Kill shelters

[IRescue452]

Well I've had enough of people speaking negatively about kill shelters, so I decided I needed to give them some credit. I know that there are good shelters that are no-kill, and I know that there are bad shelters that are kill shelters, but these aren't always the case. Shelters don't enjoy having to be the bad guys that have to euthanize, but logically somebody has to do it. Imagine if every shelter was a no-kill (and I'd like them to do this for a year to see the reaction of the citizens). There would be a capacity of 50-100 animals stuffed for life in cages. After being full, the shelters will have to turn away any new animals or start stuffing then in storage rooms or sheds. thousands of animals each day would be turned away. People would either have to euthanize the animals on their own or pay a vet to do it. If you found a stray on the street and you couldn't take it in for some reason, you would have to do something with it, and you wouldn't find a buyer because everybody has the same problem. You would have to do something with this dog that you can't keep. People who couldn't afford going to the vet for euthanasia would be forced to take matters into their hands. Dog would starve, be shot, be hanged, anything to kill them. I know its sad to think that one of our dogs could have been killed had we not rescued them, but until everybody stops breeding (including every reputable breeder, who sells non-show quality dogs as pets rather than recommending shelters) we should be commending kill shelters for being the only ones taking responsibility for dealing with the sad truth and caring about the dogs, even through humane euthanasia.

[.sarah]

I don't have a problem with kill shelters. I have a problem with the ones that want to euthanize a dog or cat for the most ridiculous reasons. I also have a problem with them when they don't have foster homes for the sick animals who need time to recover, or the mother and newborn puppies.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I was doing my one month practicum at the SPCA and realized that they were a much nicer place than what everyone says they are. The only animals that were euthanized were dogs that bit a human, more than three times AND seriously, cats that were sick and hadn't gotten better in more than one month, and seriously injured animals. When I was there we only euthanized two dogs. One was a 17 year old JRT that was having heart failure and a pitbull X named Seth who bit my friend (another vet assistant) and 3 SPCA employees. It was hard, but this is life. Someones gotta do it, and sadly I had to assist in the euthanization. :(

[poofy]

that is true, imagine if they didnt do it..sadly :(

[Ree'sKujo]

I don't have a problem with most kill shelters either because your right someone has to do it,but I have problems with the ones that are like the one I got my Kujo from.Normally they wait at least 4mths.before they put down a dog but when I went to adopt Kujo he'd only been there 3weeks and he had one left before he was getting put down.It was only because of his breed(Akita).That's the kind of thing that really ticks me off.Not to mention he is one of the most well behaved,loving and loyal Akita's I,ve ever owned.I thank God everyday that I got to him in time.It would have been such a shame if such a sweet and loving dog would've been put down simply because of his bred.

[areias]

Our county shelter is a little different, I don't like it very much. They get about 75 dogs in a day. If they are getting full, they take the strays first, to give them time to see if an owner will show up. Any owner surrenders, even if it is a perfect health and temperment, are immediately euthanized if the shelter is full like that. It's really sad to hear that...although kill shelters are not horrible, they can be heartbreaking. I don't like it when they put dogs down for mild food aggression, or other ridiculous reasons.

[Miss Z]

I don't think that there are kill shelters in the UK like in the US, so i will always have a negative view of them. I understand what you are saying though and i think that there are crueller and more worrying issues to do with animals.

[chealy731]

well i think puppy mills are worser!! y do ppl have to be soo cruel? :mad:

[jackie]

To be honest i think it is better to euthanize, rather then to let an animal rot in a cage for months or years. :(

[IRescue452]

Yes, Naomi, the dog I want to adopt has already spent a year and a half in a cage at a no-kill. Granted I'll be thrilled if I can still have her in two years when I get my own place and have a stable career, but the poor pup will have spent the first three+ years of her life in a cage. Thats no life, especially when they start getting mental problems from being caged. They're lucky when the cage is big enough to walk in constant circles though, at least their muscles won't start to degrade.

[Ree'sKujo]

I have a friend who's a vet tech at our local SPCA and I've got to say he's great.If they get an aggressive dog that their considering putting down he will spend countless hours working with them even on his off hours trying to turn them around.He's had alot of success to.Many dogs have been spared because of his time and devotion.Alot of these dogs including a huge Mastiff have turned around so much that they've been adopted.He personally does follow-ups every month for 6mths to make sure they're doing well.If theres a problem and the person can't handle the dog he will foster them so he can work with them some more and they get one more chance at adoption.As for the comment that it's better to put a dog down rather then having them spend their life in a cage I totally agree,but I don't agree that they should be put down after only 4 weeks simply because of their breed,

[Ree'sKujo]

I agree about the breeding situation.There are to many dogs that need to be adopted in order to avoid being put down.That was the reason I stopped breeding.I rescued the Akita I have now from a rescue and my next Akita is coming from MidWest Akita Rescue.

[Suki Wingy]

I have seen dogs go insane in no kill shelters after a year+ of living in a cage :( Anti Cruelty Society (www.anticruelty.org) is an example of a good kill-shelter, they try all they can and will keep an adoptable dog pretty long.
Orphans of the Storm is an example of a bad no-kill. Most dogs live in dog runs with little outside contact but the dog walkers, go insane, and become incredibly protective over their runs. Furry Friends (www.furryfriendsfoundation.org) is an example of a very good no-kill. They take in out of state dogs and regularly rotate the dogs from the shelter to fosters, they work a lot with fosters.
An example of a bad kill-shelter was the place my dad worked at before I was born, the woman in charge tryed to make him euthenize dogs and cats for almost no reason at all (like "he lunged at someone") or "he looks like he has worms" and even more rediculus, so he reported her and she was fired.

[Ree'sKujo]

Like I said my shelter was going to put Kujo down after 4wks. simply because he's an Akita.I guess that consitutes it as a bad shelter.

[pitc9]

The kill shelter I adopted Buddy from kept him for 3 weeks after finding him after he had been dumped off in the woods, even though he was so deathly terrified of everything and everyone that he wouldn't even look anyone in the eye. All he would do was cower in the corner of his room. He was so terrified that they couldn't put him in a cage near the other dogs because he was so afraid of the other dogs when they would bark!!
They turned a small office into his own little room. There was one man at the shelter that Buddy grew to trust. He was the only person Buddy would let leash him, or pet him.
I think that qualifies as a good kill shelter.

[king2005]

I agree, someone has to do it, saddly.

I LOVED the no-kill shelter I worked at... There was NO such thing as a dog locked up in a little cage all day every day. . The shelter made nice sized kennels inside & NICE fenced in kennels, dog houses & tie outs. The dogs were outside all day long. The small dogs & puppies ran free in the dog kennel building (which was a huge area to run about), as they were too small for the heat or cold. The cats even got to go outside kinda. They built this HUGE outdoor room. They put chairs, couches, shoes, clothing, tables in the room & put as many cats in ther that got along every other day (every cat deserved time in the outdoor room).

The dogs had many walks throughout the day & if someone wanted to cuddle one, there was a spare run, you could hangout in with that dog.