I Had No Idea They Still Killed Puppies

I Had No Idea They Still Killed Puppies

I live in New York where, for the most part, we have no-kill shelters for dogs and cats. I have read statistics that New York puts down about 20,000 dogs a year, but many of them are ill or unadoptable due to a bad temperment. Those shelters that have to kill do everything they can to find homes for the dogs and cats, and really try to adopt out the young and healthy dogs. I always heard that we still kill about 5,000,000 animals a year (yes, that’s millions) but I thought of it as an abstraction. Until I got involved in dog rescue.

I just began in dog rescue. Many others have been doing this for years. It is heart-breaking work, expensive, gut-wrenching. Much of the rescue involves transporting dogs from the south to rescues or new homes. I have had nightmares every night since I found out about the slaughter in the south. As state senator in South Carolina dumped his pregnant dog at the high kill shelter because “she wouldn’t stay in her kennel.” He got the dog from the shelter, and by law she was supposed to have been spayed, but she wasn’t. She got pregnant due to his lack of responsibility, and he dumped her back into a shelter with an 80% kill rate. Yes, 80%. Young healthy dogs, puppies, they all get killed. You see, many people in the south don’t spay or neuter their dogs, many let them run free, they make lots and lots of puppies, and the owners of the mother dogs dump the 4 week old puppies at the shelter, where they either die of parvovirus or are often killed for lack of any kind of attempt to adopt these dogs out. They also have outdoor facilities where they put the puppies, kennels that don’t even have a dog house, or a tarp over the pups. Newborn pups with their moms die of the cold in the winter because they are housed outside. It is a disgusting, inhumane disgrace, and it is a dirty secret of these southern states.

Lots of rescues try to help, but the numbers are overwhelming. Last year, the shelter in Greenville County, South Carolina, got in 18,000 to 22,000 dogs and had a 71% kill rate. You do the math. I have pulled from this shelter three times now, and the dogs are wonderful: young, gorgeous, laid back, much calmer than my overbred northern dog. They have a new rescue director, and she is working wonders, but the story is quite different at most shelters in the south. The Charleston, South Carolina shelter, a brand new $11 million facility, still has a 50% kill rate, a fact that is not known by the community. Rural shelters run at a kill rate of 80 to 90%, and they kill 6 week old puppies, as well as young and healthy dogs. And don’t think that being a purebred saves a dog: black labs are killed at a much higher percentage than other dogs. Black dogs, in general, don’t fare well. Don’t ask me why – I loved my black lab.

Whose fault is this slaughter? I think there is plenty of blame to go around, but the responsibility lies first with the lawmakers, who don’t have strong spay and neuter laws and programs in place for the counties to follow. In many New Jersey counties, you cannot get a license for your dog unless you show that he or she has been spayed or neutered. In South Carolina, even if there is a leash law, no one enforces it. Funding needs to be made available for the counties to offer a low cost or free spay/neuter day, and the schools need to allow volunteers to come in to talk to the young people about how many dogs are euthanized when their family pet is not spayed. Shelters need to make it more difficult for people to drop off their pets. Why should tax dollars go to housing a family pet, a dog that family chose to bring into their life, and then killing that pet because the family tires of it? The pet owners need to take some responsibility for that pet, and perhaps could use some help with behavior issues or housing issues. This should be the focus of the shelters: teaching the community members how to be responsible pet owners, and helping them with issues, not just taking in pets everyday, and then killing them to make room for more pets that they will kill in five days. In my view, that is immoral. Every pet owner in this country should be aware of this, and be outraged that in a nation that calls itself humane, we regularly kill our best and most loyal friends, and the southern states should be ashamed that its “culture of life” does not extend to our four-legged friends.

I want to close with a story. I was pulling from the Greenville shelter, and I thought a few dogs had a day left, so I was frantically trying to find adoptive or foster homes for them, when I got an email that they had been killed. One dog was a small black lab mix, less than a year old: his name was Stanley. His picture showed him hiding in the corner, as if he knew he would not leave the shelter alive. I missed pulling him and he died, alone and in a cold, concrete shelter. I am dedicating my efforts in this to Stanley, and the 5 million Stanleys who die alone and unloved because their people were too ignorant or too irresponsible to do the right thing. This slaughter has got to stop.


