Written by Michelle Kretzer
We've learned, haven't we, when you are told "You're a winner!" that there's some fine print and a catch. The same is true with the magic words that imply that dogs and cats are winners, too: "no kill"! Here, too, there is fine print, and it can be much more damaging than finding that you are being billed for a subscription you didn't want. The fact is that many limited-admission shelters, now often given the great-sounding, dressed-up title "no-kill shelter," actually hurt animals every single day. Not necessarily the ones they take in, who may or may not be well cared for, but rather, the ones they don't. The animals someone else has to decide what to do with or who just end up abandoned or worse when the "no-kill" shelter is full, as it inevitably is.
These glorious-sounding shelters generally turn away many more animals than they accept, picking, choosing, and admitting only the youngest, healthiest, prettiest, and most adoptable, if any, because on most days, they will tell all comers, "We're full." The rest are sent away to suffer on the streets or to be left in the hands of people who don't want them. Some "no-kills" do accept animals when they shouldn't, by which I mean when their facilities are already crammed beyond capacity, subjecting all of the shelter's tenants to crowded, unsanitary conditions, illness, and often a painful death from parvovirus or from fighting. And if the animals they do take in are not adopted, many so-called "no-kill" shelters warehouse them in cages for years, unwanted and unloved, even after they are driven "cage crazy" from the stress of confinement. I've seen them sit with their back to visitors, withdrawn into a world of depression and lost hope.
"No-kill" advocates are quick to throw stones at open-admission shelters, which offer refuge to every animal who comes through their doors and euthanize animals when they are not adoptable, when they run out of appropriate living space for them, or when the animals brought in are injured, aggressive or gravely ill. So in return, PETA is quick to expose the cracks in the rosy picture that "no-kills" try to paint. Here are just a few of the recent additions to our long, ever-expanding list of "no-kill" failures that cause animals to suffer:
September 13, 2012/Corpus Christi, Texas: Area animal shelters report that they are filled to capacity and that homeless, roaming animals in the area are at “epidemic” levels. The shelter director at no-kill "Pee Wee's Pet Adoption World and Sanctuary" stated, "I get 75 calls a day, and people get angry because I can't take 75 animals a day .… If you multiply 75 times 365 days a year, I would have to take in 27,000 plus animals a year." The Gulf Coast Humane Society director reports that his shelter "turn[s] people away right and left."
July 20, 2012/Northeast Mississippi: Area open-admission animal shelters are suffering from the effects of some private shelters' picking and choosing in order to limit admissions in a ploy to call themselves "no-kill" for fundraising appeals. A local news outlet reported that, while the [no-kill] policy keeps current shelter residents alive, it limits the number of pets those facilities can house and means new arrivals routinely are turned away. Some then are "dumped alongside roads, abandoned at a neighbor's house or shot and killed," according to representatives of no-kill shelters citing what jilted pet owners have told them. The writer spoke with a woman taking three unwanted dogs to an open-admission shelter and whose husband had made his family's options and intentions clear: "It was either that or shoot them."
July 17, 2012/Willis, Texas: "Considered one of the country's [premier] sanctuaries for pit bulls," was the no-kill Spindletop Dog Refuge was raided by authorities who seized approximately 300 pit bulls found in tiny plastic carriers with no water and unable to fully stand up. Some dogs were seen drinking their own urine and a police news report revealed that "[o]ne dog's feet were so scalded it was laying on its back in its own urine in feces, presumably to take the pain off of its feet."
As long as outspoken "no-kill" proponents continue to criticize open-admission shelters even in the face of the animal homelessness crisis, PETA will continue to save animals by exposing "no-kills" for what they really are: "slow-kills."
Hannah, my German shepherd-something-something-something mix, and I love our walks. I let her choose which direction she wants to head in, and we ramble off in search of new sights and smells.
No matter which path strikes Hannah's fancy, we always seem to see other dogs out for their evening strolls whose guardians act like it's a race to the end of the block. When the dogs try to stop and sniff something, send some "pee-mail," or greet Hannah, their guardians sometimes yank them away and drag them down the street. You can practically see the dog's nose twitching, trying desperately to catch whatever interesting smells he or she can as their human rushes along like a marathoner.
