Shelter dogs have inarguably gone through more than their fair share of suffering and despair. Whatever the reason was for their shelterization — whether because they had been rescued from a previous abusive home, taken off the streets, or given up by their previous families — they have definitely survived a hard life hoping for better days.
Getting to the shelter was difficult, but sometimes getting out is even harder. There’s a stigma associated with shelter dogs; an often wrong belief that they were given up because they were bad dogs, that they are somehow unredeemable.
Though there is a relatively recent growing interest in rescue dogs so they are getting adopted more and more by families who actually want to be a part of their lives,
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Given the nature of shelters wherein dogs from all walks of life mingle and interact with each other, it makes them more vulnerable than other places to unintentionally harboring diseases. Factor in the fact that shelters are usually overflowing with animals who are waiting to be rehomed and you’ve got yourself an ideal setting for an outbreak.
For instance, the Wisconsin Humane Society’s shelter at its Ozaukee campus recently confirmed that two of the dogs it housed has been euthanized after they had been found positive for “Strep Zoo”. The health of the dogs, an 11-year-old Pomeranian and a 1-year-old Shepard mix, kept worsening despite treatments and antibiotics.
“There is no vaccine to prevent Strep Zoo. It is believed to be spread through airborne exposure, contact with bodily fluids, and contaminated surfaces,” WHS Spokeswoman Angela Speed told Fox 6. “They were not responsive to our treatment and antibiotics and were getting
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However, it admitted that it only knew of one statewide case from roughly a decade ago, so it’s taking care to consult with infectious disease experts at the University of Wisconsin and from other programs who may have experience with Strep
Every dog is unique regardless their background, but shelter dogs are much more appreciative when given a second chance at a forever home. They have lived through good and bad times, trusted and loved people who have miserably failed them. They have endured a stay in a dirty overcrowded shelter where fear, sickness, and death permeates the air and human contact is brief and limited to cage cleanings, feedings, and the occasional visiting public. They know the feeling of being invisible to people who walk by their cages without acknowledging the barking, whining or pawing at the gate in an effort for attention. They understand that once the visitor has passed another opportunity for a good home, love and affection has also gone by. Theirs
This is a very hard and awful situation for the dog because they are domestic animals. This means that their survival skills are poor and they are almost completely helpless on their own. They are bound to die from starvation, overexposure, or get hit by a car. For the dogs that do not end up being killed, many shelters will take the dogs in, but many of them are overcrowded. The stray dogs that are brought in to local shelters can only stay for a short period of time because of the amount of dogs they are able to take in. In the end, most of the dogs end up not being bought because for every ten dogs in need of a home, only one person will be willing to. It can also cause emotional trauma for the owners when they find out all of the diseases of the dog and have to put the dog
“The reality is that all shelters, regardless of label, euthanize or send pets out to be euthanized.” All pets have the right to live even if their owner returned them. Kill shelters are not the best place to send your pets off to. Many people do feel sad about pets and other animals who get euthanized even if they are not theirs. Animals have made a big impact on many people, so why don’t people make a great impact on them too?
When most people think about Animal Control shelters, it usually negative. Animal control shelters get an unjust reputation of just being a place where unwanted, problem dogs go to be euthanized. I mean, you call the your local animal control office when you see a stray dog hanging around the neighborhood, right? They show up in a van or truck driven by a uniformed officer who carries a scary looking pole with a loop on it to catch animals. Well, there’s more to your local animal control shelter than just catching stray dogs and cats.
Imagine being a dog that couldn’t get into the shelters because there wasn’t enough room and then freezing to death. Or, imagine if you did get into the shelters, but you got put down with euthanasia. Many dogs have this happen to them. For example, “Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized,” as stated in “Shelter Intake and Surrender,” from ASPCA. This shows that there are a lot of bad things that happen to animals at shelters for many different reasons.
Other than serious behavioral problems, such as aggression, the reason most dogs wind up in shelters is because their owners find out that they have just chosen the wrong dog for the way they live. Dogs have evolved with humans over the course of thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years, and as they shared our homes and lives, they have been bred to fill specific roles.