I am going to submit this to some magazines and newspapers. I am going to be away for the afternoon, but I will comment or answer any questions when I get back.
Thanks,
Adigal

any pet offspring you do have only to good homes. (As I know many of our DUers do. *thumbs up*)

Specifically, the people too irresponsible to own a pet. If they value life so little, dare we let them continue to reproduce?

My cat Ruby's at the vet today being spayed--or recovering from the operation. :)

and I had to sign a document, under penalty of perjury, that stated I was going to spay them both (which I did). These places couldn't make it much simpler - I got a discount from a local vet (through Pet Rescue) and both boys cost me $90.

LA County, California - 9,948,000 people, 30,000 dogs euthanized
That is one dog per 300, which is horrible

New York state - 20,000 dogs euthanized, almost 20,000,000 people; that is one dog killed per 2000 people.

This particular county in South Carolina, before the takeover: 300,000 people, 15,000 dogs euthanized. That is one per 20 people in the county EACH year.

Think about that. Gruesome. One dog per 20 people killed each year in one county, that is not a particularly poor and uneducated populace.

That is a terrible statistic.

Rescues do have puppies at times too, but older dogs make great pets too. The dogs in rescues really do know that they have been saved and are grateful for it. I volunteer for a large lab rescue, and its really amazing how much love these guys have to give. They bond quickly and completely because they have never been treated this well in their lives.

My first dog was a private adoption, he was the product of a broken home. I got him when he was 5 and you would never know that I didn't have him his whole life. The 2 I have now (an volunteer hazard when you foster) were abused when they were young, one is from an Amish puppy mill. They both have so much love to give.

My fosters have almost always bonded to me, but somehow they know that it isn't their forever home. They can tell when they find it, but if I ever see them again, they remember me, even years later.

A worthy donation if you are looking for a place to give is a local rescue. Rescue's are always running a deficit. My rescue neuters or spays all of the dogs they take in, and treat them for heartworm or whatever else needs to be treated. They can't possibly collect all of the money put out for these dogs, so donations are always greatly appreciated.

They were between 1 year old and 4 years old, and they have all settled in beautifully into their new homes. They are already housebroken, for the most part, don't eat the couch, and are so grateful for a new life. Think older dogs, too!!

our kittehs would have would up at the shelter with their parents and sibs had we not taken them. I would have kept all but the dad (too feral) but the landlady felt that was just too many.

:evilgrin:

so I skimmed it. Oh, poor sweet Stanley.

I have two rescue dogs. I love them and they love us. I rescued one directly from the shelter. It was a good shelter, but I never saw a living creature so eager to leave a place. I took her outside (on a leash) and she made a flying leap into the car. I took her to my sister's for two days before we flew back to my house. At night, I put her little fleece blanket on the bed and put her in bed with me. Each day, she started out in a little ball at my feet, as if she wasn't sure she should be there. Each morning when I woke up, she'd gradually slid up and was stretched out beside me (she could have started out there, but she didn't know). When I took a shower, she had to be in the bathroom with me. She did not want to go back.

I love those dogs so fiercely and it wouldn't be possible without people like you.

Years ago when we lived in WVA, people would dump puppies on our farm because word got out that we neutered our animals. So people too lazy to do so dumped their irresponsibilities on us.

The numbers are overwhelming. They're getting much, much worse with the ongoing foreclosure crisis.

Much worse.

We got in quite a few dogs in the rescue I volunteer for that had to be given up because their owner was deploying.

What a haunting story. I never met Stanley, but I can envision the image of him alone, and scared. He never did anything to warrant such treatment.

Stanley obviously made an impression on you, and me as well through your story. Bless his heart. I hope he's at Rainbow Bridge now waiting to meet the person he was always supposed to be with.

I have a female Cat (Grace) that I rescued from a shelter a few years ago. I got her after Max had to be put to sleep at the age of 16. She was in a back room, not in the front where most of the adoptions happen. On her cage was a card with her name on it, and the notation that she was a stray, along with a notation of the area of town where she was found. A notation, "bad attitude" was also written on the card.

Well, when we walked in to that back room, as soon as we spoke we heard a "meow" pretty loud. It was Grace. She seemed loving and wanted to be held. We took her home right then and there. She had a cold from the shelter, and we took her to the vet for treatment.

