The job of a shelter manager?

To excuse our (collective) own failures with statements like "animals are not little people" is a cop out

 
It's not a cop out.  I just am hearing way too much where folks care more about the well being of animals then their fellow humans and there has been just too much going around ripping breeders to shreds.  I read probably 20 messages today about all breeders being evil and greedy on some e-mail lists and I have just had it.
 
 

ORIGINAL: sillysally


Sorry, but I couldn't just let this go...and just so you know where I am coming from, I have one rescue dog and one dog from a breeder and I have a real dislike for groups like PETA.  I have no agenda here.

However-I really take issue with the whole "these are not people" attitude.  The fact that dogs are animals does not make humans any less responsible for their well being nor does it mean that it is therefore OK to dump, over breed, badly breed, mistreat, mishandle,or misuse them.

If you are a breeder, it is your responsibility to make sure that your breeding animals are as healthy, fit, and as sound in body and mind as possible before you breed them, it is your responsibility to make sure that your dogs have proper care before they go into their new homes,and it is your responsibility to place the lives YOU create into good homes, PERIOD.

If you are an owner, it is you responsibility to provide health care, training, stimuation, proper confinment, food, and water PERIOD.

No animals are not people--they are beings that are completely at our mercy and they depend on us to give them the care they need and to do right by them. 

To excuse our (collective) own failures with statements like "animals are not little people" is a cop out and does nothing to advance or improve the lives of animals or humans.  One does not have to be human to experience terror, pain, and abandonment.

Thank you for writing this...I agree completely.  In my own opinion, all living creatures deserve a certain amount of respect from humans.

ORIGINAL: timsdat

To excuse our (collective) own failures with statements like "animals are not little people" is a cop out

It's not a cop out.  I just am hearing way too much where folks care more about the well being of animals then their fellow humans and there has been just too much going around ripping breeders to shreds.  I read probably 20 messages today about all breeders being evil and greedy on some e-mail lists and I have just had it.

It appears that you are assuming quite a bit about a large group of people there.  I think that the *vast* majority of animal lovers care for the well being of humans and animals alike.  In the US *huge* amounts of money are given to charities that help our fellow humans (actually I think that there was one study that said that Americans were top givers per capita to charitable causes) and there are also lots and lots and lots of tax dollars that are devoted to various social programs for those in need.  People can speak up when they need help.  Animals cannot, and therefore someone has to.

I can tell you right now that I could not do what shelter workers do.  The majority of them are angels.  I could not see dogs put down in a high kill day after day, and then go up front and fill out the paperwork for someone turning in their perfectly healthy one year old chocolate lab that they cherished as a pup but now "do not have time for."

There was one dog turned into our local shelter that had been adopted from that shelter not 3 months before, but the owner had "found a better dog at another shelter," so had brought him back.

Animals like this deserve someone to speak up for them, even if they are "only" animals.

My philosophy, whether we are talking dog or horse breeders (my two main areas of interest) is simple--you breed the BEST with the BEST and hope for the best.  IMHO, there is nothing wrong with being critical of breeders.  There are a number of good breeders out there, but there are many, many, many bad ones as well.  Bad breeders are a particularly sticky issue with me because the two breeds I own (pit bull and lab) are two breeds that bad breeding has really taken a toll on. 

Yes, I am going to look carefully at anyone who claims that they are a lab or pit bull "breeder," and that is what lovers of the breeds SHOULD be doing if they want their breeds to survive.  Dog lovers who do not take very hard, honest looks at breeders and their programs do far more damage to their breeds than shelter workers sending out "Don't breed or buy" emails.

I do realize that dogs are dogs and horses are horses and people are people.  However, we went and domesticated animals and selectively bred them to suit our needs, and we owe it to them to be good stewards of their needs and best interests.  To do otherwise is to have failed at being human.

I wasn't ripping breeders to shreds at all. My point was if there are so many pure breds in shelters, it would benefit the shelters, the animals and the breeders if they were chipped . That way the breeder could claim the dogs they have bred. I got my 2 dogs from a breeder and she would want to know if any of her dogs ended up in a shelter.
 
 

Their are a lot of good breeders that take their dogs back but the other half only want the money and your off! It is sad and another reason their are purebreds in the shelters is because people get the cute little puppy and it grows up without training this I know the are purebred because the owners dropping them off leave the papers even though they are not given out because the dog is spayed/neutered. A lot of the dogs are dumped at shelters whether purebred or not because people just don't want them anymore and the ones I have worked with are nothing next to dog that have serious behaviors. I have gone into more kennels then I can count and they are the best dogs just needing a little training that they never got. So to the person stating  that the dogs there are there because they have behaviors you are wrong!!!! You should spend some time in there and see for yourself.

