Are you opposed to killing friendly pets in shelters?

28 Comments

  • Some one who cares - 9 years ago

    I live in Maryland!!1 I do not donate to shelters.I do take every stray /feral cat I can get my hands on to The MSPCA and have them fixed and get their shots.I can not keep them all but I try try try to find them homes and for the most part I am fairly successful.if the cat is feral and not adoptable I release it and provide food and some sort of shelter.I foster and have 3 dogs 9 cats and believe it or not an abused Lovebird.I keep up with shots and Vet visits Oh yeah and scoop out 10 litter boxes 3 times per day.In addition I am fostering one big beautiful Tom and a very anxious Yellow Lab.It is not as hard as it sounds.It is probably about 2 hrs per day to care for these pets.I am sure not everyone has 2 hrs per day to devote to caring for 15 animals but it takes little or no effort to properly care for 1 or 2 and the reward is priceless .I am sure that a lot of people can relate For those that can not I challenge you to try.I promise you will feel great about it.I garuntee you will do it again!!! TNR does make a difference It enables even a feral cat a shot at living out their life and not adding to the numbers!!! Oh yeah and i have 2 feral; cats in my spare room that will be released tomorrow!!!

  • Pamela - 10 years ago

    I also hit NO at first but there is an OPTION to RETURN TO POLL and do it again! And I too find it absolutely barbaric, self-centered and no understanding of the value of ALL LIFE. Yes it pisses me off that there are so many stupid people in the world. Brace yourselves. They may start euthanizing stupid people. Then what are you going to do? Sick you Shelter Pet on them?

  • lula - 11 years ago

    wording of the question is kinda poor. i also hit the wrong button. meant to say yes but hit no

  • Tanja - 11 years ago

    I meant to vote YES, but hit the wrong button. I'm definitely opposed to shelter killing healthy/treatable animals.

  • Jen - 12 years ago

    I meant to hit YES to keep them but hit the wrong darn button-won't let me undo it!!!

  • Haniah - 12 years ago

    Now hold on. While I really don`t think it`s okay for adoptable animals to be euthanized, I`m not going to go around bashing shelter workers. You really only here about the bad news. I can tell you firsthand that NO shelter employee enjoys sticking the needle into a vein. NONE of them like it, none of them want to kill any animal. So why don`t you help out the employees who are usually already overloaded and underpaid, who on a daily basis deal with the types of people that you and I would love to leave in a field somewhere, and DO SOMETHING. Get involved one way or another. Volunteer your time, get to know the dogs, then help write up things to go on their pet profile online so that adopters can see and read about what wonderful animals there are. Shelter workers are people too, they have feelings just like you and I. Many of the staff don`t last long and have to quit because they just get so burnt out on it. A light that was on when they first started, quickly goes out and you see it in their eyes. They hate their jobs. And it`s not fair that they have to euthanize the animals, but even when doing EVERYTHING they can possibly do, plead to the public, email rescues, take animals out to events so the public can see them, what are they supposed to do? I think people need to stop judging them so much and put themselves in their shoes and see how they like it. Oh, and why don`t you ask one of them what it feels like to receive a letter marked for donations, and instead opening up to hate mail. Help shelters out by volunteering, donating, or fostering for them.

  • Liz - 12 years ago

    How can anyone... even consider that MURDERING animals is ok??? Anyone who says that shelter workers do not like killing.... well, if that is true then WHY ARE THEY DOING IT??????

  • Evie - 12 years ago

    I forgot to mention that the vets that I have had occasion to know about (in the mountain states at least) will work with the shelters, often for free! There is VERY LOW COST spaying and neutering by the vets also, because they CARE about helping the unfortunate animals. Wyoming and Idaho have some wonderful people that CARE about the homeless animals! Why, WHY can't this be true in other places, too? I am low income, but; believe me, my pets are taken care of. The vets that I used in Wyoming were, for most, high priced, BUT; they CARED. They donated A LOT of their services to shelters, they helped find homes for animals in need. They provided free surgical services for some strays that were brought in AND found homes for them! I know of a vet there that would provide her services for free to shelters! If someone found a stray, you could take it to her and she would check it out (free) and call the NO KILL shelter. She would try to find the owners, not say, "Sorry, I can't help you with this." I actually found a small dog on the side of the road and took it to her. She took it and said that she thought she had seen it before. She took it upon herself to get it back to the owner. She did NOT ask if I could take it home and wait for her call! WHY CAN'T THERE BE MORE VETS WILLING TO DO THESE THINGS? PEOPLE NEED TO GET INVOLVED, NOT SAY, "SORRY.....yada,yada, yada!!! COME ON PEOPLE!!!!