The vet said that back room is where most animals are placed when they are deemed to be "unadoptable." And that we likely saved Grace's life. She's the sweetest most loving Cat, and she's never displayed a bad attitude toward anyone. And she's never meowed that loud since. Somehow, she knew she had to do something to get out of there. I wonder if Max had anything to do with it...

Every time I see her, I shudder to think if we had waited a day to decide, she might not be here today.

Thanks for sharing your story, even though it's a bit upsetting. And thanks for finding the strength to do the very important work you're doing. I don't know if I could do it, I have a hard time going to the pet stores when there are Cats and Dogs waiting to be adopted. I want to take them all home, but I know that wouldn't be fair to them.

thank you for all you do for them. Most of our shelters here in Arizona (at least in Maricopa County) are no-kill. I guess I didn't realize these horrible problems still exist. Although education is important I have to think that treating a pet like a disposable commodity shows a real lack of compassion.

Some people have no sense of responsibility for their animals. They end up with a litter of puppies because they fail to spay & neuter their dogs. Either they end up trying to give away the pups in front of Wal-mart or they "let them off" in the country. The "shelter" in my county has a very high kill rate. All six of my dogs now were either rescued before they went to the pound or taken in after being dropped off in front of my home.


This here is Lucy. She was dropped off on my road last September & found her way to my dog house while I was at work. Yes, the e-collar is so she doesn't chew up her spaying stitches. EVERY dog & cat that lives with me is spayed/neutered. I wish more people would do the right thing here in Tennessee but what can you do? Ignorance & stupidity isn't against the law

She is lucky to have found you!

He brought one home who was probably a week old, and he's now a healthy strong neutered two year old who rules our house. He also gave another kitten to a woman who works there who just asked him if he'd like one of the kittens this cat just had. I want to go down and yell at this woman for not spaying this female - she's adding to the problem, rather than fixing it.

We also adopted a female from the pound who was considered unadoptable. She has her quirks (still worries constantly about food), but she's become comfortable with us, and after being spayed she's calmed down considerably. I cannot think of our home without her being a part of it.

I found them on the side of a road after being pulled over by a State Trooper for speeding. As I was waiting for my ticket I kept hearing tiny little meows, after the trooper pulled away I started looking for them. I got one in my truck but the other was being "elusive". The trooper had turned around and was coming back up the road & stopped to help me corral the kitten.
They are identicle twin brothers (tabby cats) named "Flea Taxi & Chairman Meow". They are my buddies. It was the best 200 dollars I ever spent! (No, I was only going 15mph over the limit but when a trooper pulls you over in Tennessee they add 160 bucks for the privilege of dealing with a trooper as opposed to local law enforcement)

programs can help a lot, but there is usually a lot of local resistance to them from vets who, if they thought for a minute, would realize that they really aren't losing money--the folks who go to the clinic literally can't afford anything that costs more.

...and we were overjoyed to give them good homes. We will continue to do so in the eyars to come. What thoughtless people do to animals in NYC is a crime. Elsewhere, too-- I'm just talking about where I live now, and what I witness on a regular basis.

Adigal, your post is an important one. Thanks.

While the numbers you cite are correct...and the shelter will acknowledge that...they are SO much better than they used to be.

We used to have a kill rate of about 95% using a vacuum extraction chamber. The place was filthy, overcrowded and staffed with people who didn't really give a shit. Then came new administration, a clean up and a legal lethal room with injection instead of the vacuum chamber. The numbers dropped.

With newer techniques came pediatric spay/neuter and foster programs which have improved an animal's chances of a home immensely.

But the 50% kill rate at the shelter does NOT account for the total numbers of turn-ins, strays, etc. The numbers in foster homes are not included.

The largest majority of dog kills at the shelter are for severe heartworm infestation. So many people here just do not bother to put their dogs on preventative. The treatment is expensive and hard on the animal and it's almost impossible to find someone to adopt a dog that's going to need hundreds of dollars in medical, and then maybe not make it. Sad, but true.

Numbers should also go down now with the new shelter that has a much better quarantine area. Parvo would run rampant in the old shelter and sometimes putting down the infected was the only way to control it.

