The truth about most dogs lives.

[Knock Kneed Hen]

The shelters try to make sure that when you adopt a dog that it will not come back. Too many problem dogs (which are really just dogs that no one has taken the time and trouble to train) are returned to the shelters. If they are returned too many times, even if they are young, purebred, sweet, etc...they will be destroyed. Working at a shelter is not easy. I have a good friend that works at a county shelter. She cries on her way home each day. So why does she work there? Because she does care about animals. She can make a difference in their lives by providing them with a clean environment and she can lovingly stroke them as they take their last breaths. It's not a job that I could do, but I'm glad that there are people out there that can. Most shelters strive to get animals into good homes. Yes, there are always going to be people out there that like the control and be jerks, but in my experience it's not been the norm. I have adopted many dogs from shelters and now help run a rescue. I think many of the people working at shelters have developed a hard shell because they've seen it all and have heard it all. You come in excited about adopting a pet but unfortunately the person just ahead of you just dropped off a box of puppies so severe with mange and dehydrated that the worker knows their fate already.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I'm still ticked off that I had already called the shelter and told them we were coming from OK to adopt a specific dog, even gave the kennel ID number for him.

We get there and they've taken him to the back. The vet was actually on the way out to euthanize him. WHY?! I had just adopted him? SOMEONE didn't do their homework. I am so glad we got there in time.

 

[Oven Ready]

I wondered initially about the topic title 'The truth about most dogs lives'.

It was the 'most' bit that I wondered might not be quite right, especially after reading the responses here, so I had a look on the internet to get some stats.

It is suggested that between 6-8 million dogs & cats are 'enroled' in shelters each year. Humane Society Shelter Stats
The number of dogs in the USA is about 77 million and cats a bit more at 93 million Humane Society Ownership Stats

Notice that the ownership stats suggest that 19% of dogs owned are from shelters and that 50% of shelter 'enrolees' are destroyed. That means 50% are not.

Perhaps the OP could change the topic title to 'One shelter managers view of the lives of about 5% (or 2.5% if you don't count those not destroyed) of the dogs in the USA'

I'm guessing the other 95% are well looked after in homes by people who care for them, sorta like everyone on this forum with a dog (shelter sourced or not).

 

[arabianequine]

You can register dogs with AKC and limit the registration for breeding purposes that way they are still AKC registered.

 

[Lorije1]

Quote:
I think they were 'ranting' because their job wouldn't exist if people took a little responsibility. There is a very sad point to the job - if they don't do it with kindness, maybe the next person will be cruel (like the time here our whole animal control was brought on charges of drowning animals instead of euthanizing).

I must say - 5 years at a vet and I never saw the trauma described by needles ripping out.... but that is not the point of the post... the point is why should an innocent healthy animal die to pay the price of an "intelligent life" human disregarding the value of any life.

 

[isadream]

Quote:
Totally agree. Me too. There is a whole big big area between "large adult aggressive/unknown dog" and having to buy a registered pug puppy, *specifically*.

Actually I have never seen a pug in our animal shelter here or nor have I heard of one

Then perhaps you need to pay more attention:

According to www.petfinder.com,
http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search...pug&location=huntsville+AL&startsearch=Search
there are currently FIVE pug or pugX dogs in shelters/rescues in Huntsville Alabama, and a bunch more within a few hours' driving distance. Now I will certainly agree that none of the Huntsville "pug or pugX" listings look to be both purebred AND puppy-or-young, and of course one would have to find out what their individual temperaments are like, but this is just the listings AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. Furthermore, things like pug puppies adopt out *real fast*, and many will never even get *listed* on petfinder. See onthespot's post for an example.

You can find all sorts of purebreds (or heavy dose of the breed you're looking for, and with the right temperament) out there looking for homes. The problem comes when people make the same assumption you're making, and quit LOOKING. (And get stuck on it has to look *exactly* like <favorite breed>, rather than just "having the important good qualities but maybe also some other compatible blood in there too"

Unfortunately most pound dogs in my area are pit, chow or lab mixes and most are older puppies to adults.

