no kill shelter vs. animal shelter
Posted by hiimkelsi on Sep 02, 2007 · Member since Sep 2004 · 2297 posts
my boyfriend and i are finally moving into our house (yay!) and we are definitely looking to adopt animals, but we cant quite figure out which shelter would benefit more from adoption.
if we adopt an animal from a no kill shelter, we would free up space for more animals and michael believed that no kill shelters get funding for the more animals they adopt. but then i thought, why dont we go to the source of the problem, the animal shelters, where animals are euthanized and free up space there and possibly save an animal or two from euthanization. where do you think it would be more beneficial to adopt from?
Adopt one from each and then you'v made room in both and saved more animals! :)
haha we didnt even think of that. it seems like a logical answer that we just totally passed over. thanks!
Well I don't carry the title of super genius for nothing! :D
Post pics when you adopt!!!
There is a no-kill shelter in our community, but just so you know, they claim to adopt 100% of their adoptable animals. They do have some animals that are deemed "not-adoptable" & those are euthanized. I happen to believe this shelter works very hard with the animals, placing difficult cases in good foster homes for socializing. I believe they are very successful at helping these animals become adoptable. I also realize that some animals have been through such awfulness that they do not recover. And I realize that all shelters have such limited resources. :'(
Kudos to you for adopting from a shelter! I would say that whichever shelter you go to, or both, make sure to get animals that fit in with your lifestyle. :)
Here's my pound pup, Booyah! We've had him for 18 months now & he just turned 8. He had been in the Chyenne pound for a month & then in the Boulder pound for 2 months. It took him over a year to mellow out & feel like he is part of the family.
He is a love! His one eye is half brown & half blue.
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL728/2745263/7443831/275860996.jpg
If you want to improve a dog's life, consider West Virginia (depending where in Pennsylvania you are) or some other rural area. My first dog came from an urban, no-kill shelter in Pittsburgh and, in retrospect, he had it pretty good there; his chances of being adopted were high compared to the poor dogs in squalid, rural, gov't run shelters. He was treated well, walked, neutered and they made sure he was going to a safe home.
Years later, we adopted 2 dogs from West Virginia shelters. Both were severely under-funded, depressing places. The shelter workers were doing what they could but WV's animal laws are barbaric and there is little money available. They were overwhelmed. The local mindset regarding dogs is a huge part of the problem.
The first pup had been injured and her 'owners' wanted to have her put down. The vet didn't want to do that (or help her for free) so they notified a shelter. The shelter posted her picture on Petfinder.
A few years later, I drove a friend there to meet/adopt a dog she had seen on Petfinder. Conditions were terrible, it was in a drafty, crowded garage bay. I took blankets to donate on a return trip.
I wasn't looking for another dog but I had gotten into the habit of looking at Petfinder and, within the month, found another WV dog. That shelter was marginally better, due to the tireless efforts of the woman that ran it.
No matter where you adopt your dog, it's a good idea. At those rural Humane Societies it is very cheap to adopt, there are few questions asked and the dogs aren't spayed/neutered... so better they go to a responsible owner. http://www.petfinder.com/ gives the dogs at out of the way places more of a chance to be adopted.
Adopting from either one is a good idea. You should also check out a local veterinary office. It's a little known fact that many animals are "left" at the vet's office. That's where I got one of my cats. There were other animals there that were abandoned by their owners. Some (cruel) people think that's a perfectly viable way to offload their pets. They believe it's a perfect solution since there are vets around to take care of the animal. However, these clinics are not adoption centers and many unclaimed animals are quickly euthanized. Especially those with physical ailments since vets do not receive funding like shelters do and have to incur the medical costs themselves. It's like someone dropping off their sick child at the hospital and telling the doctor, "Oh yeah, could you pay for the treatment...and while you're at it, keep the kid". How sad :'(
I volunteered at a no-kill shelter while I was in Houston, the people that run them really do try to rehab all the animals that come in as risky, but sometimes it can't be helped. You know that dog fighting ring with that athlete dude (basketball? Football? I have no idea) was in? I heard on the news that even PETA was saying the dogs couldn't be rehabbed, their minds get too warped. It's sad but as much as I believe in trying as hard as possible to rehab all the dogs, some of them just need to be put down because they'll never be right again and wouldn't live a happy life at all, sadly. Thus people who run those rings really need to be punished to the full extent of the law, I hope that guy doesn't get off just because he's famous and gave an apology. An apology doesn't fix the emotional and mental and physical damage done to those animals or bring back the ones that died at his hands.
If you find a dog at a kill shelter but don't find one at the no kill, you could always donate some food or money to the no kill to balance out.
Well, I would say to adopt the dog which best fits your family and lifestyle. Whichever shelter that dog is in ... that's the one you choose. You do a good deed, and help an animal either way. And you also avoid putting money into the breeding industry. So, it's good all around.
I have volunteered at both - kill and no kill. And, honestly, while the no-kill does try a lot harder to get the animals homes ... a lot of those dogs wind up cooped up in cages for a LONG time. Leading to a whole host of new behavioural problems and neurosis. Which really isn't any more humane for an animal than euthanizing. Plus, some of the dogs wind up euthanized anyway for either behavioural or expensive medical reasons.
So, I don't much see a difference between the two shelters in terms of which one needs more support. They all do.
Kudos to you for adopting an animal. :)