteers even when those volunteers could enhance staff skills and outreach; that don’t go where potential new pet owners ARE to find homes for pets — all of these pounds have failed to grow with the times.
I don’t expect everyone to be an expert at saving animals. But I DO expect leaders of animal control programs to know a thing or two. And yet, in too many instances, I’m very sadly disappointed. THIS is not because of “irresponsible people.” It’s because of complacency by some who fancy themselves in a uniform, or who perhaps even began working in animal related fields because they love animals, but then somewhere along the line, became more enamored of the “control” involved than of the animals involved (including the human animals).
Today, we expect MORE from shelters, than just collecting and doing away with animals. We expect them to be “shelters.” We expect that if you are a specialist in animal care and control, you know MORE than the average person and have more resources at your disposal to which to refer ordinary people. You try to keep learning, and you aren’t afraid to look at what you are doing, and if it isn’t working to help animals and to help your community, then YOU CHANGE IT.
It is certainly true that facts don’t bear out the “overpopulation” myth today — that was yesterday’s problem! And at the same time, just pointing fingers at “the irresponsible public” if you aren’t providing people both the means and encouragement to do the right thing about their pets, that’s not a solution that works.
I too admit that while I see many people treating their dogs not as well as I would, or allow them to do things I might not necessarily allow them to do, I often question the fallacy of trading the “pet overpopulation” problem terminology for a “owner irresponsibility” problem terminology.
I believe the numbers of dogs and cats that enter shelters in the 2000s and 2010s is about 90% of the numbers only 40 and 50 years ago. This is a huge accomplishment. Spay/neuter is practically a no-brainer. With TV programs like the Dog Whisperer and networks like Animal Planet and the like, many people are acquiring a better understanding of dog behavior and better methods of canine care. With microchipping, computers, internet, social media and licensing, more dogs are returned to owners (admittedly, improvement doesn’t come as quickly in this regard as we’d like, but improvements are happening).
With a 90% reduction over the past40-50 years, I don’t expect shelter intake numbers to get much lower. There will always be people who move to places where landlords refuse to take animals. There will always be people who lose their incomes or get sick or die or just can’t take care of their pets anymore. There will always be lost pets and people who got in over their heads and cant handle the pet they have. These animals need a place to go, and people need to have places to bring their pets when they can’t take care of them anymore –that are true shelters and not pounds that use killing as the first option. I just don’t think irresponsible pet ownership, or even “irresponsible” breeding is the real, overarching reason for the pet homelessness problem (breeders, IMHO, MUST stop bashing and blaming one another!). We will always need shelters as the way station between a home, homelessness, and a new forever home for our pets. The numbers are at the point where shelters CAN find homes for even the least adoptable pets….if they only had the real leadership to make that happen. As a nation we must stop making excuses for shelters and start holding them accountable to stop unnecessary killing.
i found this to be an excellent article and i appreciated the comments that followed. i have worked for animals my whole life …most recently , i have taught classes for people wanting to get into the animal field ,and the likes of this article have been discussed in my class! in my teens i enjoyed showing dogs and eventually (caught up in that world) started breeding. after a few years and a move from pa to ca., i was instrumental in opening the first privately owned spay and neuter clinic.(with 2 veterinarians). i am a big fan of spaying and neutering BUT i am totally against the mandatory spay /neuter and i am against this early spay and neuter that the shelters insits is “ok” . i don’t believe it’s ok to make spaying and neutering mandatory any more that making the crack whore on the street have her tubes tied. the most powerful tool we have is education. people often assume that because i am so active in animal welfare that my dogs are rescues and then sneer at me when they find out i have a purebred . i have always owned purebreds because i like knowing what i am getting. i always felt that we need some kind of “breed warden” for lack of better term , but some place that some one wanting to breed can show that they are knowledgeable and responsible and they get some sort of sanction a “hall pass ” for breeding. and then if you have puppies just because you were irresponsible or because you “wanted your children to see the miracle of birth” you pay some kind of fine. people also need to be educated about responsibility, they need to know that it is not ok to dump an animal just because it was bad , or because you are moving.
on another note- on shelters… our local shelter recently was looking for director. i applied with 35 years experience under my belt…. had glowing letters of recommendations form prominent vets and members of the animal community. they called and told me that they were not looking for some one with animal experience , they were looking for some one with a HR background. here is someone making decisions about an animal’s welfare , with no background or training around animals!
interestingly i find human resource neither humane, nor resorceful!
