Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world that could be stressed in the middle of a beautiful summer. It's really been a wonderful week - lots of adoptions, no complaints to speak of...so how could I be stressed?
D-- had gone into the shelter a few days ago and shared with me the number of adorable Mom cats that were there with their nursing babies - all marked for euthanasia the next morning. She mentioned one in particular that I couldn't get off my mind. She was wearing a red collar and had 5 beautiful kittens. There's something very upsetting to see an unwanted cat at the shelter wearing a collar. She was somebody's pet. They didn't care for her properly, she got pregnant, now they didn't want her.
Only in the summer does the visual of the shelter really plague my mind. I laid in bed a few nights ago thinking of the little Mom cats tucked into their cages for the night with their new babies suckling and warm. They didn't know there was an X on the front of their cage choosing them for death the next morning. I kept picturing the little Mom cat with the red collar. The shelter was going to kill her and her little family tomorrow and I couldn't stop it from happening.
I couldn't sleep. Midnight...1 a.m....2 a.m...I was still awake and getting angrier and angrier. I think it's wrong we get so angry at the shelter for killing these beautiful creatures. It isn't their fault. We KNOW that. But I want to blame something tangible.
By the time I woke up at 9 a.m., I knew it was all over. They euthanize the animals before the shelter is open to the public. We wouldn't want to upset the public.
Only in the Summer does it get this bad for me. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow and thinking about that little Mom cat with the red collar. I wonder if they left it on her body. Sorry for the morbid thoughts. But I needed a rant. It's not what I really wanted to say...
...What I really wanted to say was full of profanity to the people that cast out these beautiful felines with the garbage.
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4 comments:
There are several crimes here.
One is that irresponsible idiots are allowed to own pets. They don't spay/neuter, they don't keep the animals indoors and safe, and they routinely dump animals without a second thought. I say, sterilize the sub-humans.
Second is lack of political will to educate the public on responsible pet ownership. City councils everywhere have no long-term thought (city council thought - oxymoron) to create a better environment for people and animals. They're too busy with the next available photo op or sound bite.
Third, lack of political will (foresight, intelligence, call it what you will) to make the shelter no-kill. Nathan Winograd has a pretty clear plan for it; too bad city councillors don't think. Or can't read.
Perhaps in all honesty there is fault with the people who do the 'killing'. One person standing up can make a huge difference, just turn around and say NO. Have we become so insensitive? Is the easiest solution the best?
I believe there are faults here and yes, I am like Beth, preaching to the choir but I disagree with you to a point. The 'killers' at the shelter are at a fault somehow. I see many empty kennels at vet clinics, I see cats being adopted out NOT sterilized, and I see not enough news or knowledge out there on these issues. More should be done to educate people, acknowledement of the problem is the first step.
How could someone go to work everyday knowing they had to murder cute kitties. I am just at a loss for words.
I take a REAL offence to this comment. As a shelter worker who cleans and cares for these animals while in our care it makes me REALLY upset to be called a 'KILLER'. I do everyhting I can to get these cats out to safety before its too late and while we get in 40-50 cats in EVERY DAY no one has room for even half of them. It ALL comes down to IRRESPONSIBLE pet owners who cause this WHOLE problem and don't give a damn what happens to them. If stupid people would just keep their cats INSIDE and have them fixed we wouldn't see the problems we do!
I apologize I don't mean this out of offence I am just trying to offer an alternate opinion. Perhaps good to hear and perhaps not but I believe that more could and should be done. Mostly on a government side. In winnipeg its a 500$ FINE if your cat winds up in animal control unspayed or not neutered. This according to some people I know has been very successful for controlling the unwanted cats as its cheaper to fix your cat then it is to pay these fines. But I do feel that we could all do a little more, and educating people is the first step to helping this, but I really do mean I see empty places where they could be going.
I mean no offence to anyone but stupid irresponsible pet owners. Differences in opinions also keeps the world going around :)
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