Many good breeders already do microchip their dogs with themselves as the first contact. I have mixed feelings about this, but I have a feeling that these dogs are not the ones ending up in shelters anyway. The majority of purebreds that do end up in shelters are probably impulse buys from petstores, and who are you going to return the dog to, a puppymill?

I have a rescue dog here that has lived with me for over three years and he came from a good breeder because I called him wondering why he didn't take his dog back and when I got it it was starving and tied to a dumpster. The breeder said he would have but the people did not get a hold of him. He is not the first that came from good breeders but if people think it is easier to dump a dog off at a pound and have lost the breeders number which is not uncommon there is your kennel dog papers or no papers!

ORIGINAL: sillysally

ORIGINAL: timsdat

I think it is their moral responsibilty to care about where each and every dog they sell ends up

It's funny that we have gotten so twisted up with all the AR agenda that we have lost sight that these are animals.  Anymore a breeder has to just through so many hoops to please everyone to the nth degree or be deemed not a responsible breeder and even when they do they are demonized by just about every shelter and AR person.  We have forgetten the fact that dogs are animals not little people in fur coats.

Sorry, but I couldn't just let this go...and just so you know where I am coming from, I have one rescue dog and one dog from a breeder and I have a real dislike for groups like PETA.  I have no agenda here.

However-I really take issue with the whole "these are not people" attitude.  The fact that dogs are animals does not make humans any less responsible for their well being nor does it mean that it is therefore OK to dump, over breed, badly breed, mistreat, mishandle,or misuse them.

If you are a breeder, it is your responsibility to make sure that your breeding animals are as healthy, fit, and as sound in body and mind as possible before you breed them, it is your responsibility to make sure that your dogs have proper care before they go into their new homes,and it is your responsibility to place the lives YOU create into good homes, PERIOD.

If you are an owner, it is you responsibility to provide health care, training, stimuation, proper confinment, food, and water PERIOD.

No animals are not people--they are beings that are completely at our mercy and they depend on us to give them the care they need and to do right by them. 

To excuse our (collective) own failures with statements like "animals are not little people" is a cop out and does nothing to advance or improve the lives of animals or humans.  One does not have to be human to experience terror, pain, and abandonment.

Thank you for this post. As a shelter worker, it makes me feel like there is a ray of hope in the world, knowing that there are people like you who do give a damn about what happens to animals and what they are subject to. I hear the "well, it's just a dog/cat" excuse far too often from those surrendering animals because it is too big, too hard to train, or they are moving. Those people don't understand that one does not need to be human to experience the fear and pain that is inflicted on these pets and they likely never will.

quote:

ORIGINAL: timsdat

quote:

I think it is their moral responsibilty to care about where each and every dog they sell ends up

It's funny that we have gotten so twisted up with all the AR agenda that we have lost sight that these are animals. Anymore a breeder has to just through so many hoops to please everyone to the nth degree or be deemed not a responsible breeder and even when they do they are demonized by just about every shelter and AR person. We have forgetten the fact that dogs are animals not little people in fur coats.



Sorry, but I couldn't just let this go...and just so you know where I am coming from, I have one rescue dog and one dog from a breeder and I have a real dislike for groups like PETA. I have no agenda here.

However-I really take issue with the whole "these are not people" attitude. The fact that dogs are animals does not make humans any less responsible for their well being nor does it mean that it is therefore OK to dump, over breed, badly breed, mistreat, mishandle,or misuse them.

If you are a breeder, it is your responsibility to make sure that your breeding animals are as healthy, fit, and as sound in body and mind as possible before you breed them, it is your responsibility to make sure that your dogs have proper care before they go into their new homes,and it is your responsibility to place the lives YOU create into good homes, PERIOD.

If you are an owner, it is you responsibility to provide health care, training, stimuation, proper confinment, food, and water PERIOD.

No animals are not people--they are beings that are completely at our mercy and they depend on us to give them the care they need and to do right by them.

To excuse our (collective) own failures with statements like "animals are not little people" is a cop out and does nothing to advance or improve the lives of animals or humans. One does not have to be human to experience terror, pain, and abandonment.

 
 
 
I agree completely. Animals can feel pain,though their emotions aren't as complex as ours,they do have feelings and needs. I'm sorry this post got sooo out of hand.I didn't mean to offend anyone.