On 07 Feb 2004 10:40:45 GMT, (RedRiver35) wrote:


I respect the work that the "no-kill" shelters do, but I have zero
respect for those who look down their nose on the shelters who do
euthanise when there are no alternatives.

Not to be argumentative, but I have zero respect for many shelters, including
many kill facilities, in particular, our local public shelter, which claims
it is striving to become a no-kill facility. This group is not striving to
become anything, except more burocratic(spelling?). The head of this facility
actually works to NOT get the animals adopted. I am not the only rescue
person who has made this comment.

It is sickening the number of animals that this place (and others, I am sure)
kills in one day because of the idiotic ideas:

1. Not enough space. I have walked in there several days when they claimed on
their reports they did not have space -- 15 unused cages in adoption
(accounting for cages that are vacant when an animal is seeing the vet). 8
unused cages in stray-wait/lost-and-found. This is the most pathetic and
inexcusable excuse.

2. Too many inappropriate judgements about nonrehabable temper. Someone with
no training goes in and sticks a pen in the cats faces to see what their
reaction is -- a stranger sticks a pen in my face and I am going to spit or
hiss or swat or what have you, and I am not even a cat. Inappropriate
procedures carried out by an unqualified employee.

3. The killing of supposedly unadoptable cats who would actually be adoptable.
How do they kill the animals, anyway? They won't tell me, or anyone else I
have spoken with. Do they do a heart stick? Do they sedate the animal first?
How well are the vet assistants trained? Is this their first job? Who
actually screened this person's background and personality to make sure
someone does not get a job there just for the joy of kiling an innocent cat,
dog, rabbit, or whatever?

4. The person who runs the shelter tells me that I cannot be in line to adopt
a 17 year old Siamese if the rescue groups are full -- they would rather
"euthanize" (they really like to use that word) her instead of "playing games"
with me and letting me adopt her if the rescue group is full or only wants
kittens.

5. The person who runs the shelter looks at me and asks me why I want to adopt
an old animal, an animal with fe leuk, a handicapped animal, a supposedly
nonrehabable animal, instead of one of the perfectly healthy cats that they
have "in the next building". What can I say -- if I choke her they will never
let me back on the facility grounds (maybe I should, the animals would be
better off without her).

I have been around long enough to realize that killiing excess pets is
unavoidably necessary, and in some cases it is better than letting them wander
the street to suffer persecution and abuse by disturbed members of the public
at large, etc, etc. BUT --

My rage comes because the facility is not run well, they actively try to NOT
adopt the animals, especially the cats, and when I do adopt an animal from
there they loose the paperwork, claim that they need to neuter a male who had
been previsouly neutered (I talked to the vet who did it and had the papers
faxed to me); don'f follow their own policy about making special arrangements
to pickup an animal when I have to work late; they take a kitten who spilled
her water all over herself, do not dry her off, and put her in a cage where the
cold air conditioning will blow on her and she has no box to hide in; they
don't tell you that when you try to adopt a cat who has been cleared for the
adoption building that you must specifically tell them beforehand that you will
accept a cat with fe leuk. They killed the sweet, sociable,
adoptable-temperamented cat without even asking if I wanted him if he had fe
leuk. It did not occur to me to ask about this or reject him because he had fe
leuk - after all he had been cleared for adoption. I could go on for days on
this subject. Killing excess pets because there are no other alternatives is
one thing, but this situation is made so much worse and so much more tragic
when the facility it not run well and the animals are the ones who pay the
price for human stupidity, power games and inefficiency; and it is made so
much more pathetic and down right mean, hateful and cowardly when they insist
on using the word "euthanize" when an animal is NOT injured, in mental
distress, old, or too sick. They should at least live up to the distinction
between the words, and use "kill" when destroying excess pets just because they
are excess pets.

And that is just the local facility -- what about the one in your town? The
one two counties over? In the next state?

Disorganization and corruption are no reasons for the murder of innocents.

Michelle A.
"The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights
which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny.
The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?"
-- Jeremy Bentham

You make some very good points here. I have had to do business with
many organizations who employ incompetent people. Some of them seem to
have a goal of taking a good idea and proving that it can not work.

It is even worse when the organization is a non-profit. It is worse
still when peole and/or animals are hurt by the incompetence.

When I was first starting out in the business world, I would have
advised you to talk to the shelter director. You could find out why
the decisions were made and ask them to make the changes that you
suggested to make things better. After years of doing just that, I
have found it too often totally ineffective.

I have come to believe that most organizations that are incompetent
are not going to change. This is because it starts at the top and
filters down. Even if the person on top is not a bad business person,
themselves, they employ bad people and then don't independently check
up on them.

There is little that anyone can do about these situations and it is
frustrating. I wish I had something helpful to say, but this is a
common, but terrible situation. The only way this is going to change
is if enough of us band together to make it change. Good luck ever
seeing that happen.


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