Should the animal shelter system be completely changed ?
many animals are euthanized every year but it doesn't have to be that way. when most those want a pet they go to pet stores that run out of cats and dogs every week. animal shelters are difficult to contact, adopt from, and don't keep a lot of animals. some cities own only a couple small animal shelters. it might be better for the animals if animal shelters became businesses which merely sell rescued animals.
I guess from your question that you are in the US, which is different from here in the UK.
I have an idea that if they became businesses selling 'used' pets that there would consequently be a risk that pets could be stolen to order to keep up with emergency. I think they work well in the UK, although I agree that the criteria to adopt can sometimes be too stringent. I reckon why it works so in good health here is that we have a few really well known leaders - Battersea Dog's Home, The Dog's Trust, Cat's Protection - and this stimulates interest within the idea of adopting. There are also many smaller local rescue centre which can then benefit from this promoting of the need for adopters.
It other depends on the county you live in most are the same but have different financial boundaries. In our county the HATS program is a larger supporter. There are a large amount of animals that are dropped off by their owners that can not afford or just don't want their any longer, what would sustain the domestic animal population would get your pets spayed/neutered and do not get one if you are not certain you want the responsibilities of a pet. This would help the animal shelters tremendously.
Maybe with a new president, we'll have some move?
the basis so many animals are euthanized is because people dont spay or neuter - so more animals come into the shelter than check out of..
most shelters are EASY to contact- phone them or walk in... and they should be hard to adopt from - you want to weed out the jerk who wont fix the animals -
pet stores make it too easy and contribute to the problem by letting people hold any old pet even if they know nothing in the order of its care requirements - meaning that alot of people after ditch the pet because it got too big or uncontrollable..
the shelters are NOT the problem - pet stores, backyard breeders, and people who do not spay and spay are the problem.
Petcetera in Canada is one store that works with the SPCA to adopt out pets. They give somebody a lift in highly adoptable kittens and puppies and following SPCA guidlines adopts them though their stores. I really devise more stores should do this.
Some other stores do adoption days where they bring in animals from shelters to be adopted.
There are so abundant cats in my city I think it's terrible when ever I see a kitten contained by a pet shop that isn't a rescue kitten.
The SPCA here does everything to prevent euthanizing cats. they keep them as long as they can but last year they still had to put down 500 cats. granted the majority of these animals be sick, or unadoptable because of aggression issues and previous abuse that left them feral.
I totally agree with you. It is insane how it works. Sometimes its harder to adopt a pet than a child. There is definately a open market out there for these rescued animals, but I don't know how one would go about getting it implement
Answers: There need to be several components in directive to have a working animal sheltering system in your area. To put one into practice requires the cooperation of ALL rescue groups surrounded by the area along with the municipal open access shelter.
While pet stores may run out of pets and sell more quickly without screening, they are the judgment we have so many pets at the shelter. The whole conception behind rescue and sheltering is to find a good, permanent, compatible domestic. While selling may find homes faster for young attractive animals then screen adoption, it doesn't find permanent homes and doesn't find homes any faster for adult animals. Those same animals often wrap up up in the shelter system, frequently with accidental litters of their own. Proper screening results contained by more permanent homes, plus, pups and kittens go out already neutered which process that even if the match does fail, they don't take returned with a litter of young ones to place.
What works best is if an nouns has ONE municipal shelter that takes every stray and owner surrender. That shelter will probably have to execute euthanasia. Then, ideally, individual rescue groups within the area 'rescue' or 'pull' dogs from that municipal shelter. Rescue groups should NOT take owner surrenders. When no-kill shelters pilfer in owner surrenders, it frees the owner of any feelings of guilt or responsibility for their choices. Often, the reason for surrender is poor planning on the constituent of the person who got the pet. They saw that puppy at the pet store and bought it without realize they had to walk it every couple hours as a puppy to have a housebroken dog. Now, they enjoy a one year old, less desirable dog that also is not housebroken or trained. Now, someone will have to spend seriously of time training that dog. If that same person had been adopt from a rescue, they would have been told that to adopt a puppy, someone has to be domestic to walk it every couple hours. If they worked full time and that was not possible, an fully fledged dog would've been recommended. Sure, people don't like to hear that, but, conceivably it would've made them stop and think and actually plan out how they would train the puppy while working full time.
Ideally, smaller rescues with more volunteers will showcase their animals at adoption events on weekends and at Petco and Petsmart throughout the week and on weekends.
Cooperation is knob to making it work. All rescues have to commit to NEVER sending out an unneutered animal. All dogs and cats sold by local pet stores should be sold already neutered as typically irresponsible people are buying them. If someone requirements a show dog, they can go to a show breeder and buy an unneutered one with full registration.
There needs to be low cost spay/neuter smoothly available to the community. Mandatory spay should be required for any female dogs whose puppies are surrendered to a shelter.
When that model is followed, in 10 years your local shelter could be nearly no kill. The switch is that all the local groups must work together. If one bashes the other one, that is counterproductive, whether no kill shelters take owner surrenders in directly from the common public, then they actually CAUSE more owner surrenders. Many people will struggle to preserve a pet if they know the pet could be put to sleep. Give those same people an easy process out and they'll surrender the pet and get a new one when it's more convenient. Sure, the no kill shelter may downfall up rescuing exactly the same dog from the kill shelter, but, at lowest possible they didn't enable the owner to walk away from their responsibility minus any guilt. Perhaps they'll think more before getting another pet.
Animal shelters becoming businesses would be a impossible idea. Screening to prevent poor compatibility is part of what makes a shelter model successful. While selling may give the impression of being more successful at the moment, it normally doesn't result in long term nouns. Actually, pet stores no longer selling dogs has contributed to lower surrender rates in my area.