I've developed a little trick to use when Hannah starts to approach a dog or when another dog wants to stop and sniff near us: I say to her, loud enough for the other guardian to hear, "OK, just say 'Hi' for a minute," and that's usually sufficient to spare the other dog a bad case of leash-lash. My boss, who is equally irked by leash-lashers, takes a more direct approach. She matter-of-factly says, "Can our dogs meet for a minute?" or "Why don't we just let them sniff?"
When a friend of mine is out and sees anyone with a dog—although she doesn't have one—she always stops and says, "Oh, what a beautiful, smart face!" or "They love to be outdoors, don't they?" to get people to appreciate their dogs and to remember how much walks matter to them. When provoked, that friend can bite, too! Seeing someone dragging a dog along or keeping a leash too tight, she will say to the guardian, "Boy, that dog isn't allowed much fun on his walk, is he!"
Whatever approach works, I think we owe it to dogs to try to stop their guardians from yanking them away from whatever they're interested in, denying them the social interaction and ability to explore surroundings that they need and crave and possibly even injuring them. When you consider that a walk is the highlight of the day for most dogs, don't they deserve to enjoy it?
Written by Jeff Mackey
Anyone who has a hard time understanding why PETA hasn't hopped onto the "no-kill" bandwagon should have a look at this long list of failures of limited-admission (i.e., "no-kill") shelters and rescues. There have been so many raids, busts, and seizures that we can't even be sure that we have kept up with them all.
Rescued From a 'Rescue'?
One of the latest tragedies comes from Muncie, Indiana, where 63 dogs and puppies were seized from a single-story house operating as "Adopt a Lab Rescue and Adoption." Living conditions were so foul that one official characterized it as being "like a dungeon in the basement." Some of the dogs had reportedly been bought from a "broker." This same facility had also been raided in 2010, when 30 dogs were removed because of poor conditions, including keeping animals in crates without food or water for up to 21 hours a day.
Limited Admission, Limited Compassion
No one wants to euthanize animals, least of all people who dedicate their lives to helping them. And we should all be deeply upset that in this day and age, shelters must still resort to euthanasia—but breeding and buying animals from pet shops is still legal (in most places)! The reality is that there are more animals in need of homes than there are people ready to adopt them. Even if we could build enough shelters to hold all of them, these animals need real homes and families to love them. They can't be warehoused forever just to make us feel better.
Euthanasia prevents suffering—it is, by definition, humane. But turning away animals in need of shelter is anything but humane. Forcing animals to exist in cages, joyless, for months or years or their entire lives, is inhumane, too, as is allowing animals to suffer in squalor, loneliness, deprivation, and illness.
What You Can Do
There is an answer, and it lies in prevention! We can reduce euthanasia and the need for it by taking the smart, effective approach: animal birth control (ABC). Please start an ABC campaign in your community, and never be silent when animals are at risk.
It seems as if every other week there's another horror story about an animal who has died or gone missing during airline travel. The most recent one involves Xiaohwa, a frightened cat who bolted when an employee opened her crate at John F. Kennedy International Airport—she is still lost inside the building.
It's just not a good idea to entrust our beloved animals to a system that we barely trust with our shampoo and underwear.
Although some airlines do allow a limited number of small animals to ride inside the cabin, many still think that animals should be treated like baggage. The cargo hold of a plane is a loud, terrifying—and often deadly—place. Because it isn't climate-controlled, it can quickly become sweltering or freezing, putting animals at risk of dying from heatstroke or exposure.
So as the holiday season approaches, many animal guardians are opting to take the scenic route and drive to their destinations. Here are our top tips for traveling with animals to help make the trip smooth sailing:
Some people find that it's easier on animals if they're allowed to stay at home in the care of trusted family members, friends, or sitters. When your animal companions are staying at home, you will want to do the following:
Happy holidays to you and all your family members!
Tulsa, Oklahoma, resident William Lewallen is facing charges of child neglect, after police reportedly found his 4-year-old toddler locked outside, naked and crying, and his 18-month-old daughter locked inside a crate and covered with feces.
Although the children apparently showed no immediate, obvious signs of physical injury, PETA is sending the Tulsa District Attorney's Office a book containing some surprising facts about just how deleterious, phsyically and psychologically, crating can be to living beings: Dog in a Box (there's also Dogs Hate Crates).
