Why Pounds?

[dane_mom]

I absoulutly do not think of a pound as a good place!! If all the pounds in the world were out together then 5,000 dogs would be killed every second!! And, only 20-30% of dogs find a home from the pound. :(

[gemini9961]

I got my newest dog from a pound. Well it was an SPCA NO KILL shelter. Remember, there are NO KILL shelters out there.

[luvofallhorses]

IMO it's better for them than being on the streets and like gemini said, there are NO-KILL shelters out there. I really don't like kill shelters because I think every animal deserves a chance. The NO-KILL shelters only euthanize if the animals are sick or suffering. Most shelters and rescues care for their animals really good. The shelter I used to volunteer at(I quit because school interfered with it) and I am thinking about going back since I graduated...makes sure the animals are comfortable as possible.

They have their own blankets, so they don't have to be on the cold cement floor. I am not saying I agree with NO-KILL shelters, because some animals are in there most of their lives and it messes up their mental status, they go crazy. I would go crazy, too if I was in a shelter most of my life..most shelters have rescues help them.

There are pros and cons of non-kill shelters. You're right, ever day animals are being euthanized, but can we help that? You betcha! You can't save them all, but you can atleast try to save the ones that need you. It's just sad really that dogs, cats, and other animals are being euthanized daily. :( I live buy this quote "Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die"

[buttercup132]

put it this way if there werent pounds then there would be even more odgs dieing everyday of starvation and mating and evry thing its not the best place for a dog but they get medical attention and food and fresh water everyday the only thing missing is a loving family , the kill shelters are the ones that need to go

[Glacier]

IMO, there are fates worse than a humane death. An animal on the street is at risk of all sorts of hideous abuses by humans, they are at risk of being killed by cars, other animals, ect, ect. They may starve to death, they may be injured and die from their injuries or an illness. All of those are long, painful ways to die. At least in a pound, they are warm & fed for however long they have. Death comes quickly and painlessly. It's heartbreaking, but there are many worse things that could happen.

I have several dogs in my yard who grew up in a no-kill shelter or spent up to 2 years there. I adore them including their quirks and issues, but they are deeply damaged by the experience of being confined for months on end. Every one of them has some kind of issue and will continue to have issues for the rest of their lives. They came to me when the shelter finally said they were unadoptable and euthansia was their only other option. Fortunately, my home and life are set up to accomodate their issues, work with them and rehabilitate them as much as possible. There are not enough homes to take all the healthy, well-adjusted animals, let alone homes for the sick or emotionally damaged ones.

[k9krazee]

It depends on how the shelter is run. Our local shelter is under new management as of this year, it has really turned around! It used to be an awful place to go in and I dreaded it, the people were awful and I don't think they really did it for the animals, they had no volunteers and were putting down tons of animals. With our new director the place is awesome! The first thing she did was look for volunteers, the old people that still work there were absolutey shocked, they did not, and still don't, like the volunteers coming in and helping out, don't ask me why, these people are still getting paid and have to do less work now! We repainted the whole place and made it more visitor friendly. They had this shed out back with lots of cots that were donated, well the people that used to run the shelter never even got them out of the shed and the dogs had to lay on the bare cement. Now each pen has a cot, the dogs have blankets, there is a 15 minute rule that states that the dogs pens have to be cleaned of all urine and feces every 15 minutes, outdoor pens were finally made, donations are finally welcome (the old management used to refuse all donations of food, litter etc because they felt they didn't need outside help). While the shelter is not the ideal place for pets it does keep them off the streets and well fed and hopefully they will get a forever home that each pet deserves. Almost everyday after school I go to the shelter and bathe or walk the dogs for at least an hour, I wish someday there will be no need for shelters but I highly highly doubt that will happen so we might as well try to make the best of it.

[slleipnir]

They also save a lot of lives

[IRescue452]

Ok first off imagine what would happen if all pounds and shelters quit euthanizing today. In a week where would we put the dogs. Pounds DON'T LIKE doing the dirty work but it has to be done because people continue to abandon there dogs or overbreed their pets.
Because pounds do the dirty work some people refuse to donate anything to them. This make conditions at the pound worse and once again makes people view pounds in a negative way. This shouldn't be.
An extremely large percentage of no-kill shelters have dogs and cats that live their lives in small kennels. When they run out of room they make people pay tons of money for the animals or they have waiting lists, many times they are so full they have to turn people away. Sometimes they bring their animals to the pound to be euthanized because they can't do it at their facility.
If all shelters and pounds stopped euthanizing today, there'd be thousands of extra animals a day with no place to go. We would have to house sevaral to a kennel that's too small for one and within a few weeks they would all be turning people away. The dogs that make it into the overfilled facilities would have small rations of food because there'd be no funding whatsoever for all these animals.
Is it the pounds fault that we NEED somebody to take responsibility for these animals? No, no-kill shelters refuse to take any responsibility for making it "ok" to abandon a pet.
Does the pound love to kill animals? Absolutely not, they just face the reality of all the irresponsible pet owners
The pound is a scapegoat that you can blame for overpopulation when in fact you should be donating your time with a pound so they don't HAVE to kill all your animals.