Shelters and rescues are two very different things. You might want to investigate the latter. Some are run by wingnuts (as with anything in life) but many are fine to work with. You just have to be patient.

I have known too many ppl who adopt a dog who is great in the shelter (because the dog is scared and not showing its true personality) only to take it home and a month later when the dog settles in there is a problem.

Yeah, but a lot of that happens when people buy *puppies*, too. So, I'm not clear that there's a big difference. It's an animal. It's not entirely predictable. You do due diligence to weed out temperamentally-unsuitable individuals as much as possible (hard to do with puppies btw, as puppy temperament-testing is not super reliable at telling their *adult* temperament), and then you deal with what you get.

Also you say there is no way to hatch a pullets with out roos--actually there probably is a way but it would cost a fortune

AFAIK there literally ISN'T. Fifty percent (ish) of the embryos conceived are male. That's just the way it IS.

--however, don't you think you should purchase the roos that hatch with those hens to keep them from being killed? That is what you are suggesting I do--go out and adopt a shelter dog instead of buying what I want.

Eh?? I do not know whether you have seen my posts elsewhere on BYC but indeed I DO advocate against buying sexed chicks, unless a person lives in the city or etc where you are only legally allowed to have a few chickens and so they'd better all be 'keepers'. I DO think that people should be buying straight run, and then eating the roos when they are old enough, rather than buying supermarket chicken meat.

By purchasing only pullets you are indulging in your taste and whims and as a result little rooster chicks died.

There is no possible way to get pullet chicks without also producing rooster chicks.

Whereas it *is* very very possible to get a good solid family dog (of whatever size) without buying from a breeder and without thereby causing the euthanasia of an existing, equally-good dog.

I am not "calling you a dog-killer", I am simply pointing out the simple FACT that many good dogs are being euthanized for no reason other than lack of homes (obviously many dogs being euthanized are *not* good family dogs, but those are not the ones I'm talking about), and that buying a dog from a breeder causes one of those good adoptable dogs to be killed. I just do not see that denying the simple mechanics of the situation is useful. But people can certainly DO as they wish, it's a free country.

Pat​

I went over the list you pulled from Petfinders. Personally I did not see a single dog that I would be interested in bringing home as a companion for my daughter. Most of those were mixed up with god only knows and at least one to me looked like it could have pit in it. The ones that looked to be pure were senior and/or blind. Not exactly a good companion/playmate for a young child. As far as testing the temperment it takes a while to get to know the dogs true nature. Trying to determine the true nature in a shelter situation is almost impossible. It can take a month or longer after being adopted for the dog to show its true colors. You can have it home and it be fine for the first couple of weeks then the "real" personality can appear. I would hate to have to take the dog back after my daughter was attached because it started acting aggressive.

I know temperment is not guaranteed but I stand a much better chance of getting what I want by researching a breed and seeing the parents and then raising the pup MYSELF then taking a chance on a dog with unknown heritage, with unknown parents and being raised by someone I do not know.

Actually I am sure there is a way to produce only sexed hens. You would have to select the sperm that is only female and AI the hens with that. It can be done with other sperm so I do not see why it would not be possible. Not practical but possible.

No I do not read your other posts so I did not know what you advocate. The problem with dogs is that it is not politically correct to eat the ones we do not want like you eat the chickens you do not want. Some of those animals you eat could be great pets but since they are chickens it is ok for you to eat them. Eating/killing the chickens you do not want to keep is not much different then taking a dog to the shelter. The difference is you are eating it and you are actually the one killing it. So now we have to ask would you rather someone did not want a dog to kill it themselves instead of dumping it at the shelter? At least they would be being responsible for the animal instead of dumping it at the shelter when they did not want it.

As far as being patient---how long should I wait? 2 years 3 years? Besides it really doesnt matter anyway because if I did not have the option to buy what I wanted I would not have gone to the shelter and adopted a dog that I really did not want JUST so I could say I did the "correct" thing and adopted a shelter dog.​

 

[noahsgeese]

After reading that I don't think that I could ever send my dog to a shelter!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Yes I know -- as I *said*, this is only what happens to be listed at this moment in time. Point is, however, there are a reasonable number of pug types and mixes there *right now*, and turnover is generally reasonably high, and I cannot see ANY reason to believe that a person who was reasonably patient and diligent could not find a good pug-type dog"previously owned" in your area.