Both books are the result of extensive research revealing that crated dogs suffer from loneliness, confusion, and fear and present case studies showing that when dogs are deprived of the social interaction, companionship, and exercise that they (and humans) need, the result can be myriad health and behavioral problems, such as aggression, withdrawal, hyperactivity, depression, eating disorders, separation anxiety, and muscle atrophy.
It's easy to see how someone could have suffered psychological torment while locked inside a crate.
PETA hopes that, if the charges against William Lewallen are proven, he gets to find out exactly how it feels to be locked up for a long time.
Confined to barren, muddy pens with no protection from the elements, no food, and no water, the nearly 70 dogs owned by Cajun Country "Ranch and Animal Rescue" in Wilburton, Oklahoma, were struggling to survive. Their skin was stretched tightly over their rib cages, and fleas and ticks had ravaged their bodies. The horses on the property fared no better, their bones clearly visible. The bones of dead dogs lay piled up like leaves, and more bones were scattered throughout the property.
When PETA received a tip-off, we alerted local officials, who told us that they shared our concerns. One of our contacts in the area was an expert on hoarding situations, and after he surveyed the property for us, he confirmed our fears about the "rescue."
The next day, armed with a warrant, police raided the property and arrested the owners, Anne Marie and Shane Duhon. According to news reports when police entered the couple's home, they found three children living in squalor. Animal feces covered the house, including the children's beds, and cockroaches crawled across the littered floor. Reportedly, the children were covered with bites from fleas, ticks, and other insects. While the Department of Human Services took the children to a safe location, a multitude of volunteers, mobilized by PETA supporters in the area, came in with horse trailers and kennels and moved all the animals to awaiting reputable rescues and animal shelters.
Some of the animals were so far gone that they needed to be euthanized. At trial, the Duhons pleaded guilty to child neglect and cruelty-to-animals charges. They were put on probation for five years, banned from having any animals during that time, and told that if they violated the terms of their probation, they could face prison time.
While animal hoarding behavior stems from a desire to "save" animals, hoarders' mental illness causes them to keep amassing animals, and well-meaning people encourage hoarders by giving them animals and/or money. They end up with far more animals than they are capable of caring for—with disastrous, deadly consequences for their victims. If you suspect that a local "rescue" is actually a hoarder, alert animal control or PETA immediately.
When PETA's Community Animal Project (CAP) fieldworkers first met the sickly Lab mix they had received a call about, her condition broke their hearts. She was covered with fleas and ticks, was malnourished from too many days of going hungry, and was limping because of an injured back leg. Her owner had skipped town, pausing just long enough to tell his neighbor that he was leaving his dog behind and that the neighbor could "have her."
Instead, the neighbor phoned PETA for help. It wasn't CAP's first encounter with the dog's owner. He had let her have a litter of puppies and had called PETA asking us to find homes for them all. Fieldworkers had taken the puppies to the Virginia Beach SPCA for adoption, and now they were meeting the pups' mother. Despite all that she had been through, the sweet dog nuzzled her head under their hands and happily wagged her tail, grateful to be getting a bit of affection.
Back at PETA's Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters, a veterinarian determined that the dog was suffering from heartworm disease and that she had been shot in the leg months ago but was never treated for the injury. She would require heartworm treatment and extensive surgery on her leg. Fortunately, the dog with the dark past and the bright eyes had already captured a PETA Foundation staffer's heart. Robin had just lost one of her dogs, and something about this little girl's soulful eyes spoke to her. Within a few hours of the pup's arrival at PETA, she had a new home.
She also had a new name—Maggie—and four new canine siblings with whom she instantly bonded. Robin got her in to see her vet right away, and after hearing Maggie's story, he decided to help Robin out with the expensive treatments that Maggie would require. A bone graft, two rods, two screws, and a cast later, Maggie was on the mend.
With heartworm treatment and good food, she gained 20 pounds, and Robin reports that she can practically see herself in Maggie's shiny coat. Now she is a joyous, bouncy girl who loves to swim, go to the dog park, and "review" her guardians' DVDs (she gave Harry Potter two paws down—but it tasted delicious!). After likely getting no affection her entire life, Maggie soaks it up now, and she will gladly play from sunup to sundown.
Maggie's life, like her bowl, was once empty. Now her cup runneth over.