You can justify dog breeding however you like but you can’t take away from the reality of supply and demand. There are more dogs in this country than people who want them. If you breed a dog and sell it the purchaser has their demand met. They don’t need the supply of dogs at a shelter or rescue. Any shelter that has a lack of supply for their local population will be able to find many overcrowded shelters in this country that would be happy to move some of their supply to them. There is no need to go to foreign countries, unless you consider places like Atlanta and New Orleans foreign.
If the purchaser has demand for some novelty breed that can not be found at a shelter I still don’t think it’s justified to breed to that demand. If they can’t find their “purebred” dog of choice and really want a dog then they can go to a shelter and rescue a mix. A dogs temperament is really the most important aspect in relation to humans. If people have to have a certain look or color in mind that they must have then they likely don’t have the right mindset to be a dog owner.
So when you got your dog did you tell the shelter staff, “I don’t want to look at them, just bring me a random dog.”? Afterall, it would be so horrible for you to look at them and choose based on size, color, looks, etc.
It just isn’t the way the world works, that we tell others “you cannot have what you want, so you will just have to take this, instead” about pet ownership. Besides, I don’t believe that shelter residents are in any way lesser than purpose-bred animals. Let’s face it, we who lead a holistically-oriented lifestyle know that random breeding can have its own advantages too. It takes all kinds to make a world, they used to say. I have a friend who adores longhaired Persian cats. Me, I can take them or leave them. Give me a randombred tabby or a “mutt” with personality, any day. We are different in terms of our preferences. I would not consider myself kind if I told my Persian-loving friend, “you cannot have a Persian.” And I wouldn’t appreciate it much if someone told me that I wasn’t allowed to have a tuxedo or a tabby. Shelters are not, and ought not, be a “second best” to breeders, they are simply a different KIND of source. And as Maryland Dog Federation pointed out, today, there ARE enough homes looking for pets, IF ONLY pets were marketted more than they were hidden away by most shelters. Mistrust of the community leads to those places erecting huge obstacles to adoption, and THEN the leadership bemoan the lack of interest in adoptions!! Way to ensure you will continue to kill animals!
I appreciate the article and am enjoying, and learning lots from, all of the posts!
“It just isn’t the way the world works, that we tell others you cannot have what you want, so you will just have to take this, instead”
- It is very much this way in the United States with regards to many things, even activities that are done in the privacy of your own home that do no infringe on the rights of others.
“I don’t believe that shelter residents are in any way lesser than purpose-bred animals.”
- If anything pure bred dogs are genetically inferior to mutts because of inbreeding to keep them “pure” or take on desirable traits to humans that are poor traits for dogs (i.e. squished face dogs, elongated bodies with short legs, etc). If you want to see how oblivious some “responsible” breeders are to what they are doing you should watch the BBC special report titled “Pedigree Dogs Exposed”. Here is a link to the first part:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O0l0f50AAk
“Maryland Dog Federation pointed out, today, there ARE enough homes looking for pets”
- And this is based on what? Their opinion? A scientific study? Forgive me if I don’t take their conclusion as fact, especially when I volunteer in shelters where dogs are euthanized for space and there are not enough people coming through the door to keep up with the incoming supply. If it’s just a local problem then should local ordinances ban dog breeding?
“IF ONLY pets were marketted more than they were hidden away by most shelters”
-The shelters I’ve been involved with have run tv ads, billboards, pet of the week in newspapers, adoption events at Pet Stores, among other things. I’m sure they would be glad of any help you would give them in promoting their animals.
“Way to ensure you will continue to kill animals!”
-Well, lets keep them locked in crates and kennels for years so they don’t have to be killed, they can learn to spin in circles and chew wire mesh. Hopefully someone in the neighborhood is selling dogs so I people don’t have to go deal with that.
The full BBC episode is here for anyone interested:
http://documentaryheaven.com/bbc-pedigree-dogs-exposed/
There is definitely NOT an overpopulation of dogs or cats, at least not in the United States. There may have been a problem 25-30 years ago, but due to heavy promotion of spay and neuter, it is estimated that over 75% of dogs and more than 87% of cats have been surgically sterilized.
“In truth, there is no pet overpopulation problem. The Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy has collected data about pet population that are striking:
Changes in Animal Population 1973 1982 1990
US total dogs & cats (millions) 65 91 110
dogs & cats euthanized (millions) 13 10 5
% of animals euthanized 20% 11% 4.5%”
— Animalscam: The Beastly Abuse of Human Rights by Kathleen Marquardt, Herbert M. Levine, Mark LaRochelle, published in 1993
Animal rights extremists have advanced their agenda by erroneously placing the blame for “pet overpopulation” on pet breeders.
