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575

That is the number of animals euthanized every hour of every day of every year in the United States alone.

 

Not to belittle Bob Barker, but spaying and neutering is NOT the solution!! It is only PART of the solution!


Society's treatment of animals as disposable is a giant part of the problem. The excuses I hear people make for getting rid of their animals (I'm pregnant, I'm moving where pets aren't allowed, I have suddenly developed allergies, I'm traveling more for work, this animal no longer matches my furniture, etc.) are inexcusable. Many of these people are acting out of ignorance... others are trying to ease a guilty conscience. You can make a difference by encouraging these people to move elsewhere, get allergy meds, get a petsitter while traveling, travel less, work with an animal's behavior problem, etc. Explain to the person who says, "I got rid of my cat, but it's okay, I found a good home for it" that whatever home they found is one less home available for a cat out there that was euthanized as a result of a lack of space. Explain to the person that says, "I adopted a dog and got rid of it because it barked at a stranger entering its property or because it wasn't housebroken" that all they needed to do was give the animal a chance to adjust to its new environment or take it to obedience training. Patience, patience, patience... it really is a virtue!
An animal you adopt or rescue is depending on you for a LIFETIME of love and security, not just when it's convenient. Almost every problem that arises: behavioral, physical, geographical, etc. is resolvable. If you've found an animal, consider adding it to your potentially already full household, or place an ad in the paper (never place it as a "free to good home" ad because this will attract people looking for bait animals or animals to sell to a laboratory for research) until it can be admitted to an already overwhelmed no-kill shelter so that they can properly screen potential adopters. Try to buy the animal time until a permanent home can be found, but have a professional do the placement. They know what questions to ask and how to properly screen people. Find a foster home, somebody's basement or extra bedroom, or a kennel that will board the animal... Start a collection amongst  friends/employees to donate towards boarding... Encourage EVERYONE you know to adopt an animal or add an animal to their household... two dogs instead of one, three cats instead of two... or how about a rabbit?... they can cohabitate nicely with cats. Encourage people to adopt from a shelter, not to buy from a breeder or pet store. With 575 animals killed every hour why would anyone go to a breeder or a pet store supplied by puppy mills? Because they can't get a purebred elsewhere? Wrong!! There's a rescue group for every breed imaginable and shelters have many purebred animals available for adoption. There just aren't any excuses for getting rid of an animal or for not rescuing an animal from anywhere other than a shelter or the street.

Catherine H.

excerpt from a Furry Friends Foundation 2001 newsletter
 


 

-An Unthinkable, Cowardly Crime that happens all to often!-

I Found your dog today. No, he has not been adopted by anyone. Most of us
who live out here own as many dogs as we want, and those who do not own dogs
do so because they choose not to. I know you hoped he would find a good home
when you left him out here, but he did not. When I first saw him he was
miles from the nearest house and he was alone, thirsty, thin and limping
from a cactus burr in his paw. How I wish I could have been you as I stood before him. To have seen his tail wag and his eyes brighten as he bounded into your arms, knowing you would find him. Knowing you had not forgotten him. To see the forgiveness in
his eyes for the suffering and pain he had known in his never ending quest
to find you.... but I was not you. And despite all my persuasion, his eyes
beheld a stranger. He did not trust. He would not come.

He turned and continued his journey; one he was sure would soon bring him to
you. He does not understand you are not looking for him. He only knows you
are not there, he only knows he must find you. This is more important than
food or water or the stranger who can give him these things. Persuasion and
pursuit seemed futile; I did not even know his name.

I drove home, filled a bucket with water and a bowl with food and returned
to where we had met. I could see no sign of him, but I left my offering
under the tree where he had sought shelter from the sun and a chance to
rest. You see, he is not of the desert. When you domesticated him, you took
away any instinct of survival out here. His purpose demands that he travel
during the day. He doesn't know that the sun and heat will claim his life.
He only knows he has to find you. I waited hoping he would return to the
tree; hoping my gift would build an element of trust so I might bring him
home, remove the burr from his paw, give him a cool place to lie and help
him understand that the part of his life with you is now over. He did not
return that morning and at dusk the water and food was still untouched. And
I worried. You must understand that many people would not attempt to help
your dog. Some would run him off, others would call the county and the fate
you thought you saved him from would be preempted by his suffering from days
without food and water.

 I returned again before dark. I did not see him. I
went again early the next morning only to find the food and water still
untouched. If only you were here so you could call his name. Your voice is
so familiar to him. I began pursuit in the direction he had taken yesterday
doubt overshadowing my hope of finding him. His search for you was
desperate; it could take him many miles in 24 hours. It is hours later and a
good distance from where we first met, but I have found your dog.

His thirst
has been stopped; it is no longer a torment to him. His hunger has
disappeared, he no longer aches. The burrs in his paws bother him no more.
Your dog has been set free from his burdens, you see, your dog has died.
I kneel next to him and I curse you for not being here yesterday so I could
have seen the glow, if just for a moment, in those now vacant eyes. I pray
that his journey has taken him to that place I think you hoped he would
find. If only you know what he went through to reach it... and I agonize,
for I know, that were he to awaken at this moment and (if) I were to be you,
his eyes would sparkle with recognition and his tail wag with forgiveness.

Author Unknown