Feb
3

It Takes A Village

Share

Each year between eight and twelve million dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens end up at animal shelters around the country.

Some are lost, some are abandoned, some are unwanted, most are the result of irresponsible people.

Approximately four to six million animals are killed each year in the US alone.

Sadly, between four and six million of them must be euthanized, because there aren’t enough adoptive homes out there for them.

Ready for some more mind boggling number?…
In six years, one female dog and her offspring can the the source of 67,000 puppies.
In just seven years, one female cat and her young can produce 420,000 kittens.
In addition, there is no limit to the number of offspring male dogs and tom cats can produce.
Every single day in the United States, tens of thousands of cute little puppies and kittens are born.
Compare this to ‘just’ 11,000 little humans each day, and it’s easy to see that we’re in big trouble here.

Most of these animals end up in municipal shelters. That’s the administrative term for your regular dog pound. The one that is by law required to take in every single animal surrendered or found, no matter how full their cages and kennels…they’ll just have to make room.
How? Read Julia’s article on the gas chambers of America.

“Spay/Neuter is the cornerstone of a successful lifesaving effort,
Low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter will quickly lead to fewer animals entering the shelter system, allowing more resources to be allocated towards saving lives.”

- Nathan Winograd,Founder of the No Kill Advocacy Center
and author of "Redemption", The myth of pet-overpopulation
and the no-kill revolution in America.

A must read for anyone involved in animal welfare, no matter what country you reside in….

Here’s a task for YOU – yes YOU..

I’m asking you to contact your local animal services and shelters to gather information about low-cost/free spay/neuter locations in your area.
Be courteous, and ask how much of their annual budget is going towards programs such as

• Spay/Neuter  for low-income and senior citizens,
• TNR (Trap Neuter & Release)
• Community Education

Post your findings here or on our Facebook Page

The results will likely surprise you.
Most large shelters will not spend a dime on public outreach, other than press releases, media events and fundraisers.
Our municipal shelters have not a dime in their budget allocated towards such services.

Which leaves small 100 % volunteer-run rescue groups to do the deed.
WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY of animal lovers?
What are YOU willing to do?
Organize a spay/neuter event?
Lobby local veterinarians to honor discount vouchers or set aside one weekend a year to offer a Spay/Neuter Marathon?

freshly altered kittens in the recovery line up of a mobile spay/neuter event

Imagine the great publicity these businesses would receive!

We will soon start posting lists of rescue friendly businesses and veterinarians.
The ones who have proven to go the extra mile to save a life.
Please e-mail me your suggestions for consideration.

But I am not letting YOU off the hook just yet

Every single day, we are bombarded with desperate calls for HELP!
There’s a puppy in NC to be PTS (put to sleep) in 24 hours…PLEASE RESCUE- HELP!!!
A senior doberman pincher on death row in NY, nothing wrong with him, his owner died – he’s so sad at the shelter and his time’s almost up….PLEASE RESCUE – HELP!!!!

Soon there will be drones and drones of kittens- they all seem to magically appear on someone’s porch, in the garage, under the house.
Is there such thing as the kitten fairy??
I doubt it, because most of these cute little critters will end up in shelters and killed immediately,starve or freeze to death, die of diseases, eaten alive by fleas….yes fleas!
Other dogs and cats will be killed each Friday afternoon to make room for the weekend rush of kittens and puppies.

What are YOU willing to do this year?
Re-posting bulletins has saved some lives,

BUT – WE NEED TO DO MORE!

We want the killings to stop!
We want the dumping of animals to stop!
We want the breeding to stop!

We want the YOU to stop for a moment, and think about what you can do right now!

What can YOU do today to save animals in your community?

Start by asking questions, and be more observant.
Visit your local municipal shelter and just observe.

• How are the animals handled?
• Is staff helpful and attentive?
• Where is the shelter located in approximation to the city’s center?
• Does your city have a Citizen Humane Commission?

If yes, attend meetings!!!
If not, consider setting wheels into motion to create one.

• Is your city funding any spay/neuter events?

If not – start asking questions!
If yes – volunteer!

The killings must stop!!

There is no humanity in killing perfect animals.They either shouldn’t have been born in the first place, or they should be in loving homes.
The only reason to take an animal’s life is out of compassion to free it from physical suffering.
Killing animals to make room to kill more doesn’t make sense!

So, I’m asking you again- what are YOU willing to do TODAY to change our hideous system?

Need some inspiration?

Here’s a great video about TNR, courtesy of the Feral Cat Coalition Of Oregon

These events are actually a lot of fun to attend, and a great place to network with other rescuers. Please don’t forget to support your local feral cat networks as they all do tremendously important work. They deserve their own article, so stay tuned for more on these courageous & compassionate “kitten wranglers”.