@Dog Owner : I understand your surprise and frustration at the thought that there actually are enough homes for the animals in shelters (especially dogs) while they languish and die in shelters. We’ve been fed a line of crap and kept in the dark for years by many animal rights activists and national organizations that tell us shelters must kill dogs and cats (too many/not enough homes/irresponsible people/unworthy adopters/etc.). I am a former associate director of a full service open admission animal shelter in the mid-Atlantic and we achieved a 96% full save rate for dogs. We never turned away a single dog. We maintained that rate while handling the largest dog hoarding case in the state (73 dogs, 4 cats brought in in one overnight 8- hour period, held for about weeks). We did it, in the real world, and only euthanized one dog with irremedial behavior problems. In other words, of ALL the dogs that came into the shelter, 96% made it out alive…including “pit bulls”, elderly dogs, dogs with chronic but treatable conditions, sick dogs made well, behavior problems corrected, etc.
To contrast, in a study done in my county (not the one I describe above) it was estimated that every year, approximately 30k homes become a possible home for a new pet (by attrition, a pet dies, etc.) Now, of course, not all homes that lose a pet want another one, but there is a viable market out there for shelter pet adoption that is not effectively tapped by the county shelter. Out of a pool of 30,000 there is certainly room for the adoption of another 3,000 if the shelter did its job! As a result of their ineffectiveness, the shelter kill dogs in their possession. It’s a lack of leadership and resolve and it’s time to move them out and move leaders in who can actually get the job done!!
@dog owner, it sounds like your shelter is on the right track. I would tell them to keep up the hard work and don’t give up! It is NOT EASY to save lives, to constantly grow a public dog training program, make it easier to adopt while making keeping returns to a minimum, to never take the easy kill option if there’s any possibility otherwise. It’s NOT EASY to maintain and grow a foster care program, to develop a relationship with local media for positive press, to work effectively with rescues, to constantly create a community center for animals where people are not afraid to come to the shelter because it’s a sad place. But its possible and eventually a shelter reaches a tipping point where all the hard work pays off and they are rewarded with higher adoptions.
I would be happy to talk to your shelter leadership about it. But they have to be SERIOUS about not killing animals. If they approach this with the mindset of “we did all this and it didn’t work”, it won’t. If they develop the mindset of “let’s not kill any animals today”, it will.
Oops…That should read, “we only euthanized one dog from that hoarding case…”
I agree with most of this article. The one thing that comes across as naive from the author is the fact that “as long as you keep your intact dog with you/in your yard/with Grandma/in the house” that is has no chance of roaming and breeding. How ridiculous. As any *responsible* pet owner knows, some how, some way, your perfectly behaved dog will bolt the first chance they get. Any number of reasons your dog could get away, even though you are the uber responsible dog owner. These are animals, people. So be responsible, as this author tells you so many times, and get your pet neutered or spayed. If you are a breeder, this is a different subject. But you, PET OWNER. Get your pet neutered or spayed, because this IS the MAIN reason so many animals end up in shelters, in metro areas, like where I live.
I agree with some points made here.
I’ve volunteered with dogs at a local (urban, New England) animal shelter and in my experience it seems that some dogs were surrendered for behavioral/training issues (too energetic, not housetrained, etc) and some were surrendered for economic reasons (foreclosed house, evicted, can’t afford necessary surgery etc). Very few were found as strays or come in from law enforcement activities.
I’m inclined to believe that it was irresponsibility on the (former) owner’s part to get a dog that is too big, too energetic, too barky, etc or to not train said dog such that their behavior is livable. But I have yet to see proof that this is the primary reason animals are surrendered to shelters. Or are killed in shelters.
There are lots of homes available that want to adopt dogs. A nearby animal shelter imports dogs from Puerto Rico for adoption. My behaviorally challenged adopted dog originally lived in South Carolina. My point is that there are tons of people that want dogs and want to adopt dogs. If shelters are having to kill the animals that come to them, they are not working hard enough (or at all) to make their animals available.
Shelters in general should work closely with local vets, local and national rescue groups, have decent visiting hours (ie be open for adoptions after 5pm), have a method for matching adoptee to adopter (that doesn’t require an inordinate amount of hoops to jump through), and have some accountability. I think this would go a long way in increasing animal welfare and decreasing the number of animals killed in “shelters.”
When there are 10 to 20 times as many pet births in this country in any given year, than human births, we have a serious overpopulation problem. Everyone who breeds dogs and cats is part of the problem. Unless you are willing to take responsibility for the dogs you bring into this world, from birth to death, then you have no business breeding animals IMNSHO. I don’t care if you are a professional breeder, unless you guarantee that you will take back any of your dogs that the owners can no longer take care of, for whatever reason, they you are also part of the problem. Most rescues will take back dogs they have placed. They also neuter every dog they take in. Rescues are part of the solution.
