Mickamack
08-01-2000, 09:26 AM
I thought I'd share this with you all...
On Saturday, our local paper had 2 front page articles on the Humane Society, called “Our Disposable Pets.” In the articles, they interviewed workers who talked about the problems they have with space issues, the reasons that people bring in animals, how to be responsible pet owner, and several pleas to have your pets spayed and neutered to prevent even more unwanted animals that will ultimately be killed. Our local Humane Society tries its best to adopt any animals they can. They have ads in the newspaper each week and ads on television, showing the dogs that are available for adoption. They said that they usually place about 60% of the animals brought in.
But the 2nd article was really interesting for me. I’m so glad they included it. They interviewed the woman who must euthanize the dogs that aren’t adopted. Here’s an excerpt:
“Sandy McCarthy tells herself she shouldn’t grow overly attached to any of the dogs and cats she sees at the Humane Society. Sometimes, she just can’t help it. When you walk by their cages time after time, when you feed them and walk them and play with them day after day, sometimes a special one catches your eye.”
“And sometimes, when all the publicity doesn’t find an abandoned or surrendered animal a new home…her job is injecting the one that caught her eye with a lethal dose of barbiturates. ‘When you have to look a dog in the eye and you have to inject it with a needle because we’re full and we need space and…(you say) ‘You’ve been on television and you’ve been in the newspaper…and nobody wants you so I have to kill you, ’it stinks,’ she said. ‘It’s horrible. And I could kick myself every single time. Every time. And then if I have to put that dog down, you know, I sit in the cage and cry. And I hold it and I tell it, ‘I’m sorry”.
“Ms. McCarthy loves animals. She loves the part of the job when she can protect an animal from abuse, prosecute an animal abuser, or help place an animal in a loving home. It’s the death she loathes…and the excuses.”…”some can be doozies. The animal is too big, the owner just doesn’t want it anymore, it got hair on the grandchildren…”
“People will get these animals and they’ll just throw them away like they’re throwing a paper towel. Please don’t get an animal if you’re not going to commit. It’s like a marriage. If you’re not going to commit to that partnership for that lifetime, don’t get it.”
I’m so glad that they did that article. And I will write to the paper thanking them for it. Maybe some people will read it and maybe, some people will think twice before dropping a dog along side of the road because they just don’t want it anymore. Maybe they’ll think twice before letting their animals run free to get lost or to mate. Maybe someone will consider going to the shelter and taking home a new friend.
But those are just my idealistic hopes. I can just hope and pray that one person will be changed by the articles.
On Saturday, our local paper had 2 front page articles on the Humane Society, called “Our Disposable Pets.” In the articles, they interviewed workers who talked about the problems they have with space issues, the reasons that people bring in animals, how to be responsible pet owner, and several pleas to have your pets spayed and neutered to prevent even more unwanted animals that will ultimately be killed. Our local Humane Society tries its best to adopt any animals they can. They have ads in the newspaper each week and ads on television, showing the dogs that are available for adoption. They said that they usually place about 60% of the animals brought in.
But the 2nd article was really interesting for me. I’m so glad they included it. They interviewed the woman who must euthanize the dogs that aren’t adopted. Here’s an excerpt:
“Sandy McCarthy tells herself she shouldn’t grow overly attached to any of the dogs and cats she sees at the Humane Society. Sometimes, she just can’t help it. When you walk by their cages time after time, when you feed them and walk them and play with them day after day, sometimes a special one catches your eye.”
“And sometimes, when all the publicity doesn’t find an abandoned or surrendered animal a new home…her job is injecting the one that caught her eye with a lethal dose of barbiturates. ‘When you have to look a dog in the eye and you have to inject it with a needle because we’re full and we need space and…(you say) ‘You’ve been on television and you’ve been in the newspaper…and nobody wants you so I have to kill you, ’it stinks,’ she said. ‘It’s horrible. And I could kick myself every single time. Every time. And then if I have to put that dog down, you know, I sit in the cage and cry. And I hold it and I tell it, ‘I’m sorry”.
“Ms. McCarthy loves animals. She loves the part of the job when she can protect an animal from abuse, prosecute an animal abuser, or help place an animal in a loving home. It’s the death she loathes…and the excuses.”…”some can be doozies. The animal is too big, the owner just doesn’t want it anymore, it got hair on the grandchildren…”
“People will get these animals and they’ll just throw them away like they’re throwing a paper towel. Please don’t get an animal if you’re not going to commit. It’s like a marriage. If you’re not going to commit to that partnership for that lifetime, don’t get it.”
I’m so glad that they did that article. And I will write to the paper thanking them for it. Maybe some people will read it and maybe, some people will think twice before dropping a dog along side of the road because they just don’t want it anymore. Maybe they’ll think twice before letting their animals run free to get lost or to mate. Maybe someone will consider going to the shelter and taking home a new friend.
But those are just my idealistic hopes. I can just hope and pray that one person will be changed by the articles.