Maybe it isn't the best in the world, but I've seen so many changes for the better in our shelter system that I can't bring myself to diss them for the places they fail to measure up.

You might also be interested in the fact that the new shelter now has its own crematory. Before this, euthanized animals were sent to the landfill. I consider this a HUGE improvement.


Edited to add: it's been many, many years since an animal has left our shelter un-neutered. You can't adopt an intact animal any more.

but there are some great volunteers in Charleston, and they are making a huge difference. It is just surprising to me that in a city as sophisticated as Charleston, there is not more participation in rescue, and many people don't realize the shelter is a kill shelter. :(

It's just that people here, especially generational natives, don't consider companion animals as something to worry about. If they're running loose without homes, then they're better off dead...attitude. The shelter kills excess animals...that's their job. (No, that's not the way I feel about it.) Dogs are hunted for one or maybe 2 seasons then left in the woods to fend for themselves. And most native Charlestonians (meaning at least 7 generations to be considered native) would look at you like you're nuts if you tried to tell them that this isn't the way to treat a furbaby.

The differences being made around here are in spite of local 'sophistication', not because of it.

I'm going to have to call animal control again on the people across the street who have this sweet little puppy (maybe 10-12 weeks old) that they don't supervise and they don't have a fenced yard. Last night I saw the pup chasing down the street and the people just watching him...didn't even go after him or call him. Unfortunately, that attitude here is common.

I doubt that pup will ever see a vet, will ever get an immunization or a flea or heartworm preventative and if he lives to be a year old, I'll be totally surprised.

I just read that statistic, and it seemed to be astounding to me.

If you take the puppy from them, I can have a home for it in NY in two seconds. Seriously. :)

3 of them big and not puppy friendly. And 2 18-year-old cats. (All rescues. Yes, everybody is fixed in this house except my husband and the vet has said she'd be glad to schedule an appointment for him.:) )

The best I can do is Animal Control. He'll be taken to the shelter and given at least a chance at a full life. The people who are letting him run loose will end up with a $100 ticket...more if he hasn't had his rabies shot...and I really don't want to see them lose this one only to bring another in that will end up the same way. $100 isn't much for a ticket but it might at least make them think that an $8 leash would have been a better investment.

Whereabouts are you?

take all pickups to the shelter where every effort will be made to find him a good home. They list with PetFinder, they foster, they go to adoption days wherever anyone will have them, they have spots twice a week on morning tv shows (and every animal they've ever taken to those have been adopted)

Our shelter gives you a great deal. For $75 (dog $65, cat) you get an animal that has tested free of the nastiest diseases, been given it's first shots (or permanent shots if it's an adult), wormed, spayed or neutered and micro-chipped. AND you get a coupon for your first vet visit FREE.

I got up this morning to see the pup in the road...dead. They haven't even had the decency to pick him up out of the road. And yes, I can be sure they've seen him. They have 2 teen-age kids that go to school about the same time I first let my dogs out and their front door is open.

what is a vacuum extraction chamber? It sounds horrible.

Animals were piled into what looked like a large drum laying on its side. Then the air was pumped out of it. The onground equivalent of shoving someone out an airlock in space. With the same kinds of effects. Which was part of the reason they couldn't keep people who really cared as staff.

It is brutal. And the gas chamber, which is illegal in many states.

and you proved it by not even mentioning them.

So you can't blame the OP.

It is hard and expensive to do rescue. You should be happy that at the OP is doing something.

Why bash them?

Instead why don't you write a post on behalf of the cats.

than for cats, I don't know why.

I have two kitties who I love dearly. :)

I would like to see licensing requirements passed all over this country..... $1 for all neutered animals - $1,000 for all breeders. Annual payments.

Breaks my heart. :(

A few years ago there was a story in central MS about a group of teenage boys who poured gasoline on a dog and set it on fire. The poor dog survived, but was blind and suffered horrible disfigurement. There were two rounds of community outrage -- one for the heinous act itself, and a second round when it was discovered that they could not be charged on any animal cruelty statutes, because none existed in the state for that sort of act. They were charged with arson.