YMMV
I have seen so many stray, harmless animals removed from the streets by animal control or concerned citizens, only to be taken to a shelter for euthanization. How is that a better alternative? Would we do that to our homeless human population? Why must dogs and cats either belong to a human, or face death? If they aren’t physically harming members of society, why not leave them alone? Dogs and cats are resilient animals. Even domesticated dogs and cats can fend for themselves if abandoned. Domestication doesn’t take the jungle out of these animals. They are capable of finding food, water, and shelter. They don’t need humans to survive.
Breeders are not to blame. Even owners who willingly surrender their pets to shelters are not to blame. Policy is to blame. However, until the policy changes, I will place most blame on the owners. If a breeder sells you a great dane, and you take him to a kill shelter 2 years later because you “don’t have time for him” — whose fault will it be if the dog is euthanized? The breeder did not tell you to surrender your animal. This even happens with animals adopted from kill shelters. Someone adopts a kill shelter dog, returns it at a time when the shelter is more crowded, and the dog is killed.
There is an unfortunate stigma in the United States that if you can’t spend every waking minute with your animal, it is neglectful. You work 10 hours a day? So what? Would you surrender your children to an adoption agency because you don’t see them while you are working? Put the dog in a kennel until you come home. The dog is much better off spending time alone in a kennel than being killed because it went 10 hours without human contact. I work Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. so my dog doesn’t have human contact 40 hours a week during the weekdays. But from 6pm to 10am, I am with my dog. I am off on the weekends, so most of my weekend time is spent with him as well. Neglected? I think not.
We also need more pet-friendly apartments. People often surrender their pets because apartments will not allow animals. Some apartments that allow animals have very small weight limits, which automatically excludes most breeds. Meanwhile, they will allow someone to cram 3 wild children who weigh 100 lbs each into the same apartment with no issue. Who is more likely to cause damage to an apartment — a 60 lb basset hound, or 3 children? Exactly.
If more dogs were bred to have balanced temperaments then sold to homes where they would be a good fit there would be a whole lot less unwanted dogs. Exorbitant veterinary fees are a contributing factor as well. Most of the routine procedures like annual vaccinations, fecals, etc. are unnecessary or could easily be done by the owner within the privacy of their own home.
There seems to be a false presumption that a purebred enthusiast would run down to the local shelter and pick up a mongrel. I wouldn’t. Dogs are no more interchangeable than are people. With little exception it’s the mongrels and the poorly bred that end up in shelters.
Tell that to the breed specific rescues like the one I foster for. Some of our dogs are poorly bred, but many are of good quality and have good temperament. People paid $1K+ for some of these dogs. Many people consider dogs to be disposable like yesterday’s newspaper. They are just a fashion statement and when the fashion changes, they throw away the old fashion and move on to the next. And the responsible people, who would own dogs, don’t take on new responsibilities when the economy is unpredictable.
I think your assertion that the shelters are full of mongrels and poorly bred, let breeders off the hook. Many breeders have no care about their pups, once they are in a new home. Time to breed another set.
Just today there were two ads, within 30 minutes of each other, on Craigslist “free” category for a dog and a cat. The dog was an 8 yr old Shih Tzu. Now, that would be an indoor dog, clearly should be part of the family at that age, (as I believe all dogs should but that’s my opinion), but yet is being given away because the person is moving and cannot take the dog with him. Really? You can’t take a 15 lb dog with you?
I know that the shelters are as full here as they are due to irresponsible pet owners, those that move and “can’t” take the pet with them, or they have a baby and don’t have the time (they actually state this in their ad!), or suddenly someone becomes allergic to the pet, or it got bigger than they thought, or they started working longer hours.
This is simply ridiculous and unacceptable. Where is accountability? Where is commitment? These dogs and cats have feelings, they love their family unconditionally and trust them, and then people just toss them out at the first inconvenience. This is not at all uncommon, but rather the majority of cases. In addition, there are literally hundreds (that we know of) left to die in the desert because people don’t want to pay the fee to take them to the shelter. I must say, in many cases dying by being supper for the coyotes can be kinder than being in our county shelter however and that’s really bad, but true.
This is not about spaying and neutering, it’s about this countries citizens becoming lazy, selfish, irresponsible, whining unaccountable and pathetically immature men and women.
What’s really sad is that these very people will possibly once again get another pet and then when another situation arises that makes it inconvenient they’ll once again dump it like an old pair of shoes.