Shelters

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Without a doubt, the “throw away” attitude many people have towards animals has reached epidemic proportions. More and more animals are being neglected or put to sleep in this country because of this attitude.

The HSUS has estimated that 6-8 million dogs and cats enter shelters each year. Of those, 3-4 million are put to sleep. Only about 30% of dogs and 2-5% of cats are reclaimed by their owners from shelters.

It is not just a companion animal issue – it also involves horses, cows, and other farm animals as well.

Here in Wisconsin, there are several rescues that take in horses as well as dogs and cats. Because of their size, farm animals are hard to get to a rescue, so the level of neglect many suffer is enough to turn anybody’s stomach. Most of them are just not fed anymore in the hopes that the animal will just die. It takes a long time for a horse to starve to death.

Many useful horses are sent to slaughter each year because they are no longer wanted. The little child that begged and pleaded for a horse grew up and lost interest in it. The “backyard” horse is still expensive to feed and when the price of hay goes up, more horses go to slaughter.

MEET THE ANIMALS

Mokie: Rescued from the dog pound in Duluth, MN on her way to the euthanasia room in Jan of 1993. She was 5 ½ months old. She went on to be a very loving companion dog for 13 ½ years.

Shyner: Dumped on the side of a busy highway 5 years ago. She found a new home and is more than a little spoiled.

Winchester: Belgian Draft horse sent to slaughter at 18 months old. He is now 3 years old and is the light of his person’s life. This photo taken 2 months after being in his new home.

Shadow: An 11 month old colt that had been neglected beyond belief. His story does not have a happy ending… he passed away 2 months after arriving at the rescue farm. The pictures below are of Shadow when he first arrived at the rescue.

To see Shadow's story, click on the following link http://www.pleasefeedme.org

WHAT CAN WE DO?

One thing we can all do is find a rescue or shelter in our area and donate money, food, toys, or even our time. As with any place that you want to donate money to, make sure you do your research. Talk to the director, go out and see the facility, meet the care taking staff. Though it is hard to believe, there are some “rescues” out there that are just scams.

If you go to our links page, you will find some rescues that we at Leerburg support. The page can be found at http://www.leerburg.com/links.htm. We have companion animal rescues as well as horse rescues listed.

*** Mokie, Shyner, and Winchester were all adopted by Kelly, one of the office staff here at Leerburg. She would most likely have taken in little Shadow if he had survived his ordeal... she visited him often at the farm.