  • Evie - 12 years ago

    Killing a healthy animal is not right or moral! There are NO KILL associations that will work with OTHER NO KILLS and trade animals in the hopes of finding homes. What a concept, huh? If an animal is not adopted in one area, it is traded to another area and so on and so on. They DO NOT kill the poor animals! I found my best animal friend at a shelter in Idaho. This shelter had WELL over 50 cats, they lived together in two rooms. Cats that did not socialize well with other cats did have their own large cage, but; for the most part, they were roaming freely in the rooms. BEST idea I have ever seen for a shelter!! The cats were very happy in that atmosphere. The rooms were very clean, did NOT smell! Plenty of food and water was available to them at ALL times. Is was a happy place! There is no reason why other rescue shelters could not work this way! As long as the animals get along, there is freedom to roam, cuddle together, sit on a window sill, play together! What a wonderful shelter that was! More shelters need to learn from this!!! Oh, the PEOPLE that ran that shelter were ALSO happy. WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA FOR ALL SHELTERS TO TRY!!!

  • Lin - 12 years ago

    I completely disagree with the rationale of a few people who think that killing healthy animals is acceptable. One man in particular says that animals would be better off killed then left in cages. Would he think it would be acceptable to kill HIM if he was confined to a bed or a wheelchair? Would he think it acceptable to kill mental patients who are confined to a room in many cases? Kansas City has just implemented a no-kill program and their kill rate is down to 4% from close to 100%. They work with rescue groups and officials in their town and when that avenue runs out they look outside the box, even to other states. It works. Killing is never an answer or a solution and people need to realize that and do something to stop it. The few days so-called shelters give these animals to find a home is NOT long enough, and too many kill shelters sell the animals they murder to rendering plants. Yes, I used the word murder because that it what it is.

  • Joey - 12 years ago

    I don't think it's humane to keep a friendly healthy dog in a kennel for years on end. If they can't be adopted, isn't HUMANE Euthinasia better than a life in a cage?
    I always have looked at it, when it was time to put a companion animal down (which are like our kids) a privaledge to be able to stop their suffering. Sad yes, but comforting knowing they are no longer in pain.

  • Natasha - 12 years ago

    I just want to STRESS that there are open admission no kill government run shelters so claiming that you have to take every animal in is no excuse for then turning around and killing them. There are shelters that are government run that used to be high kill and are now on the way to being no kill. These shelters didn't all of a sudden have fewer animals coming in. They change their attitude and policies.

  • Jill Polsinelli - 13 years ago

    There is ABSOLUTELY no excuse for killing healthy pets!!!!! What is going on in MAS and several other supposed "shelters" across North America is unexecuseable! It's been proven by Nathan W. that it's far less expensive to euthanize less than 10% of the animals in a shelter, and to have adoption programs, transfer programs, and other rescue groups come to the shelters to get the animals out of the shelters, that the the chances of those animals being adopted increases. Apparently the people who voted NO have no imagination, and haven't done any research in this line of work, and should NEVER be allowed to work around animals in shelters, or animals PERIOD!!!!! Especially if their only solution is to start yet another animal concentration camp! That's the last thing we need in this country people!!!! How would you like it if you were homeless, and the police made you go to a homeless shelter, that was really a concentration camp in disguise!!! ????
    There are still under-staffed, corrupted, and under-funded supposed "shelters", with high kill rates in this country, that still use gas chambers!!! That's the exact same method the Nazis used to kill people during WWII! I don't know about some of you, but I strongly feel there is no word out there to describe how terrible and wrong it is to sentence any creature to death by carbon monoxide... especially an innocent one.