There is also a sick, psychopathic cultural "tradition" in the Deep South of men -- no offense, guys, but it is ALWAYS men who do this -- taking their friends and their teenage sons out, and shooting at cats. These macho assholes go on about how they "hate" cats and want to kill them. Someone's pet? Too damn bad. My previous cat suffered a major injury at age 10, and when the veterinarian x-rayed her to determine its extent, he found that she had buckshot in her back from several years prior. There had indeed been a time when she disappeared for several days, and we couldn't find her, and undoubtedly that would have been when she was shot. The cat was WHITE. Solid. There was no way anyone mistook her for another animal. It was some hate-filled redneck trash who thought it was cool to try to kill a cat.

Kids learn that kind of cruelty from their parents. What a horrible legacy to pass on! You're right; it's cultural.

Do you recall the story of Leo here in California? An enraged motorist got out of his car and pulled the dog out of the lap of a woman he felt had cut him off and tossed the dog into traffic. Leo was hit by two cars in a nanosecond. Fortunately the man got the maximum of 3 years in prison. A-hole.
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/07/13/roadrage.dog/index.html

In addition, millions of unwanted creatures are put to sleep every year and still the irresponsible breeding continues.

There is a special place in hell for cruelty. :(

are you assuming that all southerners treat their pets like a few did during Katrina? If not, please dont make blanket statements about a region of the country. There are ppl who died during Katrina because they would not leave their pets when told by the "rescuers" that they had to. We live in Alabama and all our babies are rescues and we treat them like family.

I was simply commenting on the disregard shown pets by the authorities. Many people were forced to leave their pets behind and many were slaughtered by the authorities for no apparent reason other than they were deemed not important.

And I too would have stayed with my pets in that circumstance. I don't think understanding that is too much of a stretch for animal lovers.

Their lack of compassion, care, and concern, not only for minorities and gay people, but for most all animals tops my list of reasons to detest and despise these so many of my fellow southerners.

Sadly it's not just the 'rednecks' but I find this attitude toward animals prevalent among so many "respectable," church-going business types and minorities too. The redneck fundies seem to hate cats the most.

I recently drove from Maine to Louisiana to relocate and was struck by the fact that it wasn't until I hit my home state of West Virginia that you started to see dead domestic animals alongside the road, probably where the poor things were dumped by irresponsible owners. (My grandmother currently has 3+ cats who were abandoned down the hill from her next to a river and made it up to her place.)

Somewhere in Tennessee I decided that people who dump animals deserve to have their heads bashed, slowly.

that if I ended up with a pregnant dog or cat for some reason....I would make sure to keep all the pups/kittens for a while so that I could have them all "fixed" before giving them away.

thing I have been through. My dog (Velcro) started crying in the vets, (always loved the vet before), I started crying, the vet started crying, Everyone was crying. A few weeks later I adopted a stray that was a beagle mix 10 weeks old. I was working on my car 10 years ago when Vecro walked in my front door from the forest and climbed in my recliner.

My new friend is named Popeye, but he sticks to me like Velcro did (hence the name).

I love strays and rescue dogs, they are the best.

and I hope you enjoy your new friends.

I hope Popeye will bring you much happiness. R.I.P., sweet Velcro.

aren't enforced. Our county doesn't even have an animal shelter! We have 3 doggies and 2 cats, all adopted from the driveway they wandered into and all spayed/neutered. But many people won't or can't afford to have it done...from 50 to 75 dollars. It is my opinion that governments should provide that service free - they are already spending fortunes attempting to control pet populations and not having much success.

then they won't have to pay to kill the hundreds of offspring that come from that one animal in the next 10 years. It is just logical.

the gas chamber where the dogs die a cruel, painful death instead of humane euthanasia methods.

I do rescue, too, and the realities of the pet overpopulation in this country is heart-breaking.
Personally, I blame a lot of it on the puppy mills who churn out these pups like a cash crop - which is what they are to them. The parents live their entire lives in cramped, filthy conditions that the public is not aware of when they buy that cute puppy at the pet store for big bucks. When they are no longer able to breed, they are often killed.

I'm a proud supported of HSUS, Hearts United for Animals and other groups that try to educate the public about this problem.

Please, do not patronage any store that sells puppies ! If you want a dog, go to a shelter or a rescue group (www.petfinder.com) or a reputable breeder - someone who breeds show quality dogs.

Thanks for all you are doing for the animals !

next week, our rescue is offering gas money and $$ to get 20 to 30 puppies to the rescue.

