NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

I found this posting on Craigslist....it made me really sad, but I thought it was important to share...thanks.

What really happens when you take your dog or cat to a shelter…Graphic

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Date: 2006-07-06, 12:15PM PDT


I am posting this (and it is long) because I think our society needs a huge “Wake-up” call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will. First off, this is a forum to for adoption and/or rehoming as clearly stated in the rules. All of you breeders/sellers on craigslist should not only be flagged (and I hope the good people on craigslist will continue to do so with blind fury), but you should be made to work in the “back” of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don’t even know…that puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it’s not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there’s about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are “owner surrenders” or “strays”, that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I hear are; “We are moving and we can’t take our dog (or cat).” Really? Where are you moving too that doesn’t allow pets? Or they say “The dog got bigger than we thought it would”. How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? “We don’t have time for her…”. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! “She’s tearing up our yard…”. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me “We just don’t want to have to stress about finding a place for her…we know she’ll get adopted, she’s a good dog”. Odds are your pet won’t get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you…your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off…sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn’t full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy…if it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don’t, your pet won’t get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the “Bully” breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc…) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don’t get adopted. If your dog doesn’t get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn’t full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed…it may get a stay of execution…not for long though. Most get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression…even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles…chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don’t have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment. Here’s a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being “put-down”. First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash…they always look like they think they are going for a walk…happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to “The Room”, every one of them freaks out and puts on the breaks when we get to the door…it must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it’s strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process…they will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the “pink stuff”. Hopefully your pet doesn’t panic from being restrained and jerk…I’ve seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don’t just “go to sleep”, sometimes spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed…waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You’ll never know and it probably won’t even cross your mind…it was just an animal and you can always buy another one right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can’t get the pictures out of your head…I do everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this…DON’T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!


Hate me or flag me if you want to…the truth hurts and reality is what it is…I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say “I saw this thing on craigslist and it made me want adopt”…that would make it all worth it.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

Wow that is terrible but I'm glad she posted it!!! I would definitely adopt over buy a 1000 dollar pet. I can't wait till I move out so I can go and get one

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

I'm glad you posted this. People need to realize that having a pet is a major commitment. I work with so many people whose children wanted puppies, then a couple months later the dog is gone bc they couldn't 'handle' it. Nauseating!

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

I'm so glad you posted this. People need to realize that spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a 'show quality' dog that you never plan to show isn't just a waste of money - it's condemning to death a dog in a shelter who you could have adopted and saved.

And it's not just dogs and cats. Almost every pet you can think of can be found for adoption somewhere. Both of my rabbits are rescues, as is one of my turtles (the other I bought before I knew such things as reptile rescues existed). Guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice, reptiles of all kinds, even more exotic pets - do a little research and you'll find one in a shelter or rescue, hoping for a home.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

Just reading this made my eyes swell up with tears. I wish I had a huge house to take all of the shelter dogs in and take care of each of them. I LOVE dogs.. this breaks my heart

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

FH and I just got 2 puppies. They are a lot of work (just like babies) but we both had dog before and we are so thankful we 'knew' what we were getting ourself into.

It's literally like having a baby/toddler. It's everyday 24/7. So they are indeed part of our family.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

Wow. FH and I were all set to buy a dog when we moved out, but forget it now. We'll adopt one that needs a home. And who knows? Maybe we'll adopt a dog instead of a puppy.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

thank you for posting...Casey (little dog on the left) was dropped off by her family after over 8 years of life and luckly found herslf in a no kill shelter for 6 MONTHS...till I came and took her home. I am a mess writing this...I once had a german shepard (growing up) she had to be put down at 13 because she was very sick...I will never forget the look on her face....we had no choice...but to think this happens to animals who do have a choice and a future..I encourage everyone to at least consider adoption before considering buying a purebred...Adopting Casey was the most rewording thing I have ever done...

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

Tracy, can you post or FM me the link to this post so I can thank this person? Sure it may be a little graphic but I think that's needed sometimes to break people out of their complacent attitudes about these things.

DH and I plan on having more than one dog when we become homeowners. But the first will be a 5+ year old rescue from the Labrador Retriever Rescue organization on LI. We are fully prepared for a lab, as they have their own special challenges that most owners don't consider when they buy them for their kids.

