UT OH... 'Owner Surrendered'....

Ah, those ill-fated words... "Owner surrendered"... Immediately the majority of the general public believe a dog must have been surrendered to a shelter because somehow it is defective... 

As humans, our parents taught us to always try and think the best of other folks... In rescue (and especially after many years doing rescue), most rescue folks have seen the absolute worst of the human species and generally have a hard time doing this, regardless of the teachings our parents gave us... Such is the case with the dogs that are surrendered by their owners... 

There is a stigma attached to the term 'owner surrender' that somehow infers a dog is 'damaged goods'... If that is the end of your thinking, then please allow me to share some of my experience from 30+ years...

Folks adopt or buy dogs and puppies with their eyes and not their heads... Oh, that puppy looked so cute when you first saw them... Your boyfriend and you were SO in love and while not ready to conceive a baby, you felt getting a puppy together would cement your relationship...

Now you have broken up with your boyfriend and every time you look at this now grown adult dog, you are reminded of what a putz your ex-boyfriend was... Into the trash went his photos (if not burned first), the romantic gifts he gave you, mementos of your 'firsts' created together... And the dog?... Cute as a puppy, this dog now reminds you of failure and a broken heart - off to the shelter he goes if you can't give the dog away... FAIR? No, of course not, but this is how that dog ended up in a shelter...

Our parents have somehow learned to adapt and compromise their lifestyle around their cherished pet... Dad or mom get old and pass away... While Dad would put down a pitty pad at night because dear old Spot couldn't hold his bladder through the night, you have a brand new house and aren't going to make accommodations for Spot and your carpets... Besides that, you are mourning Dad and you can't emotionally cope with a new dog in your life... Off to the shelter this dog goes...  FAIR? No, of course not, but this is how that dog ended up in a shelter...

Your friend has a dog they can no longer keep and as a friend, you agree to take the dog... Oh my goodness!  This is a great dog and she never potties in the house, doesn't bark and wouldn't it be nice to have a companion in your life?... And you will be doing a favor to your friend (relative, associate, etc.)... Used to coming and going as you like, now you have to go home after work and let the dog out or they will mess all over your house, be destructive because they are left alone too long or get into some kind of mischief... Is it their fault?... No, but now you realize you don't have the kind of commitment needed to have a dog as a pet - you'd have done better getting a guinea pig or fish... Now what?.. Everything the dog does (or doesn't do) is magnified into larger proportions until you come to the realization, "I don't have enough time for a dog"... Or?  "No wonder Becky gave you up - you are a bad dog!"  FAIR? No, of course not, but this is how that dog ended up in a shelter...

What about the owners that don't believe in spaying or neutering their pets?... Or can't afford it?... Or don't have the time to get the dog into the vets to have it done?... Or simply think they'll let the dog have one litter so the kids can experience 'the wonder of life' and then you realize what a HUGE job having a mom with 7 puppies is going to be!  You wrongly think that everyone loves puppies and they'll get adopted... Oh, how wrong you are... In California, if a puppy cannot be spayed or neutered, they cannot be adopted by a shelter or rescue and because we are always so full, most shelters cannot provide 8 weeks of care and space required for those puppies to grow and mature... FAIR? No, of course not, but this is how that dog ended up in a shelter...

People lose their jobs and/or their homes in today's economy...  Many times through circumstances not of their own making... Something has gotta go and usually the pets are the first thing.... FAIR? No, of course not, but this is how that dog ended up in a shelter...

And finally?  As much good as we have in the human species, we have as much bad... Some owners are simply neglectful of their pets and others are just plain out abusive... Officials step in and decide what is best for the animals and remove pets from these types of circumstances... FAIR? No, of course not, but this is how that dog ended up in a shelter...

Do any of these reasons mean that this is a 'bad' dog?... No, but the dog might need rehabilitation, medical care or socialization and training to become the 'Lassie of your dreams'... And if you decide against a dog to adopt because it is an owner surrender, you might want to rethink your position...  It is HIGHLY possible that you might find the true love of your life in a local rescue or shelter... Rescued dogs have an 'attitude for gratitude' not found in other dogs who have had an easy going of it in life...

So next time you hear the term 'owner surrender', please remember what you have read here today and give that dog a second chance at a decent life!

Why rescue folks do what we do...

This has been posted on CraigsList and FaceBook.  I myself have seen the barrels of the carcasses at our own county shelter here in Ventura... their paws reaching up to the sky because the barrels are too full and without a lid... I can only assume they are pushed and shoved down so a lid can be put on prior to pick-up by the truck that takes them to the rendering plant.

This is a 'hard read' but one that EVERYONE should read, whether they own a pet or not.
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The shelter manager's letter:

"I am posting this (and it is long) because I think our society needs a huge wake-up call.  As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all - a view from the inside, if you will.  Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know - that puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore.

How would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at - purebred or not!
About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

No shortage of excuses
The most common excuses I hear are:
We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat).
     Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets?
The dog got bigger than we thought it would.
     How big did you think a German Shepherd would get?
We don't have time for her.
     Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs!
She's tearing up our yard.
     How about bringing her inside, making her a part of your family?

They always tell me: We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her. We know she'll get adopted - she's a good dog. Odds are your pet won't get adopted, and how stressful do you think being in a shelter is?   Well, let me tell you. Dead pet walking!  Your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off, sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy.  If it sniffles, it dies.

Your pet will be confined to a small run / kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it.
If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers that day to take him / her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose.

If your dog is big, black or any of the "bully" breeds (pit bull, rottweiler, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed.

If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed, it may get a stay of execution, though not for long. Most pets get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment.

If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles, chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

The grim reaper
Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk - happy, wagging their tails. That is, until they get to "The Room".

Every one of them freaks out and puts on the breaks when we get to the door. It must smell like death, or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there. It's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs (depending on their size and how freaked out they are). A euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk it's leg. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood, and been deafened by the yelps and screams.

They all don't just "go to sleep" - sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.  When it all ends, your pet's corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back, with all of the other animals that were killed, waiting to be picked up like garbage.

What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know, and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal, and you can always buy another one, right?

Liberty, freedom and justice for all
I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head. I do everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists and I hate that it will always be there unless people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.
My point to all of this is DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to - the truth hurts and reality is what it is.  I just hope I maybe changed one person's mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this thing on Craigslist and it made me want to adopt".

That would make it all worth it."

Author unknown
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