Adopting from a Kill Shelter/No Kill Shelter.....?

I've had this questions/idea/thought floating around in my head for a while and I was wondering how others deal with the dilemma.....
If I am going to adopt a pet, I want to be able to save a life therefore I will adopt from the kill shelter. However, I feel I should support the no-kill shelters in the area with monetary donations....
Then again, I want the pets that are in the kill shelter that I can't take home to have a decent quality of life while they are there...It's a catch-22 and a dilemma that I think about quite a bit....

It the animals in the no-kill shelter will have a place there until they pass away naturally, are adopted or become ill, shouldn't we patronize the kill shelters where animals are put to sleep every day for no reason other than not having a home due to human negligence?


What is everyone else's take on this sticky situation?

I say adopt an animal from either one. Pick the one that speaks to your heart, the one that bonds to you. I personally support shelters in my home town by donating blankets and dog food twice a year.

Jenni,

That is very tough. I volunteer with the shleter in town and it happens to be a kill shelter. They are sometimes good about keeping the dogs until they reach quota, but at times make stupid calls on who to put down. Like the Snow case a while back.
In addition to my time, I donate money. I look at it as trying to help the pooches have the care and food they need.

I also do transports for non kill shelters. And donate money to them as well. I try to keep them in balance.

Souraya, I guess all we can do is our best for each and every animal right? I feel so helpless sometimes....
I consistently try to volunteer at the shelter where I got Duncan, which happens to be the SPCA but they always turn me down. They say they have enough volunteers. How you can possibly have enough volunteers to love all those animals is beyond me but I guess I understand....They have to have someone to supervise all these volunteers and they can't have people just running all over the place....
Anyway once I get a new job and get settled down in a new place with just Duncan and myself, perhaps I will be able to get organized enough to start making a real difference in the lives of some of these animals....

That is a tough one! Right in my area its a kill shelter so thats where we have adopted from the last 3 times. But I also donate to rescue shelters.
Its sad that some shelters hardly have enough help to keep open and the next place has too many helpers!
Most shelters kill/non kill look for donations of other items besides money and hands on. Last Christmas I brought a whole shopping bag of gifts for the cats/dogs. I stared way ahead and would check out the clearence items, sale items and in grocery store the carts with mark downs of pet toys it was so much fun and it was a good feeling to bring at the holidays.
I think that Souraya will be looking for helpers soon! LOL (she is filling in for Aly).:D

Sammi, Donating toys and supplies is a great idea. I have done that several times and have gotten my mother in law's 1st grade class involved in a project. They have to have a service project every grading period. And i gave my mother in law doggy biscut recipes and a list of toys they could take to the shelter and the class baked the biscuits and each child brought a toy and donated it to the shelter.

I thought about this question too and the best answer I can come up with is either one. Keep an open mind and look at both shelters, but in the end, pick the dog that will fit best into your house/lifestyle. Either way you are giving a good home to a needy pet!

Jenn...You can look at it this way. If you adopt from a no kill shelter that opens up a space for another pooch that might otherwise have gone to a kill shelter. I also wouldn't abandon the thought of going to a kill shelter because if you do, you might be missing the love of your life...and again, you open up a space for another animal that might otherwise have been put down.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Cincy'sMom
I thought about this question too and the best answer I can come up with is either one. Keep an open mind and look at both shelters, but in the end, pick the dog that will fit best into your house/lifestyle. Either way you are giving a good home to a needy pet!

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This is the answer that I would come up with as well. Choosing an animal to become part of your family for many years should be a well thought out decision. So many things to be taken into consideration as well as that intangible aspect of *falling in love*. Go with the animal that your heart and your mind can agree upon.

A lot of people come into the no-kill shelter where I work asking for my opinion on this topic. I always tell them that either way they are saving a life because if they adopt from us, it opens up a cage for us to fill when we go over and rescue animals from the kill shelter or when we take in an animal that might have otherwise been dumped in a not so nice place.

I think as far as donating money, it is better used at a no-kill shelter, at least in my town. The kill shelter here is city funded and my no-kill shelter is a non-profit charity. Unfortunately, the city shelter has so many animals, that they just don't give them the care that we give our animals. They provide the very raw, basic needs: food, water, shelter. Dogs and cats need much more than that. They need soft bedding, attention, and mental stimulation. I have no clue what the kill shelter here does with their donations because I never see toys or beds in those cages. It is really sad. Our donations go directly toward the physical and mental care of our animals.

And as far as volunteering, I think if you are strong enough emotionally, a kill shelter might need volunteers more. The kill shelter here has city employees working there. They are disgruntled and don't care about the animals. Those animals deserve to have some care and know what love is, even if it is just for a few short minutes before their lives are taken.

But whether adopting, donating, or volunteering, ANY shelter will much appreciate the help. I used to have the mindframe that I WOULD NOT ever support a kill shelter financially or otherwise, but I now realize that they don't really have a choice. The blame really points to all those stupid people that dump animals on the roads, let their animals have babies, don't understand animals are a lifetime committment, etc etc.

Enough rambling from me :)

Oh Aly I have been looking at Petfinder again tonight. I don't know why I do that because it always makes me wind up feeling sad. I found a link to a disturbing Webshots album. It is a shelter in Tennessee which posts the day of scheduled euthanization for these sweeties. Oh my I don't know how people working at kill shelters can go on without becoming so burned out and depressed. My hat is off to you and the countless others who try to make a difference in the life of these animals. Here is the link to the webshots album. If you pause and look into the eyes of these dogs it can really bring you to tears knowing that their end is so near. :(

http://community.webshots.com/album/27590352iFedNxJIHL

I wish you hadn't looked either because now I have looked. What a sad bunch of faces - at least some have adoption pending.

I can't look :( I know exactly what you mean by their eyes :( :( :(

I'll tell you guys that the only thing that keeps me going is concentrating on the good and just trying to help them one little life at a time. If you look at the problem as a whole, its way too overwhelming. But if you look at one saved life, you see it as a blessing and it gives you strength to help the next innocent soul.

I would have to say that i would get my pet from a kill shelter because look at how over flowing they can become and then they get killed for no reason except they have been there to long or somthin,and then the no killl pets live there till they cross the Rainbow Bridge...
-Kayla


www.TexarkanaAnimalShelter.com

I would have to say the kill shelter. b/c the ones there, like others have been saying, get killed everyday for no reason at all, exsept for that there is no one out there that has said "I'll take that dog home with me today!" or what ever kind of animal it was. I have never adopted a pet from a kill shelter, or any kind of shelter. I have always gotten my animals from people who worked with my mom. I dont know what its like to adopt from a shelter. I may never know. I did try to adopt a cat there but it didnt work out with Snowball.