|
Pet Heaven: Shelter Stories!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some Stories On Shelters! Good & Bad!
|
Here at Pet Heaven we really appreciate getting email like this:
Thank you so much for the "Open Letter To Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner. I have been rescuing animals since I got my first job at the age of 16, much to the chagrin of my parents. I have had a bad run of people and experiences in the past few weeks and your letter was a high point. I wish we did not have to do the jobs we do, but knowing that others are out there dealing with the same stupidity I am makes it easier to face another day Again, thank you for your creative and sarcastic spin on the truth. It was a much needed boost for this tired rescuing soul. Keep up the fight and the day just may come when we are both out of jobs, and what a beautiful day that will be.
Denise Short
Director, PAWS of Hillsborough County
**************************************************
The General Maliase That Surrounds Shelters!
Okay, I need to clear something up here. I need to address uneducated opinions, inexperienced remarks, and the general maliase that surrounds these places.
I was an SPCA worker, here in Vernon, BC. So I will speak from my experiences applying to my own shelter only.
The day to day routine and life of an SPCA worker is dirty (not just literally) long, arduous, painful, and stressful.
We deal with rude, irate, ignorant, and cruel people on a day to day basis.
We deal with dilapidated kennels, worsening conditions of the work place, and and people who run the shelter who have never set foot inside the buildings for more thana few minutes-telling us how to do our jobs!
We deal with broken lacerated bodies, blood, puss, parasites, vomit, feces, and death...everyday.
We deal with violence, agression, abuse, cruelty, and wild animals...everyday.
And on top of all this we are expected to carry out the daily routines of chores within a deadline, seizures of entire farms of animals, vet trips, birthing, finding room for huge litters of pups and kittens where there is none, hauling body bags full of limp life that we were just talking to or feeding the other day, over capacity to the point of dogs in the cat kennels....and then we are reviled for neglecting and not paying attention to the animals when truly we have been left no time to do so. It does not mean that we are not thinking of them, wishing we could, wanting to, needing to....
I am sorry, that may be the case for some shelters, but not all, and it has very little to do with the workers...it has to do with A) the Board of Directors, or B)The government who privatized that specific shelter. They are the people that need to be taken by the shoulders and shook, written letters, and cursed.
They are the people that expect us SPCA workers to carry the weight of an entire shelter, and the plight of all surrounding life that will inevitably pass through the shelter, on our shoulders.....for pennies, and little thanks or recognition. Which we could get from the animals themselves, but have little time to interact wiht them.
We are reviled because we are the ones that must tie the dogs up, give them a sedation while we cry tears, or silently and miserably go about our task as quickly as possible, and drive them to the vet. All the while glancing in the rearview mirror at their trusting faces, some excited for the ride, some wary, some very unhappy; questioning why this must be, but knowing all the while.
Or listening to them bark or howl their fear from the back of the van for the duration of what feels like the longest drive ever-every time!
We are the ones that have to hold the animal while the vet finds its pulse, a vein, and slides the needle in....and WE are the ones that have to hold the body in our arms as the life slowly drains from it, and the being slowly fades from their eyes. And then WE are the ones that must pack their grabage bag wrapped bodies back in the van they just minutes ago jumped vibrantly from, or stumpled stupifylingly of.
WE are the ones that endure the pain and the heartache that civilians who have never worked in an SPCA shelter can never understand but always have an opinion or biting remark about. And we are the ones that, while despising and loathng euthanasia....know that it is absolutely necessary to the working life of a good CLEAN shelter.
Without euthanasia, diseases, and irrepairable illnesses would sweep through a shelter in a matter of days, and then hundreds of animals would have to be put down as a pose to the five. Before accusing shelters of being prisons, and cruel, and killers...you should know that there are guidelines we follow for the selection of animals that must be euthed.
In this order...
#1) The hopelessy ill, the dying, contagious, or paralysed (unless we find a home or foster home first).
#2) The feral, violent, dangerous, aggressive, or fear biters. Not animals that are not truly feral either. Some animals are thought to be feral because they are violent under stress, or because they are not able to deal with being in an enclosure (which is often the case). But I myself have rehabilitated one kitten, a mother and five kittens, and an adult cat that were thought to be feral, but were indeed not. We rarely, if ever, recieve feral dogs.
#3)The old-We do try to find homes, or foster homes, for them first, but not many people are looking for 10 - 20 yr old animals, or want to put up with the extra care an old animals needs, even for only a short time.
#4)The last choice is when we are over shelter capacity. And believe me we have stuffed dogs, cats, rats, mice, hamsters, bunnies, baby ducks, injured wild birds, domestic birds, hedgehogs, snakes, horses, cattle, chickens, donkeys, fish, pigs, .....and many more in as many places as possible before resigning to the necessity. We donot euth farm animals that have been seized as that is usually a story of neglect and a court case ensues.
When overcapacitation happens, try to imagine what its like for a person who works there for love of the animals....having to walk down rows of kennels to try and select who must be euthed to make room. We will pick out the tiniest problem, grasp at the last straw to pick the animals most likely, to give the healthiest, and longest lived a chance, but it doesn't always work that way.
