what are your opinions on no kill shelters

THis got me thinking from Marys post showing the dobie that has been at a shelter for 8 months . (and a beauty). I guess I was being nieve and thinking the animals get adopted right away.

I am all for no kill shelters but what about a dog especially a big one living in a cage for 8 months - is this fair to the animal?

Would love to hear from someone that has info or volunteers at these shelters and how the dogs/animals are treated do they get excercise, play time, etc.

thanks

Honeybear

 

when I did the volunteer orientation at the shelter one of the first things they did mention was the unfortunate aspect of having to keep these dogs caged up (my local shelter is no kill) the dog's adrenaline tends to run very high as they come to see the shelter as home and there are lots of "intruders" on a daily basic - so they are wound up a lot.

Imagine living in a cage for hours on end and having strangers come peer in at you and you consider the cage your territory...it's gotta be rough and it explains why some of the dogs are considered by people as being "mean" when they are only "protecting" their space.

This shelter has many large fenced-in areas that the dogs gets to spend hours in during the day. If 2 dogs get along okay they let them spend time together in the larger penned-in areas. They also have a strong strong volunteer/support staff who get the dogs out daily for many walks. They also have a minimum security prison nearby and get a lot of volunteers from them - and have never had a problem with any of them. These prisoners come in during the week (fewer potential adopters during the week) and clean cages, walk dogs, play with dogs, help train dogs - so the dogs are getting a lot of interaction.

BUT...this is a small shelter - I can't even begin to fathom what the shelters in large cities are like...I can't even begin to go there. Imagine a shelter in the middle of a city where the dogs can't get outside or go for walks with volunteers - they must truly lose their minds.

and look at this one....it seems many many more purebred dogs are being dumped at shelters. And large dogs - I wish I could add another dog cause I would take this boy in a heartbeat. I adore Malamutes.

 

wow, that dog is beautiful. I have mixed emotions on this. Your shelter sounds great, but it is prrobably in the minority. The inmate thing gave me and idea because our county work furlough program is right down the road the from the HSor better yet. the county shelter which I hear is horrid - to get the people on work furlough to volunteer as these places.

Honeybear

 

i work at a small non-profit, no-kill shelter. we keep our dogs in foster homes, as we don't have the space to house them overnight. we do, however, keep all the cats at the shelter until they are adopted. in response to the question being asked, i think it really depends on the shelter. our cats are hardly ever in their cages for an extended period of time, but i'm sure other places don't give their animals such freedoms.

i love the work i do; and i love feeling as if i'm actually doing something productive with my time, but i do often see the catch-22 in my job. sure, we won't euthanize an animal unless it is absolutely too sick to be helped, but because of this we have extrememly limited intake procedures. we, like many other no-kill shelters, take in only the most adoptable animals. in turn, that just leaves animal control facilities to do the dirty work of putting these animals to sleep when no one wants them. this just makes people scared and vindictive towards animal control when it's not their fault at all that an animal had to be put down -- it's the fault of people who refuse to spay/neuter their animals and who don't take the time to learn what is involved when taking in a pet to begin with.

so, anyway, i think it varies from shelter to shelter what sort of treatment the animals get. i just wish there were no need for the job i do.

 

My local no kill shelter has alot of volunteers who come and walk the dogs daily and play with them. Some are placed in foster homes if they can find them. I think the dogs would love some more attention but they do the best they can.

 

One of the SPCA's here is a no-kill shelter. Both times I have visited there someone had the dogs outside walking them around...they seem to also have a lot of volunteers. They are overloaded with cats but they do have a huge room with cat toys and kitty condos,ect. where some of the cats were out playing. There are also other no-kill resuce organizations that place the animals in foster homes while they await adoption. Even the regular shelters around here seem to have lots of volunteers.

 

the only problem with no kill shelters is they end up turning away animals because there in no room.

 

our no-kill shelter has a waiting list for dogs and they insist people bringing in cats make an appointment - which usually doesn't happen they know but they do what they can.

