Animal Shelters

[Allen]

Today, the 1st working day after Christmas, is one of the busiest days of the year for the animal shelters nation wide.

Parents give their kids puppies and kittens for Christmas and take the older pets to the shelters because they don't want to deal with their aging problems.

Most shelters are not "do not kill" shelters. As they become overloaded they have no choice but to euthanize them. Think how confused these animals must be during the final days of their lives.

[Art]

Today, the 1st working day after Christmas, is one of the busiest days of the year for the animal shelters nation wide.

Parents give their kids puppies and kittens for Christmas and take the older pets to the shelters because they don't want to deal with their aging problems.

Most shelters are not "do not kill" shelters. As they become overloaded they have no choice but to euthanize them. Think how confused these animals must be during the final days of their lives.

Of course the practice you describe is not just irresponsible but immoral. The only worse thing is dumping them on the road.

Our daughter had to have her 14 year old German Shepherd put this fall down after two years in decline, it was a sad choice. This year, not wanting to be dog-less, they got a pretty 4 month old German Shepherd mix that's a rescue dog, its previous owner had made an unsuccessful attempt to poison it as a small pup. Some of its litter mates were not so lucky and were dead by the time animal rescue showed up. Daphne's a sweet dog, by the way. If you're a dog (or any other pet for that matter) a good, responsible, master is a good thing

I'll admit I don't shed a tear when a pet comes to the end of the line, but brutality, and the activities in the OP are just that, repels me.

[barretcreek]

There's a story about a rescue in S.Africa took a bullet for the family.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/loyal-adopted-dog-takes-bullet-in-the-face-to-protect-owners-when-armed-robbers-break-into-house_4136410.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-12-26-3&utm_medium=email&est=Rd61VP1tVKYypRoN%2BxnkmZJjolWzBrD0Mzd9bIGeZs%2 BVVbmPZH56JRGD

[Art]

One other thought. The reasons for getting kids pets don't stop at fun, though its surely that. As they go through the life cycle they teach the kids about the need for caregiving and dealing with life and death. That's important stuff in the rearing of a really functional human being.

[Johnny P]

Friend's son and daughter-in-law bought a new house with a large fence back yard. They wanted a dog and got a rescue dog. In the back yard was a concrete walk leading to a work shop. They were puzzled by the dog getting on the concrete walk every time to take a crap until they realized that at the shelter he always took a crap on concrete.

[dryheat]

Every dog I've owned and loved was a rescue or a stray. I don't want to think about all the abused animals. I still think about the dog I should have stolen.
Most of the pictures I have of my dogs are on film so here is one I can show. This guy died early and it really hurt to put him down but he had pancreatic cancer. The very good vet told me, it will be five grand to operate. I said I can't afford that. He said that was a good decision. He said, he will get worse you will know when it's time to let him go. I watched him and when a 'bout came on it was real tough to watch. A couple of those and you know when it's when.

49989

I found him out on the road. He had been eating road kill and had worms. Got him fixed up and happy. He was a swimmer and a runner. A friend suggested Bullet and that was his name. Art is right. Life in a manner has a beginning, a middle and an end. See it through. Thanks Allen.

[Merc]

I have two animals. A 7 year old female stray cat that we adopted as a kitten. I have bonded strongly with the cat. I also own a female horse who will be turning 30 years old in April which equals late 80s in human years. She was my late sisters horse and currently lives in a boarding stable in Cave Creek, AZ. The cat had a cancerous breast tumor removed in May, 2019 and is doing well so far. The horse is being treated for Cushings disease and was recently treated for an ulcer on her left eye. She is living a good life but her vet bills can be outrageous. Anyone that has ever owned a horse knows how expensive it is to board them and treat them for various health issues as they grow older. Cancer surgery for the cat was all out of pocket and cost every bit as much as human surgery. I have choices here but I choose to keep them and maintain their health as much and as long as possible. I have always subscribed to the theory that says you can tell a lot about a persons character by the way they treat their animals.

[Allen]

you can tell a lot about a persons character by the way they treat their animals.

Well said.

[JB White]

Rescue dogs are trained to find/save lives.
?Rescued? dogs on the other hand, you saved their life.
What ever happened to terms like shelter dog and pound pup etc.
Why did preppies use a term which was already in use?
Why did so many people fall into line with it?

I never paid up front for a good dog. But surely they paid me back for many years to follow.

- - - Updated - - -

And why on this forum does my phone constantly swap apostrophes and quotation marks with question marks???

[dogtag]

Some years back a friend of mine ignored my advice to have her aging Greyhound
put down, It was clearly in distress, but she wouldn't because she "loved it too much".
She did eventually heed my advice.

[dryheat]

Love hurts. There was a song about that in a primitive pop song. If you haven't seen something die you haven't lived long enough. It's the young one's that grab you. I'm lucky to have not seen kids die.
But if ten hundred die next week, well, I'll be too busy to note it.

[Merc]

And why on this forum does my phone constantly swap apostrophes and quotation marks with question marks???

I noticed it does it to me as well. I just go back in and correct them.

I have always been fond of Golden Retrievers. They have a very gentle nature and personality.

[RED]

There is a small lake a short distance from my house that is home for feral cats. At sundown in the parking lot on Christmas day, I counted 17 including 4 tiny kittens. I have seen a guy that feeds them usually with garbage. For Christmas he gave them the raw neck and giblets from a turkey.

I checked and only one organization would take the cats and only charge for cost of spaying and shots. That would be $225+ each.

[lyman]

There is a small lake a short distance from my house that is home for feral cats. At sundown in the parking lot on Christmas day, I counted 17 including 4 tiny kittens. I have seen a guy that feeds them usually with garbage. For Christmas he gave them the raw neck and giblets from a turkey.

I checked and only one organization would take the cats and only charge for cost of spaying and shots. That would be $225+ each.

I ran a store once that was in country,
we had a large water tower , well and septic,

the water tower was in the woods behind the store, and had a feral cat colony living there,

some local group took care of them, all were fixed, and were feed on a regular basis,

rarely saw them, (they roamed mostly at night)

never had a mouse or vermin problem either,


they had a local vet that would do the procedures at cost