Currently I see more and more articles about pets being abandoned in record numbers. As the economy fell, and people started losing jobs, one of the first things they gave up to save a little money was their pets. One shelter in Elkhart Indiana is reporting an average of 600 to 700 animals being dropped off there a month, and sometimes as many as 30 animals a day, they are overcrowded and in crisis mode. They are also having to put the majority of those animals to sleep. They aren't the only ones in crisis. Local pet rescues or foster groups and sanctuaries are also running out of space, food and funds.
Many towns who have food depots for people who need the extra help for food are also taking pet food donations to help people care for their pets, so that they don't have to give them up. It is done with the hope that by providing food and for some areas, veterinary assistance the animals won't be given up and can stay in the home, and thereby help ease the load on the shelters.
There were also many, many reports about pets and livestock being abandoned when a house was being foreclosed. Many of these pets were just left in the house to "fend for themselves", or turned loose to survive on their own. I am not sure what the owners of these animals were thinking when they did this. Is it pride? Are they embarrassed to take the animal to a shelter or sanctuary and admit they can no longer care for it? Do they not realize that what they are doing to the animal is much much crueler than voluntarily giving it up?
Pets are just as hurt and confused and heartbroken as a human might be when going through all this. The separation from all that they know, the upheaval, the fear of the unknown, yes they share those feelings.
Then there are the shelters who are closing because they have no funds coming in, as in the case of one in Colorado. And there is no knowing where the animals will go or if they'll just be euthanized.
The one thing that is most upsetting for me that I am seeing more and more articles on are reports of shelters with poor public relations, or very poor policies on how long they will hold an animal that is picked up and not claimed. Or poor and abusive management or directorship.
I read one incident in another pet forum about a shelter in Pennsylvania (I have not been able to corroborate this yet) about their policy of only holding an animal for 48 hours from pickup. Apparently this person posting this had a friend who had been out of town and had someone taking care of their dog. The dog got out and was picked up. When it was discovered and the shelter was called to see if they had a dog with that description, they were told no, no dog of that description. The reason for the no, was that the dog had already been euthanized. Apparently this is standard practice for this shelter.
Poor management happens. A shelter in Memphis, Tennessee has fired it's director for animal cruelty and abuse and an inability to follow proper procedures for euthanizing animals. It was also found this person had a previous history of this at the shelter in Albuquerque, NM. There are other articles out there about poor shelter management, doing a Google search turned up many such articles and complaints.
Despite all this sadness, there are good things. Like people coming together for a cause, extending their capacity a bit to help take in an animal, to help provide food and care through donations for those that may need it. And to help get the word out about local resources for people in crisis to help care for their pets.
To help with problem shelters Petfinder.com posts these tips:
Theres Something Rotten in My Town
Most animal shelters and humane societies are staffed with dedicated, caring individuals and operated with the animals best interests at heart. But should you ever come across a substandard organization
- Document problems before taking action. Write times, places and specific problems in a journal. Be specific. Be reasonable. Be sure.
- Talk to the shelter staff and management. Focus on apparent problems and learn why they exist. Then explore ways to help remedy them: improve phone service or animal care by volunteering; prepare a grant proposal to fund kennel improvements; consult with local veterinarians about establishing a program of health care.
- Rather than pointing fingers, try to improve the shelter from the inside. Offer to join the board of directors if your skills make you a likely candidate to organize volunteers, to oversee a fund-raising event. Encourage other like-minded people to join you.
- If you meet resistance or indifference, you might take your concerns to the board of directors; or, if a municipal shelter, to the city or county administrator who oversees it. Enlist the help of sympathetic people with clout (public figures, donors, media folks) and expertise (veterinarians, animal welfare advocates).
- Rather than expending energy on a seemingly fruitless struggle, direct your energies elsewhere. Work to support a humane society that does have strong and effective programs. Or organize a group of individuals to fill a void in your community: establish a nonprofit low-cost spay/neuter clinic; fund spay/neuter surgeries for low-income dog and cat owners; establish a network of foster homes that will rescue animals, have them neutered, set adoption criteria, and place them in permanent homes.
Resources
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
424 East 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128-6804
212-876-7700
Contact The ASPCA for Throwaways, a spay/neuter video available in English or Spanish ($15); adoption posters and public service announcements (cost varies). The National Shelter Outreach department provides materials, resources, training, referrals and advice to animal protection organizations across the country and maintains a library of resource articles on www.petfinder.com. Email outreach@aspca.org.
American Humane Association
63 Inverness Drive East
Englewood, CO 80112
303-792-9900
AHAs offerings include national and regional training conferences for shelter workers; Protecting Animals magazine for shelter staff; a comprehensive shelter Operations Guide; large publications catalog (free); public service announcements and posters (cost varies).
Humane Society of the U.S.
2100 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-452-1100
HSUS offers a free publications catalog; Simple Things You Can Do To Help End Pet Overpopulation booklet; Be a Pal (Prevent a Litter) kit; Animal Sheltering Magazine for shelter staff; national annual training conference and trade show; breeding moratorium campaign packet.
Take some time, if you truly care for and love animals, offer to be a foster home, or donate what you can in food or time or money to help make life easier for animals or ease the burden on your local shelter. Help get the word out to spay and neuter your animals. Maybe you are crafty like one of my good friends, she makes origami Peace cranes that she pays for the supplies and makes and sells for $5 each and all the proceeds goes to the shelter for their spay and neuter fund. She does these at her and her husband's place of business and sells them there. They really are beautiful and the monies raised do help the shelter and pet in our community. You can donate old towels, blankets, etc to the shelter, they always need those. If you know someone in trouble, find out all you can about local resources for the pets and owner, if you can even offer to provide the food for their pet if you have no local pet food depot. Or offer to care for the animal for awhile for them. Sometimes just these little things help a lot.
Anyhow, don't be a sideline watcher, get in there and help. It really doesn't take much time to do. Help stop the endless euthanasia of animals, do what you can!
2 comments:
I enjoyed your informative post on pets. I am also a pet lover and just recently I wrote a post about pets getting the flu. That is the reason when I saw your post on the front page of Today, I had to read it, and found it very interesting and informative.
I sure would like to follow up and help whenever I can with blankets food or whatever is needed. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the encouraging words. :) Get in touch with your local shelters or rescue organizations to see what they might need the most. Sometimes even just taking those old towels, blankets etc to the shelter helps a lot.
I will keep things posted. Thanks!
Post a Comment