Post by Sarah on Jan 14, 2005 8:38:51 GMT -5
Yesterday happened to be one of those days when I wonder what the hell possessed me to choose this as my direction in life. *sigh*
A little background so you understand some of it. We live in driving distance of 2 major high kill shelters both of which we have offered time and time again to help and take on animals on their way to be put down even if it is an animal we don't think we can place anytime soon. Both shelters have a 90% kill rate! Yet both shelters have refused our offers of help even though our vets who work with us have also spoken to them and told them the animals would have only the best care here and would eventually find homes with loving new guardians. We are treated like everyone else who adopts from both shelters...2 animals per person per month. One of the ACO's has told both myself and our treasurer that he would rather kill the dogs than try to place them because there are too many bleeding heart rescue groups out there and he is tired of hearing anything about it. The dogs in that particular shelter live in a dark, damp building crammed into small runs with little food and little care. Few people even know that shelter is there and they do not advertise the fact they are there either nor do they have set hours of operation so nobody is there even if someone was to come in to adopt a dog. They also do not always inject the dogs to put them down as they should and have been cited for actually shooting dogs and dumping them into the local landfill (the good old boy network is alive and stong in this redneck metropolis and nothing is done although everyone knows it happens)
What has me so upset is that my sister and I went to town yesterday and were on the backstreet that leads to the shelter and we looked at each other at the same time and said we NEED to go to the shelter today. I don't know why as we haven't been in months since I had my last round with the ACO who informed me he would just shoot them....but we knew we had to go even though we were not sure anyone would be there. We pull in and there is actually an ACO there! We went into the back and were overwhelmed by the smell of sickness and feces and the sound was overwhelming. When I go into the kennels I stand at the door, take a deep breath, and say a prayer that I make the right decision on which dogs to take out before I make my way through the pens then I walk slowly through the pens inspecting each dog and doing a cursory temperament test to see how they react to me before I make any decisions.
There were many beautiful dogs there yesterday including a pen full of 8 10 week old pups all laying together in a pile for warmth except for one small merle off by himself. Mind you we don't take puppies on a regular basis because they usually stand a good chance of being adopted out of the shelter but I went into the cage with them and sat down and began checking out the puppies with tears running down my face. I wasn't going to leave the sick pup there to die but I can't pull more than 2 dogs and there were so many I could help. I didn't know how to make a decision that I could live with. My sister took pity on me and she said if I paid the pull fee ($20 per dog) she would take 2 out for me so that would give us 4 we could save. How do you choose? My heart breaks for the ones I cannot save..the ones who will die with nobody to love them and treasure them. The beautiful coonhounds who don't hunt so they are thrown out in the woods, the dogs who get too big so they are thrown away, the dogs who are left in the night drop box at the shelter who have a story but nobody to tell it for them, the puppies who won't have a chance at a life but will die as innocent babies because someone was too selfish to spay their dog. I beg God to show me which dogs I should take and then I tell the ones I can't take how sorry I am that people suck.
In the end my sister and I had to choose only 4 to help. We took 3 of the babies... the sick merle, another merle, and a little tan one as well as a JRT/Beagle mix who is 3 months old that we are calling Poptart. These 4 will not die unloved and uncared for...they will have all the blessings that life will allow. Did we really have room for them? No not really. Did we make room? Certainly. We have always operated on the principal of "we always have room for one more" I just stretched it a little bit.
If you have made it this far...bless you. Please consider a shelter pet as your next companion. There are so many that never get a chance at life with a family to love them but you can change their future.
A little background so you understand some of it. We live in driving distance of 2 major high kill shelters both of which we have offered time and time again to help and take on animals on their way to be put down even if it is an animal we don't think we can place anytime soon. Both shelters have a 90% kill rate! Yet both shelters have refused our offers of help even though our vets who work with us have also spoken to them and told them the animals would have only the best care here and would eventually find homes with loving new guardians. We are treated like everyone else who adopts from both shelters...2 animals per person per month. One of the ACO's has told both myself and our treasurer that he would rather kill the dogs than try to place them because there are too many bleeding heart rescue groups out there and he is tired of hearing anything about it. The dogs in that particular shelter live in a dark, damp building crammed into small runs with little food and little care. Few people even know that shelter is there and they do not advertise the fact they are there either nor do they have set hours of operation so nobody is there even if someone was to come in to adopt a dog. They also do not always inject the dogs to put them down as they should and have been cited for actually shooting dogs and dumping them into the local landfill (the good old boy network is alive and stong in this redneck metropolis and nothing is done although everyone knows it happens)
What has me so upset is that my sister and I went to town yesterday and were on the backstreet that leads to the shelter and we looked at each other at the same time and said we NEED to go to the shelter today. I don't know why as we haven't been in months since I had my last round with the ACO who informed me he would just shoot them....but we knew we had to go even though we were not sure anyone would be there. We pull in and there is actually an ACO there! We went into the back and were overwhelmed by the smell of sickness and feces and the sound was overwhelming. When I go into the kennels I stand at the door, take a deep breath, and say a prayer that I make the right decision on which dogs to take out before I make my way through the pens then I walk slowly through the pens inspecting each dog and doing a cursory temperament test to see how they react to me before I make any decisions.
There were many beautiful dogs there yesterday including a pen full of 8 10 week old pups all laying together in a pile for warmth except for one small merle off by himself. Mind you we don't take puppies on a regular basis because they usually stand a good chance of being adopted out of the shelter but I went into the cage with them and sat down and began checking out the puppies with tears running down my face. I wasn't going to leave the sick pup there to die but I can't pull more than 2 dogs and there were so many I could help. I didn't know how to make a decision that I could live with. My sister took pity on me and she said if I paid the pull fee ($20 per dog) she would take 2 out for me so that would give us 4 we could save. How do you choose? My heart breaks for the ones I cannot save..the ones who will die with nobody to love them and treasure them. The beautiful coonhounds who don't hunt so they are thrown out in the woods, the dogs who get too big so they are thrown away, the dogs who are left in the night drop box at the shelter who have a story but nobody to tell it for them, the puppies who won't have a chance at a life but will die as innocent babies because someone was too selfish to spay their dog. I beg God to show me which dogs I should take and then I tell the ones I can't take how sorry I am that people suck.
In the end my sister and I had to choose only 4 to help. We took 3 of the babies... the sick merle, another merle, and a little tan one as well as a JRT/Beagle mix who is 3 months old that we are calling Poptart. These 4 will not die unloved and uncared for...they will have all the blessings that life will allow. Did we really have room for them? No not really. Did we make room? Certainly. We have always operated on the principal of "we always have room for one more" I just stretched it a little bit.
If you have made it this far...bless you. Please consider a shelter pet as your next companion. There are so many that never get a chance at life with a family to love them but you can change their future.
)
