The Cold Hard Facts on Pet Overpopulation

I would apologize for posting something so graphic but I hope this point gets across:

The Cold Hard Facts on Pet Overpopulation

Pet overpopulation is a big problem not only in Los Angeles, but all over the country. The simple truth is there are too many homeless dogs and not enough good homes. Having our pets altered is a solid and effective defense against overpopulation in that it places few and fewer offspring in kill-shelters. Below are a few of the grisly statistics compiled by national publications and animal rights organizations. If we are aware of the problem, perhaps we can be part of the solution.

It costs U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion each year to round up, house, kill, and dispose of homeless animals. (USA Today)

Over 56% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are killed, based on reports from over 1,055 facilities across America. (National Counsel on Pet Population Study)

An estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in shelters each year. That's one about every six and one half seconds. (The Humane Society of the United States) Millions more are abandoned, only to suffer from illness or injury before dying. (Doris Day Animal League)

In six years one unspayed female and her offspring, can reproduce 67,000 dogs (Spay USA)

Less than 3% of dog guardians are responsible for surplus births (Save Our Strays)

The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem, but the lack of education on its benefits. On average it costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed and eventually kill a homeless animal - a cost that ultimately comes out of our pocket. Low cost spay/neuter services are far below that amount. (Doris Day Animal League)

The cost of having a pregnant female can be much higher than the cost of spaying

Seven dogs & cats are born every day for each person born in the U.S. Of those, only 1 in 5 puppies and kittens say in their original home for their natural lifetime. The remaining 4 are abandoned to the streets or end up at a shelter (The Humane Society of the United States)

Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals (Spay USA)

The public acquires only 14% of its pets from shelters; 48% get their pets as strays, from friends, from animal rescuers, 38% get their pets from breeders or pet stores (The Humane Society of the United States)

Only 30% of dog guardians are aware of the pet-overpopulation problem (Massachusetts SPCA survey 1993)

In a study of relinquishment of cats and dogs in 12 U.S. animal shelters, 30% of the surrendered dogs were purebreds. The same study indicated that 55% of the surrendered dogs and 47% of the surrendered cats were unaltered. (Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science)

The Humane Society of the United States provided these statistics:

• Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year: 8–10 million (HSUS estimate)
• Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year: 4–5 million (HSUS estimate)
• Number of cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year: 3–5 million (HSUS estimate)
• Number of cats and dogs reclaimed by owners from shelters each year: Between 600,000 and 750,000—15–30% of dogs and 2–5% of cats entering shelters (HSUS estimate)
• Number of animal shelters in the United States: Between 4,000 and 6,000 (HSUS estimate)
• Percentage of dogs in shelters who are purebred: 25% (HSUS estimate)

Please alter your pets and Please do not buy a pet (dog or cat) from pet stores or breeders.

Inside View of an Animal Shelter by an Animal Shelter Manager

I saw this on Face Book and wanted to post it here, as sad as it is, because more people need to understands this message.

A shelter manager's letter:

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 on Facebook and it made me want to adopt".

That would make it all worth it.


I am posting this (and it is long) because I think our society needs a huge wake-up call.

All About Rescue Dogs

I think this pretty much sums up what a rescue dog is all about . . . please consider adopting a rescue beagle!

Don't Buy Your Beagle from a Pet Store

Know the truth about pet store puppies! If you are looking to adopt a beagle, please DO NOT consider going to a pet store. Find a Beagle Rescue Group or a Reputable Registered Breeder.

The 10 Canine Commandments

I saw this posted on a beagle rescue group and wanted to share it with you . . . click here to be taken to the beagle rescue group: Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland, Inc.

http://www.brsmbeagles.org/

Double click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Resource for Senior Dogs

I came across this organization while researching online for senior dogs: The Senior Dogs Project. They serve to bring awareness around the benefits of owing a senior dag, so they function as an advocacy group NOT as a place to adopt or foster a senior dog, but they do list this information on their Web sit.

Senior dogs have so much to offer . ..  please consider fostering or adoping one today.


Below is information from The Senior Dogs Project . . . I loved it so much I am including it here (I hope they don't mind).

Gandhi said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way that its animals are treated." You can tell even more, we believe, by the way its older animals are treated.

Some time ago, the Senior Dogs Project heard from a woman who wanted to place her 14-year-old Golden Retriever into a new home. We thought to ourselves, there must be extenuating circumstances. Not really, the woman explained; it was just that she was moving, and, in her new apartment, she would have to walk the dog rather than simply let her out into the garden as she always had. No, she herself was not old or infirm. No, it was not a question of money. She told us she couldn't take much time to talk because she was extremely busy packing. Besides, she said, she didn't think the dog would live much longer anyway.

Advancing age is a significant disadvantage in the "civilized" and "westernized" nations of the world, whether it appears in a dog or in a person. When the "youth cult" is added to the "throw-away" mentality of our society, the result is that little thought is given to preservation or conservation, and little patience is applied to making possessions or relationships last. If it's old or broken, obsolete or unattractive, it is put on the trash heap. When it comes to dogs, we see heart-breaking examples of this mentality, in many cases because people think of a dog as a disposable possession rather than a companion with whom they are in a relationship. And, of course, even if there is a relationship, if it becomes inconvenient, well, then, why not just end it?

A 14-year-old dog has a very slim chance of being adopted. We know because we tried to place the Golden whose guardian didn't want to bother walking her. Every agency we contacted told us the same story: they had a full roster of older dogs -- nine and ten years old, but even as young as five -- who had been up for adoption for a long time and who were reaching the end of their grace period.