Thanks again,

the canine ones are from puppy mills, imho, the worst of the worst. We have been struggling for over a year to get Simone acclimated to a real family, and she is finally slowly coming around. Our ferrets are from homes who either cant afford them any longer or just found out that they are high maintenance pets. We love them all and will continue to take in as many as we can.

Abilities -whenever I returned from a two week trip, she would literally run UP the side of a wall until she hit the ceiling and then run down the wall.

I think Calirofornia has some law that you can't own them as pets. And right now i wouldn't have the time for one.
But bless you for your work with them.

have outlawed them for stupid untrue reasons, but there are still hundreds of thousands there. They are just underground....figuratively. There are vets there who will treat them.....But, as I have said hundreds of times, they are a high maintenance pet. Its a crying shame they are sold in pet stores.

Fad followers from deciding how nicely they would go with their furniture. (I remember reading about folks in upscale areas of LA who "donate" their pets to the local shelter when they redecorate - the black and white kitty no longer goes with the decor when the black and white tiles are ripped out and replaced with hardwood flooring.)

It is sickening. I don't understand why people treat their animals so badly. Do they treat their dependents with the same disregard? I think so. Because pain is pain, and if these people are incapable of understanding pain and suffering in pets that depend on them, they are incapable of having empathy towards children and elderly in their care.

I really and truly hate those people.

like this. I just said to my husband that until the south figures out how to spay and neuter their animals and not slaughter them, I am NOT going to go down there, and spend one penny on tourism. We have gone to Fripp Island and North Carolina, but never again.

Then I think of all the good people in rescue down there, and I realize that it is not everyone. Just a lot of ignorant people.

where they have a high kill rate. For a while I was involved in animal research and one of the vet techs told me the pound put down 500 dogs a week (estimate). It was a canine slaughter. So I chose to adopt my dog from there- they adopted out 20-30 per week.

There were lots of lost dogs but the worst part was "room F". These were the dogs that were too mean to even be considered for adoption. If nobody claimed them within a week they were put down. The gentler lost dogs were considered for adoption but most of them got put down after 2 weeks. My sweet dog was lucky to make the cut and then get adopted... but knowing what was going on there made it a sad place to get a dog.

They neutered my dog the day I adopted him. Its a good law. He never reproduced, and I will always get pound dogs.

Rescues are always running at a loss. The rescue I volunteer for spays or neuters all the dogs that come in in they haven't been already. They treat for heartworm if needed and pay for surgeries for dogs that need them to get them ready to be adopted out. There are kennel fees for some of them when we can't find fosters. Rescues can't possibly recoup all of the costs with adoption fees, but they do whatever they can for the dogs.

Here are a few of my fosters that have found their forever homes and were saved from the executioner.

















That's only some of them. I'm trying to tug at your hearts, is it working?

They are are SO beautiful and I can feel the love---I've tears in my eyes.

Labs are THE best. My favorite breed. I also like Alsatians (GSDs) and big Collies. Being the most intelligent, these breeds are easier to train, are most responsive, loving, warm-hearted, and have a greater need to please than other breeds.

Your last pic looks exactly like my Duppers who died 24 yrs ago. She was THE best, she was my heart, but we've had close seconds. We had to put our Patty, our 13 yr old border collie, down this last Aug. and now we're in the market for another baby. However, I'm waiting for my health to improve a bit more before I take on the arduous task of caring for another puppy. Since there is no such thing as an 'outside dog,' all of our babies have lived inside with us.

Perhaps you could help us adopt our next best friend?

They have a way of becoming our children. I hope you are feeling better soon.

I am in the Washington, DC area. The rescue I volunteer for is one of the biggest one the east coast, we adopt out between 600-700 dogs a year. Like I said, I have 2 that I couldn't let go. The last pic is actually a dog that a friend of mine adopted. She was rescued from a pit bull trainer with multiple lacerations around her head and neck, she was used as a bait dog. She is one of the sweetest most loving dogs, her terrible early experience didn't leave a lasting scar on her soul.

MiniMe, you're a most thoughtful, courageous, and special person --- you have to be in order to do your work.

I saw in your profile that you live in Maryland. I'm just a few hrs drive away, so I'll be in touch. I'm very serious about the adoption.