When adopting a dog, most people worry about which type of animal they want and the price they are willing to pay. Adopting at shelters is easier because of the opportunity of hearing their story and falling in love with the animal. After finding the right soulmate, there is a process that everyone must go through. First, there is a test to make sure the animal loves its soon to be owner. Then, there is paperwork, and finally there is a home check to make sure the animal will be safe. Sadly, many shelters around the world are too lazy for a thirty minute home check, making some animal’s lives endangered. I believe all shelters need to do home checks because they will provide the reassurance that the animal will be free of abuse and will be
Animal shelters, giving hope to a weak life, giving hope to a soul not able to save themselves from torture and heartache. Thanks to animal shelters like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) over 1.4 million dogs now have a healthy place to call home. There are between three and five thousand animal shelters in the United States, with an annual intake of five to seven million animals. There are a lot of step that an animal shelter must take before putting an animal up for adoption. The actions and reactions of the animal, allergies, and overall well being and treatment to heal and protect from then on.
Most of them develop physical and psychological problems when grow up. For this reason, many puppies are abandoned within the first months from their adoption by frustrated clients. The abandonment of dogs is an endless issue. For example, despite the hundreds of associations that fight against this problem, in the United Kingdom every year 50000 pet dogs are dumped. This shameful number is added to the already high number of strays that already live in the kennels, reaching the incredible number of 102, 636 dogs.
Despite getting emotionally attached to these animals, finding homes for them is better is better than them staying at the shelter. My job at the shelter was to get the animals ready for adoption. Most of the animals were either abused or abandoned so getting them to trust people took time and effort. Knowing that around 1.5 million shelter animals get euthanized every year, I made it my personal goal to get every animal I worked with a better home. I always met that goal. A particular case is when a blue nosed pitbull walked through the door. I took care of him and personally named him Atticus. I loved that dog so much that one day I took home papers of adoption for my mom to sign. I was living in a two-bedroom apartment at the time so the situation of getting a dog was not in the picture. I was so heartbroken to know that I couldn’t take him home with me. Sooner or later a young couple took Atticus home with them and I haven’t seen him since. I was so in love with Atticus it hurt to see him go, but I knew he was going to be happy with his new family. Atticus was truly a dog I will never forget. I will never regret all the time and effort I spent on him to get him ready for his new home.
Adopting a pet from a shelter can be difficult at times and you never know what the animal had been through before they are put in the shelter. Are they potty trained? Were they abused? The process to adopting a pet from a shelter is much more difficult than just buying one from a breeder. “You have to
Animals that enter shelters are either lost pets that don’t have ID tags or microchips or stray and feral animals who have never known the love of a human.
One in ten dogs born will find a permanent home, therefore what happens to the other nine? The other nine dogs likely will end up in traditional animal shelters only to succumb to euthanization if not adopted within a week. “A traditional animal shelter must accept, or chooses to accept, any and all companion animals regardless of health, temperament or space availability, with no limits.” (AHeinz57 Pet Rescue) A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by people and that they should have the same rights as humans.
To begin with, puppies from animal shelters are healthier than pet shop puppies. About 48% of puppies from pet stores are sick ("10 Things To Know About Puppy Mills | Facts and Statistics”). Owners who adopt a puppy from a pet shelter are allowed to give the puppy back if they realize that they are sick, but they do not know that their puppy
Sometimes these reasons can be the animal is an inconvenience to care for anymore, a sudden death of the animal’s owner, or loss of a pet friendly home. A shelter is a place that takes in animals that no one wants anymore. Some shelters are no kill and some shelters are not. No kill shelters will try and help animals find a new home through an adoption. Kill shelters give a short amount of time for the owners to find their lost pets. Pets are a part of a family, they are not property. We need to prevent abandonment through awareness. Things like foster programs can help a pet temporarily until they can find a permanent home. This is cost effective and better for the animal.