Importing Puppies

During the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Conference last week, there was some discussion about Best Friends newer promotion, Pup my Ride. This is a program where larger, more full animal shelters (generally in the South) ship some of their puppies up North where they will have more of a chance to be adopted. Some of these shelters in the South (and everywhere) are disturbingly horrific, conditions wise, and together, kill over 5 million cats and dogs every year, simply because they are overpopulated. Some shelters even still use gas chambers, as they are legal in 38 states (NOT Maine!).

Some of the Northern shelters have much calmer conditions, and are not overrun with unwanted pets. The demand for puppies and smaller dogs is much higher, and they have a much higher adoption rate. It makes sense to allocate these dogs and puppies where they will have a better chance of being adopted. So, Best Friends works to relocate these dogs in large amounts to other shelters where they will be adopted quickly.

It seems like such a win win situation. The shelter in the South makes more room for incoming dogs without having to kill off as many dogs, and the people in the Northern communities get the puppies they are longing for.

Every shelter has an adoption rate, and a euthanasia (or kill) rate. It's hard to determine what this rate is for each individual shelter, since they are not generally published by the shelter unless they are really good statistics, but it is a number that should be paid close attention to by anyone working for, or patronizing the shelter. Unfortunately, many animal shelters in the US have become "high kill" shelters where they do no more than take in an animal, wait a few days, and then kill it. While there are many many wonderful rescues which have a low kill rate, I am focusing on the ones that make up this high number of 5 million per year.

When other puppies come into a shelter, it is great for the community, as well as for the publicity. It seems like such a wonderful situation. But what if there really isn't enough room for these puppies? Is it ethical and right to kill the older, less adoptable dogs to make room for these puppies, because we know that they will be adopted quickly and make a great name for the shelter? When you think of it that way, it seems horrible and unthinkable.

But if you don't kill the older dog to make room for the younger, healthier pup, the puppy will likely be killed in his own shelter. Does that make it right to kill the older dog? Whose responsibility is it at this point to stop the killing?

I think that if you run a shelter, it is your responsibility to choose the volume of animals that you are capable of taking in. Once those animals are in your care, it is the responsibility of that shelter to ensure that they remain a no kill environment. No shelter can take in every animal. Best Friends generally has over 2,000 animals at a time, and they still have to refuse animals every day. They must rely on the other shelters and rescues of the country to do their part as well.

So if there is a shelter who can take in an amount of puppies WITHOUT sacrificing the care of their current residents, I think that this is a great networking opportunity to save thousands of lives. It is also a great example of different communities helping each other out. However, I do think that it is important to be aware of some of the practices that may be going on that you, as an adopter, constituent, or animal lover may not know.

I do encourage you to support your local no kill animal shelters, and if they are not no kill, encourage them to become a no kill shelter. Ask them how many animals they kill per year, and work with them on some ways they could reduce that number. It can be done, it has been done, and it needs to be done more often.

25 years ago, over 17 million healthy cats and dogs were being killed in American shelters every year. Since then, the number has dropped to around 5 million. That is still over 13,000 innocent cats and dogs being killed every single day. Tell me we don't have an overpopulation problem. I encourage you to always adopt, and never purchase. At this point, there is no room to be breeding and multiplying more cats and dogs. It's simple math. I also encourage you to visit your local shelters, and see what you might be able to do to help them out. Maybe you could set up a network of foster homes, that would help save animals from being killed. Maybe it is something as simple as that that would help.

I will be happy to answer any questions on this topic, or further explain anything I didn't cover in this blog.

Dog People

Last weekend, Chris and I attended the viewing of ‘An American Opera – The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever’, a documentary by Tom McPhee about the pet rescue tribulations of Hurricane Katrina. While I knew that the situation there had been seriously tragic and devastating, and that it prompted many things to change in the way we conduct emergency rescue and such, I had no idea it was as incomprehensible as we learned from the performance. It was a devastating film to watch and surfaced many different feelings, including hate, anger, sadness, and a little bit of joy.

It made me think about the dog community, and how lucky we are to be a part of it. I love dog people. We all just seem to have a really cool way of being somewhat aloof to the little things in life. It could possibly be due to the fact that our dogs have destroyed so many things that if we tried to keep track every time they chewed a sock, we’d go crazy, but that’s beside the point. What I really love about true and blue dog people is that they are always there for you, even if they don’t know you, and that they will always step up to the plate when you need something. For the past few years, we have been raising money for various different local animal organizations, and for the past 5 months, we have turned that drive and passion into our own non-profit. Fundraising is a huge part of what we do, and this can become repetitive for the people and businesses we solicit. It can get timing on us as well, knowing the effect we are having on people. Every time we are looking for donations or support, however, different people come forward with whatever they have to offer. All of those little things add up, and that is how we are able to successfully come together and make a difference. Dog people know how bad the many situations are surrounding dog welfare, and they are willing to put in whatever they’ve got to help the cause, even if it isn’t a lot. They just get it. We know how seriously bad the conditions are for some of the world’s animals, and we come to realize that the things that are stressing us out in our own lives really aren’t that important when you measure them up. I know that the more I learn about some of the situations going on in the world with homeless, abused, etc. pets, I realize to take things a little lighter, because they really aren’t as bad as they could be.

This was the case during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There were many people who put their own lives on hold and really stepped it up to use their voice in place of the thousands of displaced dogs. They stood up to the government organizations that wanted to shut down their rescue operations, and they treated the situation as if they were rescuing humans-as they should have. They had nothing on their mind but rescuing those dogs, and I thought that it was a pretty bold and touching operation. This was a fine example of dog people being dog people. It was a pretty amazing story. Although I would not advise everyone to watch it (some of the scenes are still haunting me), it was a very amazing tale of travesty, rescue, and learning. It was also a great display of the two groups of people in the world, the group that still feels that dogs are disposable, and one that does not.

I have seen the many ways that dog people are amazing, and I hope you know that you are just that. Don’t ever think that you don’t have anything to offer, because even the littlest amount adds up into larger amounts. Don’t feel ashamed if you can only donate $5 at your shelter’s bake sale, or that you can only volunteer once or twice a year. Don’t ever feel like it’s not even worth it unless you can contribute more. Being on the other side of things, I am just as grateful for a $5 donation as I am for a $100 donation. Just the fact that you are willing to support a group shows that you genuinely care about the cause and solution. We didn’t get this far by one or two people’s large donations; it’s a group effort and will continue to be so until we reach a day where there are no more homeless pets.