Putting what we do in perspective by a shelter employee

We got a call from the Yolo County shelter about a senior black pug girl they have right now. She came in with a "sister" who was put down because of a large mass on her abdomen, and they have just not had any interest in the other old girl, Annabelle.

The rescue person contacted us in a panic. She said she never thought she would see the day when they would euthanize pugs. They are a small shelter and usually had no difficulty placing pugs...she herself is a pug owner with an old, medically fragile pug so she can't take another one herself.

Luckily, one of our foster homes agreed to take in another pug, even though she operates a boarding operation out of her home.

The gal at the shelter said it this way..."Thank God for you guys...if it wasn't for you she'd be in the freezer now."

It gave me chills.....

Made my heart break in pieces at the end of your post. So true. So thankful for you and all you who assist in rescue. So glad the little girl is in a warm home tonight.

I think this is so true... and so sad.

Thank you for finding space for Anabelle. Your foster is an angel.

Pugsavers wrote:The gal at the shelter said it this way..."Thank God for you guys...if it wasn't for you she'd be in the freezer now."

It gave me chills.....

Me too. Poor Annabelle, huge thanks to your foster home for giving her another chance.

I would have had the same reaction. So glad you could find a space for the old gal. Thank you.

I'm glad you found a foster and am double glad that shelter takes the time to call rescues! I often think how awful it would be to work in a kill shelter. I know they get a lot of grief but at the end of the day, it's the people breeding and dumping their dogs that deserve all the blame.

Saira wrote:I'm glad you found a foster and am double glad that shelter takes the time to call shelters! I often think how awful it would be to work in a kill shelter. I know they get a lot of grief but at the end of the day, it's the people breeding and dumping their dogs that deserve all the blame.

This is so true. I mean, yes, there are some terrible shelters.... but, most are doing as much as they can do. And, I'm sure none of them feel good about euthanizing any of the animals they get. People get so mad at shelters.. and yet, they are lining up to dump their pets and see nothing wrong with it. Just another example of passing the buck and not taking any personal responsibility. People suck.

It's refreshing to be on a board where shelter-bashing isn't the norm. I've been in animal sheltering for 14 years, and can honestly say that the ones where I've worked go above and beyond to make the animals happy and healthy and find them good homes.

We always call rescue if there's a dog or cat that we can't place (usually due to health or temperament, although we even do knee and hip surgeries in our clinic these days!) and if there's an appropriate rescue for that animal's breed or size. Sometimes they're full or otherwise unable to take an animal, and we understand that. We had a 12-year-old fawn female pug recently that neither of the local rescues was able to take. But the good news is that we put her on the local noon news as Pet of the Week, and she was adopted by a lovely family who already had 2 pugs.

Pugsavers wrote:The gal at the shelter said it this way..."Thank God for you guys...if it wasn't for you she'd be in the freezer now."

It gave me chills.....

wow, that's some harsh reality right there. I'm just so happy that the shelter has your number. great job!

Shelter bashing enrages me. Yes, there ARE some bad ones out there, but at least here, most are decent. In fact, one of the best ones is our local "city pound"--called Toronto Animal Services. And they take a beating from EVERYONE because of their euthanasia rate. They use rescues regularly, call in evaluators if they wonder about a dog's temperament, go above and beyond the call of duty with great regularity. But their reality is that they are the city pound. They have to take whatever comes in and they do, as a result, have to euthanize for space. I love working with them and can't imagine the difficulty of their jobs.

We have a member on our rescue forum who routinely slams the local shelter in their area (which happens to be a great one, in my opinion). What this person neglects to tell in the shelter bashing posts is they dumped one of their own dogs there recently. They are classic rotten breeders who slip below the radar as their dogs ARE technically CKC registered. The reality is that the local shelter is hip to their action and isn't gulled by all the "look what great breeders and rescuers we are" talk.

Counting blessings that you were able to find a home for Annabelle.

So let me guess, the people doing the shelter bashing are probably the same people who demand that rescues drop everything the moment they get a phone call with a surrender because it's your fault if they have to take their dog to the shelter. dumbasses.

There are times when I have issues with management of shelters/pounds (most especially the very large corporation ones making a fast buck in the capital city of my state) but I do not confuse them ever with the workers at the coal face who do their very best often in spite of their bosses' policies.
And I am often so proud of the above-and-beyond efforts that are made in the small local pounds and shelters rurally in this country (although a few are not so great...)

Too many people make too many generalisations, I fear, without bothering to research the facts first or look at all sides of the story.

Here's hoping that Annabelle, who has so much love to give, finds a family to give it to very soon.