  • cmoore56 - 13 years ago

    261 people apparently don't have a conscience. Killing another sentient being is just WRONG, people!!

  • t - 13 years ago

    Come work at a kill shelter and then you can tell them what they do wrong. When animals come in the door faster than you can get a rescue or adopter to take another. We never have empty cages, we don't kill just to kill. Not every shelter is like that. We work with rescues, adopters, fosters, we foster ourselves as well. There is still not enough space, in an open admission shelter... what then? Seriously what do you do when you don't have an open cage??

  • Michele - 13 years ago

    A no kill shelter does get full but a true no kill shelter helps the people and the animsl they can not take at the time. The shelter I volunteer for will ask the people why they need to get rid of thier dog or cat and if it is because they lost thier job and can not feed them any more, we deliver free food to them until they get back on thier feet. We give free dog houses to people who need it when we have it, for the people who can not handle thier pets because of behavior issues, we offer them free training classes for them and the dog. We always have a solution to help the people who want to give thier animal up. We even call other rescues we work with to try to help the animals. We have free spay and neuter for pits and for low income people. We have very low cost spay and neuter for the other people. There are many ways to help these people keep thier animals then just letting them drop them off to die. The shelter give food and toys and more to the local food banks to so the people there dont have to share thier food with thier animals and more people can keep thier pets. Many many ways besides death.

  • Cee - 13 years ago

    Those who would say 'No', how can they ignore the fact that there are successful open admission no kill shelters? Isn't that like claiming the world is flat because THEY haven't travelled beyond the horizon? Many people are investigating marrying all the steps of the No Kill Equation with the Calgary funding model. This would save cities money and they could partner with non-profit groups to achieve no kill communities. How can a city turn down a proposal that SAVES them money, makes the community safer, reduces complaints, has the support of the community AND saves animals' lives? http://redstarcafe.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/the-calgary-model/ .

  • ann - 13 years ago

    I have to many felines , but it would be over my damn dead body i would ever take them to a kill shelture... I do not call no kill, they are full.. I love my kitties more than most pp...If the landlord finds out , i will be with the cats homeless... They are all spayed and most are rescues from pp or off the streets...

  • Margaret - 13 years ago

    There is NO reason to kill a healthy, adoptable animal. None. Shelters should not kill animals to make space for other incoming animals. Killing is the easy way out of the problem (of lack of cage space). Killing an animal is still much easier than doing the work of finding a rescue and finding adopters. Shelter leadership and staff CAN stop the killing if they choose to. Follow the No Kill Equation as laid out by Nathan Winograd in "Redemption", and follow the models of *true* No Kill open admission shelters currently succeeding in saving the lives of over 80-90% of the animals that come through their doors: Nevada Humane Society in Reno, NV; Tompkins SPCA in Tompkins County, NY; Austin Pets Alive! in Austin, TX; and more. Welcome more rescue organizations to come to the shelter. Welcome volunteers (they will come if you show you are serious about saving lives instead of killing). Support and work with local trap-neuter-return (TNR) groups and activists. Increase awareness and marketing to the community of available adoptable dogs and cats. Implement and/or expand a foster home network. So much can be done to save more lives if shelter directors and staff choose to change from the old ways of killing. No Kill is possible, it's not just a dream!

  • Connie - 13 years ago

    April 2 I turned in my application for humane officer of our small town southeast of Houston after learning that the city had euthanized around 5 pits and threw them in a dumpster. No one wants to take responsibility for this action so I am taking action to see that it doesn't happen again. Any no kill shelters in the Southeast Houston area please respond so I can start my list of organizations. I have already made it clear with the police department (if hired) I will not euthanize a perfectly good animal that can be adopted by a loving family.

  • Jessica - 13 years ago

    I sincerely hope that the 170 people who said it was okay to KILL HEALTHY ADOPTABLE pets accidentally clicked on the wrong button like Ronin did. There is no excuse for euthanization if the animal (or person) is HEALTHY. That is what makes it EUTHANIZATION.

