What is Humane Treatment?

This is not an easy subject and still a bit raw personally. I feel the need to share. . .

I love that there are no-kill shelters. That is WONDERFUL!

They are full. All of the local shelters are full. What’s next for the dogs whose last stop was the local shelter and hopefully a no-kill one that is full? They are being abandoned along with their abandoned homes. It’s a difficult choice to make for their humans. An almost impossible one. So, leaving the dog behind or dropping them off in a neighborhood leaves more options for the dog, right?

Consider those options. . .starving or dehydration. Becoming ill and not having medical care. Being hit by a car. Feeling abandoned and lost without a clue of how to find food and water. Looking for a familiar face.

Those are a few of their options. Maybe someone will pick them up and bring them home. That someone may already be over their dog limit and financially strapped but feeling guilty to let this one go.

What are your options — keep your dog until you find a home or shelter that can take it. Don’t just put an ad in the local paper – ask rescues, ask friends, ask anyone. It’s better to experience a little sadness about re-homing your dog than the sickness of leaving them somewhere unsure of their future.

Ok – here’s the tough part. There are worse alternatives than humanely helping your dog go to sleep for a very long time. Most people have difficulty with death as is evidenced with our treatment of humans. It is far more humane to know the fate of your dog, than to leave it to chance or someone else.

I say this because I get a lot of calls from people who want to know if I can take their dog or help them find someone who can because they don’t want to take them to a shelter. There is a much better chance of adoption through a shelter where people are actively looking, than anywhere else. If, the choice has to be made by the already-over-filled shelter to “put your dog down” after a specific period of time, on behalf of your dog, I’d like to say there are worse things.

I hate writing this. I hate that dogs are euthanized by the thousands daily. What choice is there as long as people don’t spay or neuter their pets? That’s only part of the problem. The dogs that are being abandoned now may have been spayed and once came from a shelter. They deserve nothing less than humane treatment.

I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.