Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I adopted Charlie from a no kill shelter and it looked far more miserable for the dogs than the local spca (which is not no kill). The shelter where he was was the most depressing place. The cats got rooms where they could run and play, but the dogs were in these small concrete cells with peeling paint, poop on the floor, nonstop barking, no blankets or anything comfy, no beds. I can see how an extended stay there would make any dog go nuts. And I'm sure many of them would rather die. I know there are many no kill shelters that make it work and I'm definitely supportive of the no-kill ideals, but the shelters themselves don't always provide the quality of life for the animals that one would think.
I didnt even think of the library,ill have to check it out.I looked at target,walmart,and best buy and they all have it i just have to get it online because they don't carry it online.Since we're talking about "no kill sanctuary",i live in NY and they're trying to pass "oreo's law".Basically it would allow any reputable rescue group to take a dog thats slated for euthanasia.I dont really agree with it.Most of these "rescues" keep dogs forever in a cage.That's worse than death.They go crazy.I see dogs that come into the shelter that are the sweetest most docile dogs,give them a few weeks and they go stir crazy.We do work with a few great rescues that do take our dogs and get them adopted very quickly.But for the dogs that have issues and will never get adopted,its not right.Its one thing if the dog would have free roam,and would be loved and taken care of,human contact,maybe some professional training/behavior modification,but unfortunately thats not what a lot of these places do and most people think theyre the greatest and they bash the shelters instead.Just had to throw this in here since we're on that topic.You guys could google it to read more.The dog oreo was at the ASPCA.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,774,074 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by groar
has anyone seen this? i watched part of it last night while i was spending time with my neighbors' dog (she was sick and needed to be kept under observation while they were out).
it's a documentary about a "kill" shelter in upstate new york. the woman who runs the shelter believes really strongly that for a truly unadoptable dog, life in a typical shelter is worse than euthanasia. it is a shelter that makes every effort (as much as their funding and staffing allows, at least) to rehabilitate and adopt out dogs who can be adopted. there are some heartbreaking stories and some with happy endings. i'd highly recommend it, but not if you're easily upset. they do show some awful situations and they actually show some dogs being put to sleep (in a humane manner, but still). i stopped watching it because i got interrupted, but i don't know if i would have made it all the way through myself.
i think kill shelters get a bad rap. no-kill shelters like best friends where dogs live in packs with lots of inside and outside space are the exception, not the rule. most shelters of any kind have the dogs isolated in concrete kennels, constantly hearing other dogs barking around them, and that is no life for a dog. dogs literally go insane in that kind of environment. i agree with the subject of this documentary that euthanasia is more humane than life in a typical shelter. i did not agree with every decision she made about which dogs should be euthanized, but i have to admire the fact that she was strong enough to make these decisions at all.
never mind the fact that no-kill shelters just don't have enough room for all the animals out there. a friend of mine took in some strays from her neighborhood and got them on the waiting list for a local no-kill shelter and a year and a half later, they got in. as they say at the kill shelter where i used to volunteer, you can either be no-kill or you can be open door. i think no-kill shelters have their place, but i feel like they get a lot more support, in terms of donations and volunteer time, because they make people feel better. i am not convinced that they make *animals* feel better, though.
whatever your opinion on the matter, it's a very thought-provoking film.
This documentary was run on HBO a number of years ago. I started watching it with minimal interest but I was quickly engrossed.
Definitely thought provoking and after watching it I felt as though I had just watched a very honest documentary. There isn't any cheap populist argument pushing an agenda, just a fair analysis of a shelter's operation. If you want to be cheered up, you should probably watch something else - but it's definitely worth your time.
I saw the show years ago...I agree with groar, I think kill-shelters do get a bad rap. They are actually open admission shelters, and although they euthanize many animals, they most likely are able to help more animals than many of the no-kill shelters, which are "limited admission". The no-kill shleters, in general, do not accept all the hard luck cases, the old, the sick, the injured and the dogs with temperamnet problems.
I am somewhat bitter over the "no-kill" shelter situation locally; the cat I have now was a starving stray that my mail carrier found on her route...we called EVERY "no-kill" shelter and rescue in the area, and none could take her. Her only other option was a kill shelter, where, due to her dirty, matted, skeletal condition, plus a heart murmur, she probably would not have been deemed as adoptable. It was Novermebr, a cold snap was due in, and she would have frozen to death that weekend had I not simply kept her. I think it would have been far more humane for her to be euthanized by a caring shelter employee, warm and with a full belly, than to freeze to death outside, alone and scared.