Links:
HSUS Spay Day – find a location near you!
USA Neuter and Spay Resource Database

Join us on Facebook: Let’s Adopt! (USA)

And Don’t Forget….

February 3, 2010   //   Action Alerts, Animal Welfare, Spay/Neuter   //   7 Comments   //   Tags: animal care, animal control, euthanasia, low income resources, municipal shelters, neuter, no-kill, spay, spay voucher

7 Comments to “It Takes A Village”

• February 4, 2010 at 7:33 PM
  Arzu Adakan says:

  Counties in various states have free spay/neuter programs such as SNAP (Spay/Neuter Assistance Program) in Fulton Co., Georgia. You can also renew your tag for your car and get one of the tags that ensures the renewal fee goes directly to a free spay/neuter program. But the problem is that most people are unaware of such programs and that they can help in a small way just by selecting a license plate that supports a county spay/neuter program. They’re lazy and would rather drop off their pregnant cats and dogs at a shelter knowing that they will be killed sometimes within 24 hours.

  Reply
  • February 4, 2010 at 8:20 PM
    Misha says:

    thanks for the information about the license plate fees.
    I think that’s marvelous idea.
    People will be people, and most are unfortunately apathetic to get involved in anything.
    I grew up in Europe and as you can see with our sister network in Turkey, we frequently go to the streets and protest the government or raise awareness for a cause.
    Americans rather donate money than manpower. It gets even worse when it comes to education about animal welfare. Just by caring about animals we’re hippies, commies, you name it – I’ve heard it.
    Very sad and a very slow process to change minds.
    We’re here to tackle that via social media, and so far it seems to be working.
    Help us grow!

    Reply
• February 4, 2010 at 7:42 PM
  Arzu Adakan says:

  Kudos to Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon! TNR is the only answer to feral colonies.

  Reply
  • February 4, 2010 at 8:22 PM
    Misha says:

    Yes,Arzu! These guys do amazing work. We’ll soon do a piece on feral cats and the gracious souls spending their lives to keep them alive.
    TNR (Trap Neuter Return) IS indeed the only answer when it comes to ferals.

    Reply
• February 5, 2010 at 12:06 PM
  Arzu Adakan says:

  Misha, I grew up in Turkey and witnessed horrible atrocities myself, not just from people but also from the government, municipalities (such as poisoning all the dogs that live on the streets before tourist season in towns on the Mediterranean). I can never forget a cat in Marmaris who had been kicked by a human and constantly swayed and could hardly walk without falling down. Heartbreaking. I wish we could also have free spay/neuter campaigns in Turkey and TNR programs. (Am I dreaming?)

  Here in Atlanta there are many people like me who TNR. And unfortunately there are many who trap but take the ferals to animal control knowing well that they don’t stand a chance and will be exterminated. I met one woman at a shelter who trapped ferals actively in her neighborhood just to bring them to animal control to be killed. She was boasting that this was her 12th feral cat she had trapped (and ultimately had killed, in a gas chamber). I confronted her but she didn’t care that the poor feral she was bringing in that day would die a horrible death. She was all for feral cat euthanasia, just didn’t want to see them in her neighborhood. I honestly don’t know what to do with people like that, people who have no empathy or compassion towards animals, people who don’t think animals have as much right as we do to live on this planet. Here we are trying to save one at a time with such difficulties and there they are who keep bringing them in.

  Please, do a piece on the forgotten children, feral cats. And TNR. You guys do great research and your articles are very informative. Thank you for all you do and let me know if I can help in any way here in the South.

  Reply
  • February 5, 2010 at 12:44 PM
    Misha says:

    Arzu, I think we CAN absolutely dream big for Turkey and for the rest of the world.
    This is what we are about. We want to change the system from the bottom up.
    People who abuse animals are usually uneducated and grew up in an environment where it was OK to kick dogs, cats, slash the throat of a sheep, a boar, a deer and let it bleed to death.
    So, education is a key. When the public is educated, the laws will follow soon after. this can easily take another decade or two when it comes to all the different countries. But we need to start somewhere instead of the usual apathetic response of “oh well, that’s just how it is…poor animals…but what are you going to do…”
    You are one of the people who can and will inspire others, by volunteering your time to feed ferals and by educating others.
    I’d love to talk to you some more when we do our feral cat pieces.
    Are you part of our US network on Facebook?
    There’s a link at the end of the article.
    Please also friend Julia and I after you joined the group.
    You can find us both under the administrator section in the group.
    We’re glad you found us, Arzu.

    ~Misha

    Reply
    • October 8, 2010 at 2:20 PM
      Torsten says:

      hallo arzu,
      are you from south-turkey, alanya? I remember a little girl with two brothers (alantur)?
      cu
      torsten (kummer)

      Reply