Animal Rescue Work

Hope this is okay to share- I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience.

I'm a hardcore animal person, especially cats. Those who remember my pictures may remember cats are my favorite subjects.

So, for the last year I've been volunteering at a local private shelter. It has always been a little crowded, not enough money, but I really wanted to do what I could to help. I did a lot of photography for them on a volunteer basis as well. However, as the year progressed, the conditions at the shelter got worse and worse. Disease is untreated; the mortality rate is pretty high. The smallest kittens (so small they can't bathe or groom themselves) are not properly cared for.

After a lot of soul searching, I decided to report the situation to the local authority, which is animal control. And I took an extra step and reported to to PETA as well.

I am really diappointed that animal control has done nothing! They did a cursory "check" and said everythings fine. All because they are friends with the woman who runs the shelter and even send kittens for her to bottle feed. So they won't step into a bad situation.

PETA says they are concerned, but can't do much else since animal control claims all is well.

I've been having a rough time with this. Anybody else ever run into this corrupt system? People just have their own agendas (I think this is really a hoarding case) and the animals suffer for them.

PETA does not help animals. PETA believes no one should own animals at all and does not believe in pets. They would rather see them dead than "enslaved".

The above situation is why humane euthanasia is necessary AND a very good spay/neuter program in the community. Spaying and neutering pets prevents the situation where the shelters are overun by accidental litters, which, is what really does crowd them. Not breeders. Accidents

http://petakillsanimals.com

Julie thanks for that link. I agree with you about the cause of overpopulation and have never blamed reputable pet breeders for that. Sometimes a person wants a specific temperament in a pet - or in the case of a dog, wants them to do a particular job- and the breed matters. But some people who think of themselves as rescuers try to make you feel like crap if you purchased your animal from a reputable breeder rather than from a shelter.

There is so much disease in the shelter I spoke of, I would not ever adopt a kitten there or advise anyone else to do so. I would be too concerned about it's health and about the health of people and other animals in the house.

And I feel so dreadful for the cats and kittens in the situation. I don't know what other steps I can take, if animal control does not see the problem, and they are the "authority" in my county. Possibly HSUS?

The no-kill shelters are in a tough situation. They can get overrun and some kill shelters will transfer animals to the no-kills with the best of intentions. I see the overrun shelter and the animals both as victims of the system here. I wish there were a quick effective solution, but it either takes hard work and more volunteers and more money, or less animals being dumped at the shelters.

http://petakillsanimals.com really is a site you should look over if you think that PETA is the animal advocate. In my opinion, they would only get involved if they smelled some sort of scandal or publicity that would raise them a few million dollars.

Yeah, I did when Julie sent me the site. Eye opener! They have apparently attacked Iams as well as Petco and PetsMart stores in the media. What kind of "animal testing" could Iams be doing other than feeding animals different varieties of food? As for Petco and PetsMart, they have a policy of not selling cats and dogs AND they give the shelters a place to bring their animals and hopefully boost adoptions.

And some of PETA's literature for kids is truly shocking. They said they couldn't get involved in the case I was concerned about, and maybe it's for the best. Thanks, guys, for your information.

I know some members of the board are breeders as well as animal owners and lovers. Have any of you heard negative informtion about Iams or about their food, other than from PETA? I have always thought that Iams and Eukanuba were well known and trusted pet foods.

I was at our shelter today and really, it is harder on the animals as a whole when they try and keep everything. Illness is rampant in any shelter. Make it no kill and it will get really bad.

No kill sounds wonderful, but, there is a downside to it. I don't like to see animals PTS, and I try to help the best I can to get them homes. Sometimes it is just the reality.

The whole world is being told that breeders are evil and if you don't get a dog from a rescue/shelter, you too are evil. You are responsible for all the dog deaths for buying a dog

Real rescuers understand the difference in buying a well bred dog. A lot of breeders rescue too!

I'm a Director of Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue and I'm also a Rottweiler Breeder. Folks come to me asking for a puppy when what they really need is an older dog and we place our rescues with those families. We use the same criteria for placement of the rescues as we do for the placement of our puppies.

Julie's comments about PETA are dead accurate. They are a public relations engine for "freeing the enslaved" and they've hoodwinked a lot of otherwise caring people into thinking that they really care for the animals' welfare. They don't. They are a terrorist organization so lies and other forms of terrorism are their best tools.

I used to work at a no-kill shelter. You have to place those animals quickly or you become overrun and, especially here in Florida, you get disease running rampant. The governing body is Animal Control and if they're not doing their job, go to the boss -- the mayor or other head of the community. If that doesn't work, go to the press. Nothing gets politicians moving like bad publicity.

When we take a Rottie out of any shelter -- whether it's Animal Control or private -- we have to foster that dog for 60 days before we can take it to our vet for boarding. And that's all because no shelter can control things like Kennel Cough and no private boarding facility can afford to infect it's entire kennel.

All of this because there are too many animals and not enough good homes. Our pet contracts for puppies we breed requires spay and neuter at 12 months of age. We will only place spayed and neutered rescue dogs. But the real problem is with feral cats. We have a friend who rescues feral cats, inoculates them and has them spayed and neutered at her own expense. It's a tough job and I've been drafted several times for cat wrangling. But ultimately if you let intact cats roam they will reproduce. Every cat we've ever owned has been fixed and has remained an indoor cat for the rest of it's life. And they've been very happy even in a house full of dogs.

Hang around a shelter long enough and you get really down on people. All those animals deserve better than they get.

Jim

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Hang around a shelter long enough and you get really down on people. All those animals deserve better than they get.

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Unfortunately this statement holds true when it comes to wildlife rehabilitation also. When I became the first Vice President of our Wildlife center I learned quickly the same thing is true with overcrowding.

As for people, you are absolutely correct. I cannot believe that people would move to the country only to want wildlife to stay away. A sad world when we cannot life with all creatures.

“A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.” -Albert Schweitzer