A Shelter Is A Shelter Right? I should I turn my back or do the right?

[Roconza 0]

Last week My mom saw a news report saying shelters and how they needed donations.We when to the store and got 2, 20 lbs bags of food one being dog and one being cat.We got to are local township shelter only to find it close they are only open three days out of a week and that the first thing that bugged me,how can a shelter only be open for a short time each week?,another thing bugs me it is a house it not even a building made for the sole reason to house animal.Not only that when we came back they didn't even let us see the dogs which were house in little shack in the back yard from what I could see from the window.the cats from what I saw were running around or in small cages.Not one thing about this place made me feel well....I some how feel that I should have reported this place or call some one to check it out or some thing but then I was left with a hard choice do you report them and have then checked out and have the animals go to other shelters or killed because theres no room for them or turn a blind eye to it and live with the fact that they maybe suffering and I had a chance to help them.I don't know what I should do,there a no kill shelter but what if there not being treated right,In fact I may be wrong and they can be a alright place but it keeps playing in my head being animal lover I'm left with a hard choice to make.

[t3jem 0]

I would definitly call someone to check it out. No animal should be stuck in a small cage. It's not really a good shelter if the animals are not cared for properly. Even if it is a no-kill shelter, if the animals are treated cruelly then it still is not a good shelter. It would be better to be put down than to be living a trapped and horrible life. It wouldn't hurt to call someone to come out and check the place out. If they find that it is a good place then thats great, if it turns out to be a horrible shelter than you made a good call. Either way your just trying to help out the animals and that's what matters. So I would call someone to come check it out.I hope everything turns out all right.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

I would say, the best thing would be to talk to the owners, saying you'd like to see the animals, and could they oblige? Don't be confrontational, be friendly. Tell them you really like animals, and would like to give a little time to these strays. Strike up a conversation, maybe they'll tell you how they came to set up the shelter, about the problems they have, etc.Don't go in looking for trouble, go in trying to be friends. And go in to really be nice to some of the animals there, if they'll let you.If they are harsh/unfriendly/won't let you see the animals, then I'd say go talk to another shelter, find out what options those animals have, whether anything can be done to help them. I don't think you should just report them, if your report results in the poor creatures being 'put down' it would be a terrible thing, so talk to other shelters etc. That's IF things really are as bad as they seemed at first sight. It may be that these people really care about animals and are doing the best they can on a very limited budget, so give them the benefit of the doubt.Have you heard the saying 'He who treads softly goes far' - tread lightly, don't step on anyone's toes, be friendly, and try to find the way to do what's best for those little creatures.

[Roconza 0]

I would say, the best thing would be to talk to the owners, saying you'd like to see the animals, and could they oblige? Don't be confrontational, be friendly. Tell them you really like animals, and would like to give a little time to these strays. Strike up a conversation, maybe they'll tell you how they came to set up the shelter, about the problems they have, etc.
Don't go in looking for trouble, go in trying to be friends. And go in to really be nice to some of the animals there, if they'll let you.

If they are harsh/unfriendly/won't let you see the animals, then I'd say go talk to another shelter, find out what options those animals have, whether anything can be done to help them. I don't think you should just report them, if your report results in the poor creatures being 'put down' it would be a terrible thing, so talk to other shelters etc. That's IF things really are as bad as they seemed at first sight. It may be that these people really care about animals and are doing the best they can on a very limited budget, so give them the benefit of the doubt.

Have you heard the saying 'He who treads softly goes far' - tread lightly, don't step on anyone's toes, be friendly, and try to find the way to do what's best for those little creatures.

Thank you,I will try that before jumping the gun,that really great advise I think that the best thing I could do.My mom just want to forget about it and let the whole thing go but I can't.I think if you can't take full care of a animal you should not start some of that scale,there vet cost,food cost housing and getting them fix so you do have more and grooming,like flea and tick care.It's some thing you most think out very good before you and do it.Like in the cases of hoarder who keep animal to save them but the animals suffer because they can keep up with the cost of caring for them.This can be avoided if people just fix there animal,they think there doing what best for there animal by not fixing them but there only hurting there them and there children and then both the animal and there baby have to be put down.There so many wonderful animals that are just waiting to be taken home but people pass them up for the fancy pure bred it sad really.
Edited March 16, 2007 by Roconza (see edit history)

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

I agree, Roconza, you can't just let it pass. And yes, I think it's sad that so many lovable little creatures are passed over for some 'special' purebred. An example is a little cat who stays just outside my house - I just can't take him in because I already have four cats, but he's so affectionate that he's always near my door, and SO happy to see me. He follows me around the neighborhood, and just seems so lovable that I feel so sorry that I can't keep him. I've tried convincing some friends that it would be nice to adopt him, he's so affectionate, but they don't want to.