Before you buy, just do a google search for the breed you want and add 'rescue' to it. You will find tons of organizations out there.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

That is terrible - and although there are shelters like that out there and YES people need to be more aware of what they are getting into when they bring a pet into the home - not all shelters are the way in which this person described. There are many, many no kill shelters that have comfortable living arrangements for their animals.

I will maintain as I always have though - there is absolutely NO reason to buy a purebred dog (unless you plan on showing/breedeing). There are thousands and thousands of wonderful animals out there who need homes in shelters. Also, if you go to a shelter to adopt - please consider an adult animal - the puppies and kittens will always be adopted - but the grown animals will sit there for the rest of their lives - or be euthanized in the manner described by the writer.

DH and I can't have pets in our apartment now, but as soon as we get a place we own we will adopt a dog and a cat - both adults. Remember the cute puppy or kitten will be all grown up in a few months anyway!

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

Also check out petfinder.com they are a great resource for particular breed shelters...

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

You can also volunteer at a local shelter. I do, it's heart wrenching at times, especially the abuse cases, but you can make a difference. I also do Trap/Nueter/Release in feral cat colonies. It's expensive, no one cares or notices and it's very sad when you lose one, but you know you're helping to stop 16 new kittens from being born homeless, cold & hungry. I don't object to purchasing a pet, but if you do, you should try to give something back. I volunteered once a week all summer the year I bought Mazi. I found homes for 8 adult cats that we trapped & fixed. I have 2 pets I purchased & 2 I rescued. Volunteering at a local shelter is a big help. Even just dropping off a case of paper towels and a bag of kibble helps. I don't mean sending $10 to the humane society, I mean WALK INTO Sav-A-Pet in Port Jeff or Little Shelter in Huntington. There's so many small local shelters that really need help. Here's a pic of the 10 day old kittens my FH and I saved from a dumpster.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

Wow that is horrible!!!

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

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Posted by kittythestray

You can also volunteer at a local shelter. I do, it's heart wrenching at times, especially the abuse cases, but you can make a difference. I also do Trap/Nueter/Release in feral cat colonies. It's expensive, no one cares or notices and it's very sad when you lose one, but you know you're helping to stop 16 new kittens from being born homeless, cold & hungry. I don't object to purchasing a pet, but if you do, you should try to give something back. I volunteered once a week all summer the year I bought Mazi. I found homes for 8 adult cats that we trapped & fixed. I have 2 pets I purchased & 2 I rescued. Volunteering at a local shelter is a big help. Even just dropping off a case of paper towels and a bag of kibble helps. I don't mean sending $10 to the humane society, I mean WALK INTO Sav-A-Pet in Port Jeff or Little Shelter in Huntington. There's so many small local shelters that really need help. Here's a pic of the 10 day old kittens my FH and I saved from a dumpster.

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I would really like to volunteer at a shelter. Does anyone know any in Queens that need volunteers?

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

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Posted by greenfreak

Tracy, can you post or FM me the link to this post so I can thank this person? Sure it may be a little graphic but I think that's needed sometimes to break people out of their complacent attitudes about these things.

DH and I plan on having more than one dog when we become homeowners. But the first will be a 5+ year old rescue from the Labrador Retriever Rescue organization on LI. We are fully prepared for a lab, as they have their own special challenges that most owners don't consider when they buy them for their kids.

Before you buy, just do a google search for the breed you want and add 'rescue' to it. You will find tons of organizations out there.

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Here is the link.craigslist posting

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

I don't know why people often have a 'fear' of adopting a pet from a shelter. I have always adopted my dogs from shelters. My shepherd we have had for 13 years and we got him from North Shore. I will always adopt my pets.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

I just went and gave Fred a hug

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

my sonya is from northshore...

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

What this person say is true-my family owns a pet store and a boarding facility and we DON'T sell puppies or kittens. The only time we adopt out kittens is when someone's cat has them, or when someone finds them. We have had some sad looking animals come in to our place-people leave them outside the door! The nerve! My advice is to spay and neuter all of your pets and of course adopt from the shelters. I am a dog groomer and have been grooming 5 ew Hurricane Katrina rescue dogs-they are AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Whenever you rescue an animal-they know you have done so and will become your soulmate for life. Please visit the shelter now before buying a petstore puppy or even a breeder puppy.

Re: NWR- but important to read if you are getting a new dog or cat soon

thank you everyone for keeping this post going.