Their building was built in 1910 and is getting pretty unstable - right now they are in the process of planning stages for building a new up-to-date facility. If they can get this done they will be able to house more dogs, cats and be able to have in-house spay/neuters and offer low-cost clinics for such. This area does pretty well with keeping the dog population low - cats are the problem. Now and then the shelter will get a cat they can't rehome for many many months - but eventually some kind soul will choose to take this long-term resident home. It's always heartwarming. Fortunately the dogs gets homed quickly as there is not an overabundance of puppies around here. But with kitten season upon us the population of cats will increase...

 

how are the shelters over there funded. by the government or by fundraising/donations?

 

I think no kill sheltures are great but I also think that pounds/shltures should hold animals longer then they do, not months but maybe instead of one week they should make it two...give those doggies a little bit more of a chance...It must be hard in rescues though seeing some of the same dogs everyday for months...hopefully in the end though they do get adopted...unlike the pound.

 

The shelter I volunteer at is unfortunately not a no-kill shelter. The shelter is funded by a very small amount allotted by the county/city budget each year and then the rest is solely donations.
We live in very rural community with a population of only 4200 but still have a high ratio of dumpee's each month. I just recently found out the reason we take in so many more dogs then any other shelter in the surrounding area is because of so many being turned away from private funded shelters who are in fact no-kill shelters. So with each animal turned away from other shelters that's one more dog/cat who's life sentence just got shortened. Because in turn they are brought to us or dumped at the gate and then we are forced to take them in turn pushing another animal closer to euthanization.
Sometimes I get so angry and want to scream when someone walks through those door with an older dog and the same old lame excuses..(Oh I don't have time to care for him..Oh my new husband/wife does not like dogs..He barks to much..We are moving to a place where dogs are not allowed..we didn't expect him/her to get so big)..And the excuses always start with we Love Him/Her but..
Why! Why! get a dog/cat or any pet for that matter ever if you think for one second a problem might arise where you can't take care of it. I don't get it! I think everyone should foster or just take the animal home over a weekend to see if it's gonna work out for them.
And another thing why do people always prefer the puppies over the adult dogs? (I admit IM a sucker for a puppy just like most people) But I also know puppy potty training is a long process of cleaning up constant messes not to mention the chewing, whining, expensive puppy food, obedience training. Why not get an adult who is most likely already trained?
Sorry I know I'm rambling and getting a little off topic I just get so heated over people who like to "play house" with their animals only until it's convenient for them or until their cute cuddly puppy is not a puppy anymore.
So to sum it up of how I feel about no kill shelters I'm jealous of them!
That may sound terrible but I mean it in a good way if that makes any sense at all? OK and I'm still rambling.

 

Most shelters here are no-kill shelters. Many of them rely on people who volunteer to take the animals for walks, play with them and groom them. The small shelter near my house has a fenced in area that the dogs go into for "play time".

I believe the Toronto Humane Society is run on donations as they do not get government funding.

Their adoption prices are reasonable too.. Dogs/Puppies are $50, Cats/Kittens $25, Rabbits $20 and Small Domestics between $4-$65.

http://www.torontohumanesociety.com

In one year approximately 8,549 animals pass through the Toronto Human Society shelter.

 

To kill or not to kill?