[hyriu 0]

Shelters most of the time are created or founded by persons with a very strong desire to save animals. Even tough this is a great cause. Sometimes they don't know the first thing about how they are supposed to be run. They do a great deal and its a 40+ hrs job. There is no holidays or days off for this kind of people. I work with alot of rescue groups and shelters and trust me their jobs are not easy. Veterinary bills are expensive and sometimes this costs come straight out of the shelter. Thats why most of them ask for a donation or a small fee if you decide to adopt your pet from them. I really recoment people to rescue rather than spend their money on a pet center. This places support puppy mills and they really are bad. Most puppy mills breed their dogs for quantity and not quality. So if they have a litter of 10 puppies and only end up selling 3. They euthanize the rest and start over. Why ? you ask the answer is simple puppies are cute and everyone wants a puppy instead of an older dog. Please support your local shelters and the Humane Society and spay and neuter your pets.

[FolkRockFan 0]

The most likely answer to the problems you mentioned is a lack of both funding and volunteers. Many animal shelters have a few paid personnel, yeah (at our local shelter, these paid staff are the board of directors), but a lot of the people are volunteers. And funding...well, that's a problem with animal shelters all over the country.I would talk to the people who run the shelter, though. You might be able to help them out, even in a small way. You don't have to quit your day job, sell off all of your possessions and spend forty hours a week at the shelter to make a difference. :POh, and as for buying purebred animals: anybody who is interested in a specific breed of cat or dog can ask around in their local area. You're likely to find a rescue organization devoted to a specific breed. I love Siamese cats, for example. I don't have to pay a breeder to find a purebred. I can go to the Siamese rescue organization and adopt one who really needs a good home. The same is true of all sorts of dogs: German Shepherds and greyhounds come to mind.You'll probably pay an adoption fee, but it's often equal to, or sometime less than, you'd pay a breeder.

[Misanthrope 0]

From what you've described this sounds like a privately run shelter, which means they are not receiving government funds like city and county shelters do. In fact, they are probably running on a shoe-string, with the lion's share of funding/time/effort coming from the operator herself and whatever volunteers she can drum up. I've done a bit of rescue work and it's an uphill battle against a largely ignorant populace who refuse to spay or neuter their pets, or simply see animals as objects easily discarded. This person is probably sacrificing any personal life she may have for a truly altruistic, selfless purpose. I can think of no greater altruism than service to animals, for this path affords no money, no recognition, and no glory for the benefactor. Imagine turning your home or whatever shanty you can afford into a shelter and how quickly it would fill up with unwanted animals. Imagine your reaction when litter upon litter is dumped at your front doorstep, or the beloved old dog who is abandoned because somebody is moving to an apartment that doesn't take pets. Imagine your disgust at the breeder who dumps a litter of puppies because they don't adhere to AKC guidelines, or the pitbull who was brutalized in dog fights. You are running a no-kill shelter, so you ethically oppose "putting down" a perfectly healthy animal just because some human was irresponsible, and didn't understand that taking a pet into the home is lifelong responsibility.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

Right, as FolkRockFan says, see if there's any way you can help out. Misanthrope has given a good description of how a financially unsupported shelter functions, and I think that if there's any way you can help them, it would be far better than just 'blowing the whistle' on them. These people probably care deeply about animals. And do let us know how things turn out, won't you? We'll be following this thread with interest.

[Roconza 0]

I think I may ask her if she needs help,at least that way I can help and have a good look around.If she lets me help I can have a look around the place ,if it a good place I'll help out the animals in need but if it looks like the animals are not being taking care of I'll let the right people know.After all I only want to do whats best for the animals and maybe the woman,if she has biten moare then she can chu(chew?).Thank you all for your advice I'll Keep you all post on how things go.

[velma 6]

I agree with both roconzo and yratrom. I mean if you had seen shelters decades ago then you would have been at rest after donating the food and all but nowadays you cannot trust the shelters for you do not know whether they are really helping or just there for the money.I adopted my kittens and my dog from a shelter. They were in cages and i felt bad for no creature smart or dumb should be kept in such a way.And the place was a little room where there were 20 dogs 5 cats, an owl and tortoises.Its heartbreaking that humans are so selfish and hurt when they can simply help not for brownie points,money or HONOR but just for the sake of helping.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

Right, Roconza. Just go in with the right attitude and things will be fine. Be genuinely friendly, try to help as much as you can - if you see that it's REALLY far more than she can handle, then talk to the right people and see what can be done. I believe that one's own attitude is everything - if you go in with a sincere desire to help out, to be friends, then that matters a great deal, no matter which way your duty tells you to act later.Best of luck, both to you and the shelter and especially to all the little creatures in it. Take care.

[sheepdog 10]

I would definitly call someone to check it out. No animal should be stuck in a small cage. It's not really a good shelter if the animals are not cared for properly. Even if it is a no-kill shelter, if the animals are treated cruelly then it still is not a good shelter. It would be better to be put down than to be living a trapped and horrible life. It wouldn't hurt to call someone to come out and check the place out. If they find that it is a good place then thats great, if it turns out to be a horrible shelter than you made a good call. Either way your just trying to help out the animals and that's what matters. So I would call someone to come check it out.
I hope everything turns out all right.

I think if you took a poll of human prisoners, very very few would opt to be put down rather than being caged in a tiny cage. Where there is life there is always hope. What if living in a tiny cage would mean that in a week or even a month some kind soul would come and adopt you and give you a wonderful, loving home? Would it not then be worthwhile staying alive?
Edited June 15, 2007 by sheepdog (see edit history)