Did you know that we play with the animals on our breaks on days when we're not too exhausted or jaded to? Or if a dog must absolutely be walked because it will not go in the kennel due to training, someone will walk that dog whenever it indicates it must go to the bathroom. Or that an animal may stay as long as possible in the shelter to be adopted as long as it deos not become irrepairably ill? And when they do become ill, depending on the severity, and the illness (we often medicate cats for upper respiratory because they can recover well from it) we take them to our affiliate vet, have them checked, and then treated-WE medicate in hopes they will recover, before the decision to euthanize them is ever made.
There is so much myth and misunderstanding surrounding shelters. My favorite one is that the workers are very well paid, lol! That's funny!
I would like you all to take the time to mull this over before you cast aside the shelter workers as people who kill animals, or neglect animals, or whatever it is people think of them these days. Instead, educate yourselves, visit a shelter, volunteer, there are dog walking programs, and keep an open mind. Because they are just doing their jobs, trying to get through the day, hoping against hope that something rewarding, something to give them a reason to keep hoping.....something to keep getting up in the morning for, to go to this place of sadness, and pain...will show itself that day, and give them a reason to come back tomorrow and keep fighting the good fight.
Sincerely,
Mandarin Funke
7/13/02
The following is difficult to read. If you can and can help, please take a moment to write. Letters coming in from different parts of the country may well get their attention. Also, PLEASE cross-post to other groups. Thank you, Shane
I lived in Bloomington for many years. Two years ago I moved to Madison Indiana. The animals at the shelter where I volunteer are not euthanized in accordance with the American Humane Association guidelines. Cats are loaded into a small nitrous oxide box with no sedation, where they fight and convulse until they die. Dogs are put in large numbers into a homemade CO2 chamber with no sedation. The animals are not appropriately checked for death and live animals have been found in the freezer. Please help. Please write Julie Berry, Councilperson, Madison Courthouse, Madison, Indiana, 47250. It is hard to get support in this community and the animals need you. Thank you so much. Suzanne Merriman
_________________
Save A Life. Adopt a shelter pet.
www.sisaveapet.com
****************************************************
Posted by RottieGirl on July 10, 2002 at 12:01:32:
Being 'new' to South Carolina I went online to find out where shelters are located. I found one relatively near-by and went there.
This place was FILTHY. The people there were rude and clueless. I was actually told by someone there are you sure you don't want a little puppy? We put them to sleep first! I had to argue w/ them to give me the dog I wanted. They had no history on her, had no idea when she came in or where she came from, how old she was, if she was spayed. They claimed to have given her shots.
I ended up with sick (kennel cough and mange) 7 month old unspayed labX. I called them and informed them that she had kennel cough and that most likely the other dogs in their shelter had it too. They told me, well that's not our problem.
From this experience I would never go into THIS shelter ever again. It's not going to stop me from going to a shelter in the future. If I wasn't an 'experienced' shelter dog person I might think this is how ALL shelters are. I was truly sickened by this experience.
You can't blame John Q. Public for thinking like this when so many shelters are like that. Instead of balking at these people, perhaps we should educate them that all shelters are not created equal.
****************************************************
Posted by Patti on July 10, 2002 at 16:48:33:
Jerry - we have 4 dogs from shelters
and our local humane society is one of the best in the country. They conduct an extensive screening prior to anyone adopting an animal. Both staff and volunteers spend extra time getting to know the animals up for adoption in hopes of placing the right companion animal to the right people. When I worked in that part of the shelter, there were times that I actually told the family that because of their life-styles, it would be better if they considered a kitty or little critter instead of a dog. Sometimes they weren't real happy but I just tried to explain there would have been no one home to let the dog out, train it, or spend quality time with it - sometimes they were not very nice, but most of the time, they understood and either reconsidered getting a dog at that time or did adopt something else. There are many good shelters throughout the country. I hope you get lots of good stories. Our lives changes after the adoption of a kitty six years ago - I mean it REALLY changed.
(This sounds like a shelter that is run right! You didn't let us know where the shelter was though.
Jerry)
****************************************************
West Nile Virus!
Symptoms of West Nile virus include fever, headache, and body aches, occasionally with skin rash and swollen lymph glands, stiff neck, disorientation and muscle weakness. Symptoms usually appear 3 to 15 days after infection. More severe infection may be marked by headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, paralysis, and, rarely, death. Persons over 50 years of age and people with compromised immune systems have a higher risk of severe disease. In rare cases the disease can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and may prove fatal. If you have any of the above symptoms, contact your health care provider.
West Nile encephalitis is diagnosed through blood testing. No human vaccine has been approved, but several companies are working towards developing a vaccine. Most infections are mild, and most people who get infected with WNV don't show symptoms. The disease infects birds and is spread through mosquitoes. A diseased bird cannot infect humans - the only way to get it is through a mosquito bite. The chance of becoming severely ill from a single mosquito bite is extremely small.
Prevention is paramount in reducing the risk of exposure. Health officials urge people to reduce their chance of exposure by taking preventive steps, such as:
Eliminate standing water sites where mosquitoes can breed by removing tires, buckets, and other water-holding objects from their property.
Change the water and clean birdbaths at least once a week.
Clean and chlorinate swimming pools or drain and cover if not in use; to prevent water from accumulating in pool covers.
Unclog gutters and down spouts.
Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and socks.
Use insect repellents (follow product instructions carefully).
Make sure screens fit tightly in doors and windows.
|
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At present, Pet Heaven has no way of varifying contents of information submitted to us. Pet Heaven neither confirms nor denies the validity of imformation posted here, and would be glad to post any replies/proof that disputes the contents of postings on this page! .
|
|