This is a very touchy subject, butit is good to discuss it. I have good and bad feelings towards them. First off let me say that in one town near me which has no funding(what they do is on a dogs kill date, if no one wants it they take it from the pound, and of course take in strays, dogs cats horses goats whatever?) fosters all their dogs out to good homes. Some of the dogs have been in these foster homes for years(why not just go ahead and call yours?)which continuity is good for a dog but how does it feel after lving in one home for x years then moving? But I have had sort of problems with another no kill(funded) shelter, which fosters most at night and brings them to the shelter in the day. Someone asked me to take care of their for 1 month bc they were getting kicked out of their apt. and had no where to go. This cat was not a very pretty cat, she had been seriously abused(kicked in the face and had a broken tooth which made her whole face swell up)But the lady said that was previous owners who did that. Anyway after a month I found out I was moving and to bring my own animals, I had to make one trip per animal(the airlines told me I was only allowed one animal per flight and they couldn't guarantee even that one spot per flight)So I called the HS and they said they could put her on a waiting list, meanwhile I call the lady and she tells me never to call again it is no longer her cat. I asked the HS if I could put a picture of her on the website(this was over the phone) and she said yes, so I brought my digital camera there and she said no, I can only post normal pic on the wall. So then months go by and still no call fom the hs so I call them and they tell me the have no record of me ever calling, so I say ok well can I be put on the list again she said sure but it is at least 2 months long, but I had to leave the country in one month! I tried begging saying I would pay for her to stay with someone(from the shelter) unitl she could go in, but they said no. Anyway I started getting harassing phone calls from this HS saying that if I left this cat(or if they found a cat with her description) behind they would find me a press charges. Which I thought for several reasons was funny bc when I last talked to them they had no record of me calling in but now they knew my cats name and description of her, my address, phone # and name. I was frightened by this! so I had to call the proper authorities and tell them what happened and eventually I found a place an hour and a half away to take her and get them to verify I hadn't dumped this cat! So my first impression of no kill shelter is good(I could never kill an animal myself, unless it was extremely sick) but when they get too full that isn't fair to the other animals.

 

the shelter here runs strictly on donations - they get no financial help at all from state of federal. I believe the HSUS gives a pittance to Humane Societies but it's not much.

 

I have huge mix emotions about shelters. I worked at one. Just started there about a week ago. I just quit today. I'm disturbed by what I saw. First of all they do a great job on keeping cages clean and handling cats. Thsi shelter is a non-no kill shelter so they do handle dirty work. They don't pay much either. Just minimum wage. 25 cents more an hour if you euthanize animals. Well now let me tell you what disturbs me greatly. Yesterday animal control brought in 3 kittens. They are about 3 months of age or so. Two black and white, brother and sister, and one black one. They sneezed a few times. Nothing serious. Something that would clear up withing 2 to 3 days. They were in the isolation room in a carrier. I was curious toknow why they were not put into a clean cage. I went on to finishing up washing dishes. A girl who has worked there for 2 years asked me to do her a favor and help her with someone because the girl that was suppose to help her keeps running off and couldn't be found. Ok so I follow her into the isolation room. I see needles and a container of blue liquid. To me it reminds me of anti-freeze. I was confused till she told me she was gonna show me how to hold the kittens. You hold them by the skin on their neck like the mommas do and then pull their hind legs out and stretch them showing their bellies. Getting mix emotions I asked. "What are they sick?" "yes" She ran off to get another girl that hasn't done it before either. She felt I couldn't handle it. The girl looked like she had mixed emotions but tried to void it out. I stood there like an idiot. Holding a blind kitten cause I needed comfort. I'm sure that kitten enjoyed it. I miss him so much. Any way. The young girl held them kittens saying "I'm sorry for doing this but we are told to do it. I don't understand why they don't just take these kittens to Petsmart. I'm sure they could find a home. Why are they being put down anyway" The lady with the needle says "I don't know, but they are on the list" She put the needle in the kittens bellies and injects them with the stuff what ever it is. Sits the two black and white in the cage. The female looked drunk and fell over, she was gone. Her brother when crazy all confused, got weak wobbled as if he was drunk and fell over. He was gone. *cries* Next was the black kitten. It took less then a min each. The girl only being a few seconds. I'm sorry to be in so much detail. I hate animal shelters now. They are sooo cruel. I do appreciate them finding homes for some though. But i refuse to support cruelty. So I had to quit. Now I'm out of a job. 4.5 million dogs and cats in the US alone are put to death every year. I personally think they should have gave them a chance and just put down the two mean cats. You just at them and they go nuts, hissing, moning, growling and snorting. They try to attack you even though they have bars in between the human and the cat. They had cats that were even more sick that probably should have been put down instead of those innocent little kittens who did nothing to hurt anyone. I question myself where they get all them cats sometimes. Because I had two dogs few years ago... animal control chased my dogs down cause someone let them out. I know who did it too. The dogs got back in the yard somehow. Those animal control people went into my back yard. Our back door stays opened to the lundry room for the dogs to lay if it rains. They went in there to hide. Those people dragged them out of our house and took them off to the shelter. They were soo rude to my dad. Our neighbors saw everything and told my dad so that is how I know what happened. Those ladies were the one who brought them kittens in. They probably put them on the list to be put down. The area I'm in is soooo messed up. This is the place I worked at http://www.portsmouthhumanesociety.org I'm not saying that all shelters are like this. But there are some that are very cruel in my opinion. I will never work at a shelter ever again. I was going nuts last night when I was home. Couldn't stop crying. I was angry with eveyrone and everything. Only if everyone knew what went on behind them doors I wonder how everyone would act. Cats are piling up in that shelter. Mostly kittens because people refuse to fix their cats. That is also cruel to the animals. I support spay and neuter all the way. I have two dog who need to be spaded but I make sure theydon't get pregnant. My dogs only go out when I can watch them, when I'm home. I no longer put the out when I go to work. I don't care if they mess the house up as long as if they are safe and sound.