Keep up your fantastic work.

:hug:

then let to starve in cages or just released into the wild. It's a no-win situation, and I hope they follow protocol to prevent suffering...

Many in Georgia use gas chambers. It is NOT humane, unfortunately.

theres a humane society shelter in Wichita that is a kill facility. I had a friend that worked there, and they said they do their best to not have to kill the animals, and they have licensed vets administer the drug cocktail to put the animals down. If this protocol is followed, then I can live with it.

your saying is TRUE. SOOOO many unwanted pets end up in shelters, and are killed. I can't totally blame the shelters. I think most are doing the best they can, and there's only so much room. The thing that shocked and saddened me the most when I first started with rescue (and continues to do so) is how many pure bred doge end up in a shelter because of ignorant, irresponsible, & uncaring people! You can't imagine how many little fluffy white furballs I've pulled from shelters because "Our children are now in sports & we just don't have time for the dog anymore (after 6 years of owning the dog!!!)." OR "We've had the dog for 6-7 years but we're moving into a new home & I don't want a DOG on my new carpet!" Or "He's getting OLD and we want a puppy!"

I could go on & on with these ridiculous excuses! I want to ask those people if they would do that with their kids too if it weren't against the law!

I'm older, and I only foster 1-3 dogs at a time because I have 2 of our own, age 16 & age 14. I just can't take care of more than 5 at a time.

PLEASE spay/neuter your pets BEFORE they can get pregnant or sire any more unwanted offspring, and if you decide you would like an animal of your own, VISIT YOUR LOCAL SHELTER. Visit www.petfinders.com to see the animals that are available in your area. Many shelters list a lot of their animals there, and many are also in temporary foster homes just waiting for now "parents" to give them a Forever Home.

And she obtained many (at least 20) dogs from taking in the abandoned ones she found on her way home from work.

Many of them have died over the years, mostly from old age, but now that she lives in Iowa, she still takes in all the strays she can handle. Currently, she has 10, all rescued dogs except for two she got as pups.

Our dog was from a litter on a farm but our 4 cats are all shelter babies.

I can't believe that anyone could abandon their pet, I mean, they trust us, how can we betray that?

One lady was going to turn her 9 year old toy poodle into the high kill shelter because she decided she wants a bichon pup. She has has the dog her whole life. I try not to wish bad things upon the owner, but it is difficult. At the least, I hope her new bichon gives her headaches.

the work you do is wonderful, but the things you describe breaks my heart. All the shelters that i deal with are no-kill shelters. I adopted my kitty from The North Shore Animal League (and she was rescued from a kill shelter in TN). It is people like you who ensure that I have my loving and sweet cat rather than letting her be destroyed.

Thank You!

It has almost led to financial ruin, as the rescues and the shelters are all desperate, and don't have funds for transports, and vet care. I has destroyed family's finances, trying to do this.

I have done rescue work with dogs, cats and horses. That would be one of the reasons we have six dogs, seven cats and seven horses. Personally, I cannot handle shelters. I tried volunteering at the shelter, but I couldn't take it. I am not proud of that. But after driving home bawling two nights a week for over a month, I gave up. I have a lot of respect for the people who can put themselves aside and take care of animals in shelters.

We struggle every month to take care of our animals without taking anything away from our family. It isn't easy. You have my sympathy along with that respect.

I know that I could do a lot of good but I bawl when I get the pictures on the PTS list, I am up all night long, it is emotionally destroying me, so I don't look anymore. I am going to send money to a small rescue in South Carolina in a rural area, that is really desperate. I want to help sponsor a transport each month to a rescue in the north.

I got her 9 yrs. ago from the pound. She is a wonderful old girl. When I take her out with me for walks or car rides, sooooo many people ask me "what kind of dog is she"? (She is old english sheepdog + lab?, or std. size poodle?, or maybe part lg.sized schnauzer??????????just don't know) I tell them she is "a really wonderful dog and that I got her fromm the dog pound thus hoping more people will take a look at the pound when looking for their 'new' canine friend.

The biggest thing people can do is to spay/neuter their animals. The next best thing they can do is to adopt a shelter animal.

Three of our five dogs are rescues. We lost our oldest rescue, aged 12, in December. She was a mixed breed and was the best dog ever.