karmadogs.org Blog

So why is it a bad thing to continue to use the phrase No-Kill and Kill Shelter? It fairly describes how the shelter operates, right? Is being honest wrong?

Neither model, Open or Closed Admission is a great system. Great dogs are often euthanized at O.A. (kill) shelters. Dogs who often are not adoptable will spend their lives in a crate, going crazy at some C.A. (no-kill) shelters. Have you ever seen a dog spinning in a cage at a shelter? Wonder why? It is because they have likely been there so long, it is all they can do to calm themselves, while they literally go mental. Would you want to live your life in a cage, with some human contact, but no one to call your own? Nothing to look forward to and nowhere to go? Sure, some places, like Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, offer a wonderful life full of training, treats and companionship for animals who will never be adopted. But most places don’t. In some C.A. (no-kill) shelters, unadoptable dogs often end up kenneled forever. And sometimes forgotten. What kind of quality of life is that? Going kennel crazy, anxious and truly unloved? Again, many shelters have sanctuaries who care for these dogs for the rest of their life. But most don’t. So then it is up to you to decide: Is it better for a dog to be unhappy and live or not to live at all? Unhappy people live all of the time. They get by. Dogs, however, are not people. They don’t understand their circumstances or know how to improve them. This is where humans need to be the smart ones and make the hard decisions.

So what do I hope you take away from all of this? Know that both types of shelters are a must until we solve the pet overpopulation problem. Don’t look down upon or use the words “Kill Shelter” with anger or disgust. And don’t judge the people who work there. They do what the rest of us can’t. They do their best. And they clean up the mess the rest of us make, everyday.

Please do your part and spay and neuter each and every one of your pets.

Also on Oprah’s recent expose’ was the repeated phrase, “NO-KILL SHELTER”. Obviously, a no kill shelter is the answer to the dog overpopulation problem, right? No one wants to kill dogs and some states, like Utah, have become no-kill states. So what is wrong with that, you may ask? Who wants to kill dogs?
The term no-kill shelter is used to describe shelters that have whats known as a CLOSED ADMISSION POLICY. This means that the shelter only takes animals it deems adoptable and that it has room for. They may turn away animals who are sick, old, aggressive or even who just have fleas or a cold. The shelter only has so many beds and when they are full (which they almost always are), the dogs are turned away.

What is a KILL SHELTER and who on earth would want to work there? Natural born dog killers, perhaps? No. Kill shelters are also called OPEN ADMISSION POLICY shelters. These shelters are usually forced (by government agencies) to take in all unwanted animals. Strays, owner surrenders and animals picked up by animal control may end up here. When the shelter is full, then they have to make room for the inevitable influx of dogs and cats that will make their way to the shelter that day. It is nothing more than a numbers game. It is terribly sad. And it is your fault.

Ok, maybe it is not actually YOUR fault. But it is our fault as society as a whole. Dogs end up in shelters because they are no longer wanted and there is no where else for them to go. Still, you ask, why is that our fault? Because we, as a society, don’t take pet ownership seriously. It is a lifelong commitment to an animals to care and provide for all of it’s needs. This means not moving somewhere you can’t own pets, working with them through troubled times and providing for them when they are sick. If you can’t make that commitment, then don’t get a dog. And for the love of dog, please spay and neuter your pets. I realize that you are perfect and that your unfixed dog will never get out and accidentally cause a litter. You are responsible and not likely to fail. Statistically speaking however, you will. And one dog that goes altered, if they have puppies that go unaltered, who have puppies and so on and so on can lead to SIXTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOGS in that one dogs’ reproductive lifetime. FROM ONE DOG! (HSUS) You can see how the numbers add up. Until we are responsible as a society, open admission (kill) shelters are necessary. If you can’t live with that, then do your part. Spay and neuter. Convince your friends to do the same. Consider adoption the only option for getting a pet. Help fund low cost spay and neuter programs.

Can you imagine what would happen if everyone did their part?

Like the movie Crash, which exposed racism in modern society, Oprah recently focused her attention on the puppymill disgrace that puts puppies in pet stores across the country. I am a bit surprised that Oprah wasn’t aware of this problem previously. Lots of organizations work really hard on exposing them. Puppymills have been the focus of a few documentaries, including one that played often on HBO about two years ago. I am also a little surprised that Lisa Ling didn’t uncover more than she did. A journalist who normally goes very deep to cover a topic, barely scratched the surface. However, if applications for pets are up over the weekend at local shelters everywhere, than I think it is a wonderful result of the show. However, Oprah and Lisa just looked under the rug for a moment….there is so much more to see.
Why do people go to puppymills- or really, shop at pet stores who sell dogs? Is it because everyone wants something they deem perfect, new, shiny, and at a high cost immediately? As a society, we don’t seem to be willing to put the work into anything that is worth having. We want things NOW. Dogs are no different. People often want a new puppy today, with no questions asked. Sure, some rescues make it difficult to adopt from them, but that is only because they are so invested with giving that dog a perfect life. I hope such difficult adoption policies don’t turn people off from owning a dog. I wish people would really consider what type of dog they are getting and not just pick a cute puppy because it is fuzzy. I wish people were more willing to learn about a basic minimum standard of dog care and would abide by it.

But it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Hopefully, enough people were moved by what Oprah recently discovered and will put their time, money and energy into forcing more strictly enforced legislation towards these mills and their practices. For more information on what you can do to help stop puppymills, please visit www.prisonofgreed.org

and

www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/get_the_facts_on_puppy_mills/