kill shelter/no kill shelter

quite often I am asked how we can be a no kill shelter.

they start to state the fact that there are so many out there and that life in a shelter for long periods of time is not humane...

I bet you money if the dogs and cats could talk, and if you asked them if they would rather live in the shelter or go back out on the streets, or be put down; each and everyone would choose shelter life. Our animals are happy and content. Granted, I bet also if they could talk and given the choice of life in the shelter or a life with a loving family providing a safe place to live, inneraction with people and plenty of play time in a large yard, they would choose life with a family rather than the shelter. Unfortunatey, we don't have lots of people banging down the doors ready to offer up a life with a family wanting to give a dog or a cat a home. So, until they do, we will continue to provide them the safe, loving sanctuary of life in a shelter.

on the other hand, if you peel back the layers of the onion, when we are full (as we are right now), when someone comes to us needing assistance with an animal they have found or the animal has found them, or they know of an animal being abused by a neighbor, when we are full, if we can't get them to step up and hold the animal in foster until we can make an opening - we have to turn them away. (how's that for a run on sentence)

when we turn them away, the other option is the other no kill shelter or the local kill shelter. if the other no kill shelter can't assist, and the person can't help for the short time, then they usually go to the kill shelter. so, under those layers of the onion, I am sending a number of animals to that unfortunate demise.

what is the answer to this issue? the ONLY answer I know of is for society to open their eyes and see the issue for what it is. for society to help these creatures of God who don't ask to be here, they don't ask to be shunned, kicked, abused and starved. they don't ask to be put down when there is no room at the inn, they don't ask to live months, years in a shelter. they only ask for a family to love them and protect them, to get them spayed and neutered so that there are not more animals needing rescue. we have plenty out there, there is no need to make more. we won't run out.

posted by Elizabeth @ 9:29 AM