In the world of dog rescue, it's the older and therefore "less desirable" dogs that break your heart the most. While the puppies have a fighting chance of being adopted because they are cute, cuddly and irresistible, shelters often schedule an older dog for immediate euthanizing simply on the basis of age. The reasoning is that since old dogs are the least likely to be adopted, space in the shelter is best used for the younger, more appealing dogs.

On any given day, in any given shelter, the older dogs there will be hoping to have someone take them to a new home before their time runs out. The good news is that there are some excellent reasons to adopt an older dog. By focusing on the many fine attributes of older dogs, the Senior Dogs Project hopes to encourage and facilitate their adoption. We hope to do this by providing information on rescuing and adopting older dogs, and by publishing photos and stories by and about people who are just crazy about their older dogs -- whether the dogs were adopted when older or have been companions since puppyhood.

Caring for a dog is a major responsibility. From puppyhood through old age, both time and effort are required to learn and conscientiously practice the basics of good dog care. In addition, there are continuing advances in veterinary medicine that are making possible the good health of our dogs well into their senior years. Thus, the third major focus of the Senior Dogs Project is to make available useful, up-to-date information about caring for older dogs.

To summarize, the Senior Dogs Project: (1) promotes the adoption of older dogs; (2) provides current information on the special care that older dogs need so that they and their human companions may fully enjoy their golden years; and (3) documents the strong, loving bonds that people have with their older dogs.

A throw-away society is no place for the loyal and wonderful canine species. But we believe that society can be changed by opportunities to demonstrate compassion. A dog can bring out the best in people; a dog unwanted because of age reaches to the very depths of human kindness and compassion. We believe that the more examples there are of compassion around us -- whether toward our outcast dogs or fellow-humans -- the better will be humanity's chances for peaceful survival.

 http://www.srdogs.com

Beagle need help finding her home or a new foster family! Salisbury, NC

Lost Beagle (Shelter ID Number 52475)  from Cleveland, NC - 4 to 6 year old female - needs to find owner (or foster family or be adopted). She is scheduled to be put down on the 16th of January. Currently with the Rowan County Animal Shelter in Salisbury, NC. Thank you!

LAST DAY for this Female Adult Beagle is 01/16/2013 – 52475 the the ID number given to her from the shelter.

52475 – This adult female beagle was brought in to the Rown County Shelter, Salisbury NC, from the Cleveland area. She is a very sweet, small older girl about 4 – 6 years, talkative girl -- She is a happy girl who gets along well with other dogs and is great with people! She would love to find her previous owner or her new forever home.

For more information please contact RCAS at 704-216-7768

Rowan County Animal Shelter
1465 Julian Rd. Salisbury NC 28146
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-4:30pm and Sat 8am-11:30am
…
The shelter website:
www.rowancountync.gov/GOVERNMENT/Departments/AnimalShelter.aspx

Beagle Adoption Advice

I love beagles, they are my breed of choice BUT they are not for everyone . . . so if you are thinking about adopting a beagle here are a few insights to keep in mind.

• Beagles love to bark and howl, so if you live in an apartment they may not be the best breed suited for you.
• Beagles love to sniff, so when they "catch a sent" they want to follow, they are gone .  .  . so, having an escape proof fenced in yard is  a great way to avoid heartbreak. I see so many lost or missing beagles and it's heartbreaking. They either escape from the backyard or slip their collar. Which brings me to my next tip.
• Instead of using a collar, use a solid vest - and I'm not talking about a vest with straps. I'm talking about a "solid" NOT flimsy vest (see photo below). 
• Even thought the breed is considered a medium-sized dog, they still require lots of exercise. So be prepared to take them for long walks, even if you have an escape proof fenced in yard.
• And let's forget to love 'em and hug 'em as often as possible!

Use Pet Finders to Adopt a Beagle

If you are thinking about adopting a beagle, I would like to suggest you use the Pet Finder Web site. Click here and you will be taken to the site. Additional information about beagles is also available from this link . . . this site is very easy to use and many rescue groups use it to post the beagles that are available for adoption.

Thank you! I wish you and your new beagle a wonderful life!

Help Save a Beagle from Laboratory Research

The Beagle Freedom Project has huge ambitions for 2013. We are expanding our operations across the country and internationally. 

To succeed though we need your support. Please expand our impact.  Support the BFP at www.beaglefreedomproject.org

 
This beagle was saved, but there are still 70,000 others just like him in labs across the country that need help! 

Support the BFP www.beaglefreedomproject.org 

Please make it your new year's resolution to double our exposure and impact.Tell your friend and family about BFP!


Help save a beagle from a life of research! Please consider fostering, adopting, or donating to the wonderful cause!

 

Beagle Friendship

When you adopt a beagle or foster one, this is your reward . . . friendship and unconditional love.

New Year Resolution 2013

Looking for a GREAT New Year's Resolution . . . how about saving an animal in 2013 by fostering a rescue, adopting a rescue pet, and/or donating to a rescue! Thank you and God Bless!

The Blessing You Receive When Adopting a Rescue Beagle

Britt Needs a Foster Home

I'm re-posting the below from Face Book! Britt looks so much like Lucky when we first got her . . . and Lucky was a wonderful dog. Please help Britt! Contact Judy directly if you can. Thank you and God Bless!

There are those - you know the people we mean - who think that dogs should be chained outside, don't feel cold, fear, loneliness... Those are the people who have never looked upon shelter photos of an abandoned animal. 

Meet Britt. She came to the shelter as a stray. She's about 2 years old. She is very worried about her fate in the shelter. Can you tell? 

If you are willing to foster her, we can pull her and give her a new lease in life. She is just aching for kindness. Contact judy@beaglemaryland.org. 

And please SHARE her! The more people who see her, the more likely she is to walk out of the shelter.