I also think there have been many documented cases of people who are "hoarders" claiming to run no kill rescues.....its something animal lovers should be very aware of when rehoming a dog to someone who claims they are running a rescue. I think any no-kill shelter that is not using foster homes is likely warehousing the animals, and I think that is a form of animal cruelty.
I have great respect for those humane workers who are doing the difficult work of caring for animals in open admission shelters, and I feel badly that these institutions are often reviled. These people are left to clean up the mess left by the irresponsible breeders and owners, and that is a thankless job.
I also think there have been many documented cases of people who are "hoarders" claiming to run no kill rescues.....its something animal lovers should be very aware of when rehoming a dog to someone who claims they are running a rescue. I think any no-kill shelter that is not using foster homes is likely warehousing the animals, and I think that is a form of animal cruelty.
yep, there was one in our area. the woman who ran it did not believe in euthanasia for ANY reason, including suffering. when the place was raided they found filthy conditions, and sick, dead and dying cats everywhere. hundreds of cats, and 75% requiring medical treatment.
a neighbor of mine who runs a real no kill shelter (it's clean, cageless for the cats, the dogs live together in small packs, they all get proper vet care, and she does not take on more animals than she can handle) said the woman who ran it approached her once saying she could take FIFTY CATS A MONTH from her. most of her cats are feral and unadoptable and she didn't believe that anything good was going to happen to cats going to someone who could take them at that rate, so she declined. at least one of the big shelters in town sent this woman hundreds if not thousands of cats over the years.
i remember seeing a news report a while ago about an spca branch that people were saying was unfairly raiding homes and "shelters" and confiscating animals. there were people who said "i just couldn't take care of these animals anymore and they *took them*!" and someone purporting to run a shelter who was clearly a hoarder. someone who left numerous dogs alone in kennels for several days and didn't understand why the spca would have a problem. the reporter doing the story just took the stories and claims all of the people who were raided at face value, and hounded the spca's director. the mere fact that someone is claiming to be a shelter or rescue makes some people lose all judgment, it seems.
The problem (or one of them anyway) is that a "true" hoarder isn't going to stop just because they've been fined or are on probation. They will find a way - just like a drug addict finds a way to get drugs.
Don't get me wrong - this isn't a sympathy vote for hoarders, far from it. But I do honestly believe that until hoarding is appreciated for what it is (mental illness) and there's more research into it because it's poorly understood, to only sentence a hoarder to "judicial" penalties and not concurrent treatment for mental health, is missing the mark.
So it turns out my mother watched this years ago when it first came out.I've read a lot of terrible reviews on this woman Sue,and they are true.I will not spend the money to watch this.I've read articles from ex employees who say she kills enormous amounts of animals that are highly adoptable.Since i work as a kennel aide in an open admission town run shelter,we have no choice but to euthanize due to space.We havent had to do it in a few months thank god,but i find comfort in talking to others who understand.I will also watch videos sometimes.It makes me feel like im not alone.At my shelter we don't just pick random ones,we pick the ones who have the most issues.i cant watch this video.
So it turns out my mother watched this years ago when it first came out.I've read a lot of terrible reviews on this woman Sue,and they are true.
I was never so enraged as I was after watching this documentary several years back. My anger had nothing to do with the fact that shelter dogs die every day - I knew that well - my anger had nothing to do with the fact that some shelter dogs REALLY are NOT adoptable and shelters have a responsibility to their communities to insure those dogs aren't back on the streets - I knew that well too - my anger was really because the film seemed to endorse that a person should be held in high regard, for claiming they could quickly temperament test shelter dogs, in the shelter setting, and sign their death warrant while simply passing their kennels. It pissed me off more than I can type into words. Sue Sternberg, and anything she is a part of, will not ever be anything I side up with - ever. On my own principles alone......I did take the time years ago, to write both the film creator and Sue Sternberg, to explain why I was offended by the documentary. Of course - no reply from either...which I didn't expect.
We each have to hold onto the things in animal welfare that we can live with and sleep decently at night with.......I could never do that if my support, either physically, monetarily or otherwise, was in line with someone who callously cast death upon dogs simply because they chose to remain at the back of their kennel when a new stranger walked by.....or because they barked out of fear while circling their kennel, that yet another stranger was near the only 'space' they felt they were safe in.....being able to visually determine if a dog is TRULY aggressive by their actions might actually be 'easy' - no one wants to interact with a lunging, fence-body slamming, teeth bared, 100lb dog....but the other decisions she makes in front of the camera were just wrong - I could never understand how a shelter would get in bed with this woman.........yikes - I'll stop rambling.....I honestly do not, have never, will never, like that woman or anything she touts....and my soap box at the ready for discussions of this woman is now temporarily out of service....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