  • Wanda Robinson - 13 years ago

    And what ID10Ts say that it's appropriate?? I beg to differ..it is NOT appropriate to kill any animal unless they're suffering and have no chance of recovering..

  • Ronin VanOstrand - 13 years ago

    One of the NO's shouldnt be there! I clicked it by accident!! No pet should ever be killed at shelters!!! sorry, had to clarify!!! Take a NO away!!!!!!

  • Julie - 13 years ago

    Who were the 131 IDIOTS that voted NO !!!!

  • Nuria - 13 years ago

    That's like killing everyone that goes into a nursing home. There is no reason why a perfectly healthy animal should be killed just because they were given up. Many times the owners just get tired of the animal. So should that animal be killed because their person was a loser?

  • Erica - 13 years ago

    While it is VERY easy to put the words "no kill" with any shelter name, or rescue for that matter. It sure isn't very easy to run a TRUE no kill shelter - the directors and volunteers that work for a TRUE no kill will tell you that there is no - "No" - a TRUE no kill will accept every animal, no matter what, and then figure out how to make room for that animal. They don't accept the regular old standards that say we must close our doors and turn people away. Not if they really are no kill.

    Of course there will be situations where an animal is untreatable, or needs to be put down for one reason or another. The problem is that it is all too common to say you are a no kill and then close your doors to those you claim to be helping. This in no way helps the no kill movement look good - and actually gives people ammo to use against those who use the words no kill - saying things like they turn animals away, or won't accept certain types of animals (pit bulls, black cats). That's not a true no kill shelter - that is a selective shelter that doesn't kill the animals that it accepts to take in. We really should watch how we indiscriminately throw words around - confusing people and making people think no kill doesn't work because PEOPLE twisted the whole things around to suit their needs. The same people that want to be known as a no kill shelter/rescue - but aren't *really* no kill because they close their doors and deny admissions - try reading Nathan Winograd's "Redemption" - his account of what he did at Tompkins County is amazing work - and something that should be practiced at each and every shelter & rescue across the US...having people who decry the out dated overkill of animals that have no where to turn for help, people who are willing to work hard to make sure that each an every animal has the same chance at life, not those who sit back behind their desk all day tooting their own horn about their low kill rate - while denying an animal admission because they are "full" or the animal isn't what the shelter/rescue wants.

  • Audrey - 13 years ago

    Do I think that healthy pets should be cared for, until adopted? Absolutely! Do I think that this is realistic? No. Open door shelters do not have the resources to care for and provide for every animal that they accept. Open door shelters accept any and all animals, regardless of their breed, gender, health, and temperament. This is what sets them apart from closed door shelters, commonly referred to as no-kill shelters.

    These shelters accept a limited amount of animals and many of them have strict requirements for admission. For instance, one of my local no-kill shelters does not accept black cats. Another does not accept pit bulls.

    This is why I chose, "No - killing shelter pets is appropriate". It is unfortunate, but, currently, euthanization is the United States' only option (to ensure that every unwanted animal has a chance at a new lease on life). The majority of open door shelters can house only a small amount of animals. Where I live, most shelters can house 20-50 animals at a time. These shelters take in upwards of 5,000 animals. each year. They must euthanize "healthy/treatable pets". They simply do not have the space to accommodate all of these animals.

    Shelter workers/volunteers do not enjoy euthanizing animals. And, they definitely do not support it. There are not enough people coming to shelters to adopt, though. Visit the "Pets" classifieds on Craigslist. People are too busy buying backyard bred English Bulldogs and Beagles and ridiculous designer dogs, like "Bugs", "Jackroodles", and "Shitpoos".

    Right now, a "no-kill nation" is impossible. How can we make it possible? By spaying and neutering our pets, by adopting through shelters, by donating to local rescues, and by volunteering with and fostering for our humane societies.

    A website that opened my eyes:
    http://www.kycentral.org/sos.htm

  • Ned - 13 years ago

    How could even one person let alone 81 people think that it is acceptable to kill health adoptable pets. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THEIR RATIONALE.

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