 

I'm sorry you had to go through this but now that you have first hand knowledge as to what goes on behind closed doors it's up to you to educate people regarding spaying and neutering. That's where these innocent little lives come from - people who don't care enough to spend the few dollars it takes to spay/neuter their cats.
I can't imagine being in the place you were yesterday - I'm sure I couldn't have handled it either, I know I couldn't have.
I would not volunteer for my local shelter if they were a kill shelter, they aren't and that's why I help them out.
And they are also overwhelmed with cats right now.
Hugs to you and what you had to witness.

 

I was able to handle it at the time and not cry at work. That also teaches me that I'm a bit stronger than I am. *hugs back* Thanks for the hug. I really do need one.

 

I couldn't have even stood in the same room. Not when there was nothing wrong with the kittens.

 

I have a sort of bad question (well more disgusting than bad0 but which is better/worse to euthanize puppies/kittens or older animals? I could never do either one, but with the puppies, maybe you are less attached, and have more time in life to end up back at the shelter. with the older ones they know what it is like to have someone care for them (hopefully) and have lived more andare generally harder to place than puppies, but could be trained already. Just wanted to see if you worked at a shelter and had to choose between taking in a puppy only to have to put down an older dog, or put the puppy down. I know no one would ever want to, but if faced with a choice like that, what would you do.

 

I couldnt make the choice....the last 3 years in CA while I was working at the emergency clinic I was offered jobs with 2 of the cities animal control/shelters a number of times, I thought about it, it was almost double the pay I was making at the e-clinic, full benefits (I had none at the hospital) full vacation and sick pay (again...I had none at the clinic), I really could have done with all the benefits and the extra money, I talked to the boss at one of the city's AC's to find exactly what the job would involve, I had no problem going out all hours to pick up pets that had been injured, loved the idea of taking animal abusers to court.....but the downside, I would have to also work at their shelter and euthanize 'the excess'....I couldnt do it, I still had a hard time euthanizing pets that were terminally ill or badly injured.....I couldnt have killed healthy animals just for the fact that they had no home.....I dont blame the shelters for this though, I know that many of them really do try to rehome pets, some work with local foster cares and no kill shelters (I know some dont care) but I blame the irresponsible ignorant ******* that allow their pets to run loose, breed them to make a quick buck and breed them because 'they want their children...the pet itself...themselves....to experience the miracle of birth` :x ....which part of over 9 million unwanted, lost and injured pets every year are killed in shelters......