so scared of the pound
March 5th, 2008
Why do animal shelters be so cruel to animals. They do take care of them but if they do not have a home in a certain amount of time they kill them so the chance that you the dog are going to either have a home or never get out of a cage and die from your life early. I do not see why is there a leash law in the United States. How can People at the pound put dogs in cages why can't it be cageless. I mean sure I put my dog in a cage to but at night she sleeps with me and has her own pillow that she sleeps on every night but yes she does stay in a cage during the day but as soon as we let her out when we get home she is out the rest of the time until the next day and she knows when she needs to get in her create but she has a freeken great dane create she has a bucket full of toys in there a blanket and a pillow three scoops of food three treats some carrots and celary. If we would have left her at the pound the (cobb county) one she would have got killed. Now I have an opportunity to write this letter to say let those presus animal out of those cages!!!
Comments
Wow, where to begin with a
Wow, where to begin with a reply?
First, not all animals in a humane society have a limited time or the animal will be "killed." Not all places operate like that. In fact, the Humane Society in Golden Valley has no time limits. Same with the ones in St. Paul. Many others are like this too. Each facility is different, so I would check out a few more before making blanket statements.
Second, cageless is a nice idea - but have you been to a dog park when a dog is too dominant and terrorizes the others? Or people? Cages provide safety for all the dogs. Plus, its a health issue. If an animal has been spayed or neutered, don't you want it to have a safe place alone to recoup?
So your own dog is kept in a cage for 8-10 hours a day while you're at work and that's ok? But' it's not for other places. Sounds hypocritical.
I'm glad you took a dog home and are giving it a great life. But please don't make blanket statements that aren't true or are impractical.
JakeinMpls, While I do not
JakeinMpls,
While I do not agree with the overall message put out by the original post, I also feel your reply needs some clarification. You suggest that people crating their animals for 8 - 10 hours per day is similar to animal shelters, where they may be kept in cramped cages for 24 hours a day. I disagree with that. I do agree that too many people rely to heavily on crating. Crates are wonderful tools to use while training your dog to be home alone. But, I think the goal should be to train them to be home alone outside of a crate. Too few people get past the crate-training stage, in my opinion.
Additionally, I would point out that while the local Animal Humane Society may not have a time limit, that does not mean the animals there are "safe". Far too many people believe the humane society will keep animals until they are adopted when they hear they do not have a time limit.
In reality, the Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities kills about 15,000 animals every year. They do not break these statistics down by species, so we have no way of knowing the actual "save rate" for dogs and cats. However, because their statistics are sure to include thousands of wild animals they transfer to wildlife centers, and since they count all "transfers" as "adoptions", it appears the overall "save rate" for dogs and cats is only about 50%. It is probably much lower than that for cats. Given the fact that the placement rate for puppies and kittens is much higher than for adult dogs and cats, it would seem that the chances of an adopt dog or cat making it out of the humane society alive are not all that good.
They may not have a time limit, however, clock is ticking for every animal they take in.
There is an interesting
There is an interesting video on the Animal Ark web site that talks about this in a fair amount of detail. The video is titled "Strayed: The Story of How the Animal Welfare Community Lost its Way, and How Some People are Working to Bring it home." You can find the video at animalarkshelter.org
Let's ask a better question-
Let's ask a better question- why are the people who PUT their animals in shelters so cruel?
Animal shelters deal with thousands of abandoned, surrendered, or stray pets each year. Animal shelters are non-profit organizations, and do not have the money to make their facilities like $45/night boarding kennels for pampered pets. However, please visit the Animal Humane Societies in Cool Rapids and Golden Valley, the Wisconsin Humane Society in Wisconsin, and many other around the country who have been lucky enough to receive enough funding to build beautiful state of the art facilities for their animals. Pounds today aren't like the stereotypical one featured in Disney's "Lady and the Tramp," they are usually very clean and well-kept, and the staff there works to ensure the animals are as comfortable as possible. No-kill shelter policies are becoming very common in order to stop the extermination (because killing a healthy, sound animal is NOT euthanasia) of unwanted pets. You want to see pet shelters reduced? Say no to backyard breeding, puppy mills, and the Strib running ads from both.
And as for the leash law- it keeps dogs, animals and people safe. Dogs on leashes will not be able to get hit by cars, attack animals such as loose cats and squirrels, or harm people, even unintentionally harm, such as overenthusiastic jumping on children.
If you don't like the way animals are treated in shelters, don't waste your time writing commentaries about it- get ACTIVE. Volunteer at local shelters and animal rescues. One person can make a big difference.
Boy you people are bad at
Boy you people are bad at reading between the lines. The original poster is a child (you can tell by the style (maybe I blog enough I now can tell the difference). I for one am happy he/she is starting to ask these sorts of things at such a young age-and I hope they keep doing it. Because it doesn't matter if you agree, it only matters that we start talking. And yes, that building in Golden Valley is beautiful. But how much did that beauty cost? Do the animals care about beauty? Or do they care about life. Could some of those millions spent on that "beautiful" building be used, instead, to start a spay/neuter program in the State? Ok…discuss…
Boy you people are bad at
Boy you people are bad at reading between the lines. The original poster is a child (you can tell by the style (maybe I blog enough I now can tell the difference)). I for one am happy he/she is starting to ask these sorts of things at such a young age-and I hope they keep doing it. Because it doesn't matter if you agree, it only matters that we start talking. And yes, that building in Golden Valley is beautiful. But how much did that beauty cost? Do the animals care about beauty? Or do they care about life. Could some of those millions spent on that "beautiful" building be used, instead, to start a spay/neuter program in the State? Ok…discuss…