We owe it to our animal companions to learn a little "dogese" or "catish," so here are the meanings of some of the most common animal behaviors:
Now that you're fluent in your animals' language, read up on how to be a great guardian.
It shouldn't happen to any dog, let alone those who are serving and protecting their communities as K9 officers. Numerous police dogs lost their lives this summer not at the hands of criminals but at the hands of the very officers who were supposed to protect them—and instead left them to suffer from heatstroke inside hot patrol cars. PETA is aiming to make those brave K9 victims the last ones, with urgent pleas to police departments across the country asking them to install heat-alert systems in all K9 patrol cars.
Heat-alert systems monitor the temperature inside the vehicle and can sound an alarm, page an officer, start an engine, roll down a window and turn on a fan, or even open a door when the car gets too hot. A simple device such as this would have saved the lives of Sasha, a police dog in Warwick, Georgia; Harley from Des Moines, Iowa; Vegas and Hades of San Antonio, Texas; and the many other K9 officers who lost their lives just this past summer.
Many K9 officers now wear bulletproof vests to protect them from gunshots, but heatstroke may be an even more agonizing way to die. As the dogs' internal temperature rises, they often begin to salivate heavily and lose control of their bladder and bowels, and shock may set in. They become terrified and often struggle to escape the vehicle, clawing the car windows and seats so violently that their paws become bloodied.
No dog should ever be left alone in a car on a warm day. But if a police officer decides to leave a K9 officer in the car to protect the dog from a potentially deadly situation, he or she needs to make sure that the car doesn't become one, too.
Our animal companions give us all the time, attention, and affection that we want, and in return, they deserve the best care that we can provide. Here are the top six ways to return the favor:
1. Suppertime
Just like people, animals need high-quality, nutritious food, which is the basis for good health. They also benefit from having moist food, which is more palatable and helps prevent urinary tract infections. If you are concerned about supporting factory farms when you buy pet food, check out PETA's factsheet on feeding dogs and cats vegetarian or vegan food. And, of course, we wouldn't want to drink out of a dirty glass, and our animals don't want to drink out of a dirty bowl, either. So give them fresh water daily in a clean container.
2. It's Potty Time
Have you ever walked into a public restroom stall only to turn around and walk right back out? Cats prefer a clean bathroom, too, so scoop at least twice a day. Similarly, a backyard filled with "land mines" is no fun for people or dogs, so be sure to scoop regularly. And dogs shouldn't be expected to "hold it" all day (not only is this painful, it's also harmful to their kidneys), so if someone can't go home at lunchtime to let the dog out, hire a dog walker or, if you have a yard with a secure privacy fence, install a doggie door.
3. Don't Keep the Doctor Away
An annual veterinary visit for a check-up is a must, but if your animal shows any signs of not feeling well, be sure to schedule an appointment right away. Fleas and ticks torment dogs and cats, so they must be controlled (try using natural, nontoxic products), and heartworms and intestinal worms can be easily prevented with once-monthly medications. Additionally, spaying and neutering not only eliminates the risk of reproductive organ cancer but also prevents females from suffering through heat cycles and reduces the risk that animals of both sexes will contract contagious diseases. And why not take an animal CPR class to make sure that you'll be ready in case of an animal health emergency?
4. Looking Good
Dogs need regular brushing to keep their coats clean and to prevent matting. Avoid giving them too many baths, though. Dogs need to retain the oil in their coat to keep it healthy, and if your dog has a chronic "doggie odor," that usually means that a change in diet is called for.
5. Tiny Chip = Safe Animal
Tags are a great way to I.D. your dog or cat, but they can fall off or be removed. However, a microchip is permanent, as evidenced by the recent story of a woman who was reunited—thanks to a microchip—with the dog who had been stolen from her seven years earlier.
Hannah and I have found our favorite activity: enjoying the sun and surf at the beach.
6. Play Ball!
While health care is important, what our animals appreciate most is quality time—playing fetch, taking a walk, chasing a piece of string, or having a cuddle session. You and your dog could even enroll in a fun, rewards-based agility class. Our animals depend on us for their exercise and enrichment. By trying out various activities and toys, even simple items like balled-up paper or an empty paper towel roll, we can discover what our animal companions really enjoy and have a lot of fun in the process.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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