Quote: tammy moore

How about
"He was scratching my hardwood floors!"

"He got hit by a car, now three legs, don't want a dog with three legs because it creeps me out!"

We had both of those excuses come through the rescue I managed. Terrible. Trim his toes- he won't scratch your floor!

And to dump a 3 legged dog because it creeps you out it horrible. Everyone here knows that though. I don't need to tell you guys that!!

Too big, cost too much to groom, I work long hours and he is always peeing on the rug, the neighbors complained about the noise, ... the list goes on.

I feel for the person that updates that FB page. I couldn't do that every day.

I think we established in another thread that I am crazy, so I don't have to pretend anymore. Our local situation:

A shelter is closing its doors at the end of the month. A call went out to rescue the remaining dogs, as they would be euthanized when the kennel shut down. One of the dogs is described as a "boxer crossed with something BIG (Great Dane?)". Her name is Myrtle, she is spayed, and just a big adolescent dog that needs to be taught how to live with humans.

Awwwwww. I want! Mind you, I have my own big adolescent 10 month old male shepherd x. But he is doing so well, and what if she would be a great playmate for him?

Anyway, our basement is 1/2 unused and I'm eyeing it for crates and indoor play area. We can't build a permanent fence yet, now we are starting to look at ideas for temporary, dog proof fencing.

It is absolutely heartbreaking to see perfectly beautiful animals abandoned and left to fend for themselves in a bureaucratic system that amounts to putting a dog in a penal colony for being homeless.

I want to foster a dog, I'm not sure when is going to be the right time, in terms of ensuring Jethro lands on his feet.

I agree, it is a crime against a species through no fault of their own.

I don't even have to look, just reading this thread makes me cry.

During my externship we had a little dog brought in who had gotten out of his yard and been attacked by another dog. He was badly wounded, but he was healing wonderfully. A few more weeks, the stitches would be out, and he'd be semi-back to normal.

But the family brought him in to put him down. They "didn't think he'd get better." There were two veterinarians there who both told them otherwise. They said no, to put him down. We did. And they didn't even stay. They paid and left.

I stood with two other techs and we all shed a few tears. One tech held him and said goodnight, to have sweet dreams little baby. He was barely a year old.

I had seen a number of euths before that day, but only this one made me question whether or not I could handle this job.

It's just not fair.

Paul thinks I should start a Rescue. He says that if it bothers me that much then I should do something about it. He doesn't understand though. For every dog you pull out, there are 5 that don't make it. How do you choose which get to live and which don't? I don't think I am strong enough for that.... those eyes will haunt me forever....

--Kel

You would be surprised how something that starts so small can get so big. And I agree Kelly about how do you choose but it could come to a point where you don't have to. The pound in the county that I live in hasn't had to euth a dog for space in 2 years. So far this year the rescue I foster for has found homes for 1,213 dogs and cats...that's roughly one animal every 7 hours and that doesn't include the ones that were adopted over the weekend. Our goal for this year was 1,500 and we didn't quite make it but we got pretty darn close! Maybe next year...

And while starting the rescue itself may be too much you could always just foster. It's great to see the difference you can make in their lives in the short time they stay with you.

How can people do this? dogs never dump us and we're alot farther from perfect then they are. This is why most people $#!+ me, shame people couldn't be euthanised like this, always makes me sad and angry and can't help but tear up!

 Quote: Juliana McCabe

You would be surprised how something that starts so small can get so big.

This is what I have been thinking about. The existing system for animal control is medieval. There is no reason it has to be that way, it just is the way it is because it hasn't been imagined to be another way. We adopted Jethro and Skipper from a no kill shelter. That is a place to start. And I have been thinking about how shelters could be made to be 'homes for dogs' so that the dogs don't suffer in the kennels and become unadoptable because they are stressed from living in penal conditions.

My interest in dog world, and perhaps making some part of my living from dog and dog owner needs, is to increase the opportunities for dog owners to participate in activities with their dogs that build bonds, encourage better handling skills, and support acceptable dog behaviours. I'm not interested in the elite of dog sport, I am interested in neighbourhood dog sport. Anyone want to play? Toward reducing the kind of thinking that has so eloquently been expressed in this thread.

What does it take to get a dogs nails clipped? Surely it shouldn't have to die for that!

 Quote: Kelly

It's just not fair.

Paul thinks I should start a Rescue. He says that if it bothers me that much then I should do something about it. He doesn't understand though. For every dog you pull out, there are 5 that don't make it. How do you choose which get to live and which don't? I don't think I am strong enough for that.... those eyes will haunt me forever....

--Kel

I want to do this to but it would be so hard. It really is a life dedication to animals. There is a local rescue where I rescued Shrek from. The woman who runs/owns it lives and breathes that rescue. She is not married, no kids, with no life! I want to do everything I can to help but I don't know about giving my entire life up and I think that may be what would happen. We would love and try to help all of these animals and loose ourselves in the process. I have tremendous respect for that woman and all she does for these animals. It is a wonderful thing to have people like her out there taking these dogs from high kill shelters and saving their lives. I (as I'm sure many here do as well) will do everything I can by fostering, lending my time, giving food and blankets to the local shelters. Hopefully one day people will wake up and see the wonderful dogs inside these shelters and not the puppy at the store.