[Suki Wingy]

I have seen first hand dogs go insane and extremley territorial over their little kennel runs in no kills, I think untill we deal with the extreme overpopulation of dogs already on the street them they are good. I think they now call themselves Shelters. I think if you have a dog you need to rehome then whoever bred it should take it in no matter what. They are responsible for it for life. I would like to see organizations run from foster people's homes in the future idealy.

[AllAmericanPUP]

I dont think anyone really "likes" pounds but they are a necessary evil unfortunatley.

the pound here is ok, the kennels are kept clean and the dogs/cats well fed, but i would like to see them do a lil more with the dogs(maybe a lil OB or something) because all they do is sit around all day.....

there are some really horrible pounds out there that I would rather see shut down.....but just with everything else there is the good and the bad.....the are alot of great pounds out there.

[lute]

i think they are wonderful! yes, there are lots of lives lost in animal shelters, but there are also so many that find forever homes that, without animal shelters, would end up on the streets, dead, females constantly having pups, injured, hungry, etc.

i see why you don't like the whole shelter idea, but you also have to look at the good that they are doing.

[dab_20]

shelters are really good, it isn't the shelters fault animals die every day, IT IS THE PPL WHO BREED PUPPIES AND KITTENS WITHOUT FINDING GOOD HOMES FOR THEM. and also the ppl who over- breed them.

[CalliesMom]

IF PEOPLE WERE RESPONSIBLE AND SPAYED/NEUTERED THEIR ANIMALS, WE WOULDN'T NEED POUNDS. :mad: Not enough money is given to running pounds and there are far too many animals than their are possible homes. It makes me sick that 11 millions dogs and cats are euthanized each year because people wouldn't spend the $60 to spay/neuter.

[lute]

Originally posted by dab_20
shelters are really good, it isn't the shelters fault animals die every day, IT IS THE PPL WHO BREED PUPPIES AND KITTENS WITHOUT FINDING GOOD HOMES FOR THEM. and also the ppl who over- breed them.
i agree! us who volunteer at shelters see and hear the worst. everything frompeople who breed their dog to witness the miricle of birth to people that just don't bother to spay/neuter their dog and they get an unwanted litter.

[Uabassoon]

A lot of shelters do the best with what they have. It's sad but usually local shelters have no choice but to put animals down. With people breeding unecessary or accidental litters there are just too many animals without homes. Shelters do their best to care for them, but at some point they just run out of room. Local animal controls have to take in the animals that are brought into them, if they are reiceving 50 animals a day and are only adopting out 20 where are they going to keep all the extra animals? Do you want them to sick 10 dogs to a kennel? It isn't the shelters fault, it's the fault of people who don't care to spay and neuter their pets and don't care what happens to the cute puppies that they produce just because they wanted their child to see the miracle of birth or whatever silly reason they chose to breed.

I also wanted to add that I'm not refering to responible breeders because they actually take responsibilty for every puppy that they produce.

[Twisterdog]

Originally posted by Glacier
IMO, there are fates worse than a humane death. An animal on the street is at risk of all sorts of hideous abuses by humans, they are at risk of being killed by cars, other animals, ect, ect. They may starve to death, they may be injured and die from their injuries or an illness. All of those are long, painful ways to die. At least in a pound, they are warm & fed for however long they have. Death comes quickly and painlessly. It's heartbreaking, but there are many worse things that could happen.

I have several dogs in my yard who grew up in a no-kill shelter or spent up to 2 years there. I adore them including their quirks and issues, but they are deeply damaged by the experience of being confined for months on end. Every one of them has some kind of issue and will continue to have issues for the rest of their lives. They came to me when the shelter finally said they were unadoptable and euthansia was their only other option. Fortunately, my home and life are set up to accomodate their issues, work with them and rehabilitate them as much as possible. There are not enough homes to take all the healthy, well-adjusted animals, let alone homes for the sick or emotionally damaged ones.


I agree 100%. Once you have worked the "front lines" of the animal overpopulation problem and have seen the hard, cold facts, you become far less critical of animal control agencies.

[grybai]

The city pound here in Tucson is pretty nasty. They keep several dogs all together, and they never get any play time or walks. Every day or two they hose down the kennels, so the dog poop ends up all over the dog's fur. The smell is sooo awful.

We got Payson there. They didn't even have leashes for the dogs. When we wanted to take him outside to check him out, the guy carried him out and then tied an old rope around his neck. Payson was covered in cuts and dried blood; the other dogs in his kennel looked pretty aggressive so I think maybe they were to blame.

The animals also are only given a very short period before they are put to sleep.

The paperwork I had to fill out for adoption was also insubstantial. It only asked for my name and address, if I had been convicted of animal abuse in the past three years, and I had to sign to release them of responsibility for my animal after adoption. That's it!

However, the purpose of the city pound is to remove unwanted animals from the streets, not to adopt out animals. So their lack of care and concern for the animals is somewhat understandable... even though I find it disgusting. They are providing a service, and although I don't like what they do, there's just not enough money and funds to make sure that every stray and unwanted animal is given a second chance. At least these animals are taken off the street so as not to contribute to further overpopulation.