And I will say again, the purebreds and "good unspoiled ones" and puppies go like hotcakes, many do not even make it to Petfinder. There ARE a bunch of them out there.

almost impossible. It can take a month or longer after being adopted for the dog to show its true colors. You can have it home and it be fine for the first couple of weeks then the "real" personality can appear. I would hate to have to take the dog back after my daughter was attached because it started acting aggressive.

How's that different from puppies? Obviously there is a lower overall rate of aggression in dogs you raise from a puppy, just because you can make sure they are socialized/trained correctly, but a significant amount of temperament is inborn and will come out no matter how you handle the dog. Puppy temperament testing is not real reliable. So no matter how you slice it, there is a considerable amount of unknown in the equation.

No I do not read your other posts so I did not know what you advocate.

Of course not, that is why I am *telling* you, so you can stop arguing that I'm being inconsistent

Not going to argue this any longer, I am not trying to convince you of anything, just make the reality-based nature of my position clear and hopefully get some OTHER readers of this thread thinking,

Pat​

 

[Lorije1]

Adopted from our county pound September '09, approximately 2yrs old. Worships every step my dad takes, defends the yard, plays with cats and LOVES kids. Pick a breed, any breed... he's like Ragu "It's in there!"

 

[savingdogs]

While I'm on Pat side of this issue, I do feel that there should be responsible breeding. People have specific needs and some of them are whims, some are not. Not everyone is suited to rehabilitate a shelter dog. While I am a tried-and-true rescue person to the marrow of my bones, I have known fantastic and wonderful people raising and showing dogs, for the betterment of their breed and being responsible 100 percent for every dog they produce. Also in the case of people producing dogs for themselves or a select group of dogs they are responsible for, I don't have any issue with that either or feel this takes the place of a shelter dog getting adopted necessarily. In some of those cases perhaps one COULD if someone had more patience. But people are not like that and we can't change human nature. All us dog rescue types are not painted with the same brush. Some people will not love that five-year-old fat pug and will have to get a puppy. They just don't have a big enough heart for it. To each his own. Those of you with the heart for it, please try! But I myself have pedigreed dogs along with the mongrels and want to acquire a dog specially bred to guard my goats, even though I've fostered and rescued almost 350 dogs.

We CAN encourage people to make good choices when they adopt and be responsible for their pets for their entire lives. We SHOULD encourage more people to adopt from shelters when they can and when it works well for them. Those are the important points.

While I've never worked at a shelter myself, as a foster mom to dogs, I know that it takes sometimes several hundred dollars to prep a dog for adoption, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. The expenses add up quicker than you might think. Might be why the shelters/rescues charge so much. If you add up all the services recieved by shelter dogs, it often adds up to close to what they are getting for their adoption fee. If those adoption fees sound a little expensive, then perhaps a dog isn't in YOUR budget because that is what is costs to care for them. And the poster above me who mentioned what it is like to be a shelter worker is correct as well, I know someone like that too, and while they are very special and loving they can also come off really tough. She has to be, to do that job.

We personally have requirements for folks adopting our fosters. I'm sure this sounds picky to some folks, but since we put in the effort to save them we feel it gives us the right to choose what we feel they need. This is the way rescues work, because people would not volunteer if they did not feel that the animals were going to homes they approve of. Since many of the dogs we recieve are given up because of financial issues, one of the things we watch for is financial stability and ability to care for the animal financially and willingness to spend money on it. Sometimes rich people won't even fix a dog after they have run over it with a car themselves.....you would be surprised at how different folks have different priorities....how is a person to judge? So a red flag to rescues and shelters are people who make a big fuss about the adoption fee. It is a sign they don't have money or won't spend money on their dog. After you have put in a great effort to save its life, you don't want someone to put it down because something was going to cost too much. Working for a vet, I know this happens all the time, at least daily where I work. Thank goodness rescues can usually pick up the pieces for these animals, at least where I am.
My two cents turned into a couple dollars, sorry!