This post was NOT written by me. It originated by The Patrick Movement of Florida, in hope of raising awareness. I feel its well worth re-posting and getting the word out to as many people as possible.
Shelters and humane societies were created to care for stray
and abused animals. They weren't meant to be a drop-off for people who don't
want to be bothered with their pets anymore. Shelters, on average, take in 100
new animals or more each day. Let's face it -- there won't be enough good homes
for all of them. Even
the best shelters can't boast much more than a 50% adoption rate. Only the
youngest, friendliest, cutest and best-behaved dogs are going to be adopted. By
law, stray pets must be kept several days for their owners to reclaim them.
They may not be destroyed until that period is up. These laws don't protect
dogs given up by their owners. They may be destroyed at any time. There just
isn't enough room for all of them. Shelters today are so overcrowded that a dog
could be killed the same day it arrives. Being a purebred won't help a dog's
chances of adoption either -- almost half of the dogs in most shelters are
purebreds. A dog may be as good as dead when it walks in the door. If your dog
is old, has health problems or poor attitudes towards strangers, its chances of
adoption are slim to none. Sending a dog to a shelter in hopes that she/he will
find a good home is wishful thinking. It's more likely that you'll be signing
the dog's death warrant. A shelter is a last resort only after all best effort
has failed, not a take the responsibility off my hands dumping ground. True
"no-kill" shelters are few and far between. Obviously, no one wants
to see their pet killed so the demand for no-kill shelter services is high. So
high that they're forced to turn away many pets because they don't have room
for them all. Sometimes they have to choose only the most adoptable dogs to
work with. Be realistic: your dog will be euthanized. Has she/he done something
that terrible to deserve this?
By: The Patrick Movement of Florida
No comments:
Post a Comment