Warning This is a Sad Story

I found this on a web-site, I had tears in my eyes as I read it...



Yes, I Gas Dogs and Cats for a Living.
I'm an Animal Control officer in a very small town in central North Carolina.
I'm in my mid thirties, and have been working for the town in different positions since high school.

There is not much work here, and working for the county provides good pay and benefits for a person like me without a higher education. I'm the person you all write about how horrible I am.

I'm the one that gasses the dogs and cats and makes them suffer. I'm the one that pulls their dead corpses out smelling of Carbon Monoxide and throws them into green plastic bags. But I'm also the one that hates my job and hates what I have to do.

First off, all you people out there that judge me, don't. God is judging me, and I know I'm going to Hell. Yes, I'm going to hell. I wont lie, it's despicable, cold, cruel and I feel like a serial killer. I'm not all to blame, if the law would mandate spay and neuter, lots of these dogs and cats wouldn't be here for me to gas. I'm the devil, I know it, but I want you people to see that there is another side to me the devil Gas Chamber man.
The shelter usually gasses on Friday morning.

Friday's are the day that most people look forward to, this is the day that I hate, and wish that time will stand still on Thursday night. Thursday night, late, after no one's around, my friend and I go through a fast food line, and buy 50 dollars worth of cheeseburgers and fries, and chicken. I'm not allowed to feed the dogs on Thursday, for I'm told that they will make a mess in the gas chamber, and why waste the food.
So, Thursday night, with the lights still closed, I go into the saddest room that anyone can every imagine, and let all the doomed dogs out out their cages.

I have never been bit, and in all my years doing this, the dogs have never fought over the food. My buddy and I, open each wrapper of cheeseburger and chicken sandwich, and feed them to the skinny, starving dogs. They swallow the food so fast, that I don't believe they even taste it. There tails are wagging, and some don't even go for the food, they roll on their backs wanting a scratch on their bellies. They start running, jumping and kissing me and my buddy. They go back to their food, and come back to us. All their eyes are on us with such trust and hope, and their tails wag so fast, that I have come out with black and blues on my thighs.. They devour the food, then it's time for them to devour some love and peace. My buddy and I sit down on the dirty, pee stained concrete floor, and we let the dogs jump on us. They lick us, they put their butts in the air to play, and they play with each other. Some lick each other, but most are glued on me and my buddy.

I look into the eyes of each dog. I give each dog a name.
They will not die without a name.
I give each dog 5 minutes of unconditional love and touch.
I talk to them, and tell them that I'm so sorry that tomorrow they will die a gruesome, long, torturous death at the hands of me in the gas chamber.
Some tilt their heads to try to understand.
I tell them, that they will be in a better place, and I beg them not to hate me.

I tell them that I know I'm going to hell, but they will all be playing with all the dogs and cats in heaven.
After about 30 minutes, I take each dog individually, into their feces filled concrete jail cell, and pet them and scratch them under their chins.
Some give me their paw, and I just want to die. I just want to die.
I close the jail cell on each dog, and ask them to forgive me.

As my buddy and I are walking out, we watch as every dog
is smiling at us and them don't even move their heads.
They will sleep, with a full belly, and a false sense of security.

As we walk out of the doomed dog room, my buddy and I go to the cat room. We take our box, and put the very friendly kittens and pregnant cats in our box. The shelter doesn't keep tabs on the cats, like they do the dogs.

As I hand pick which cats are going to make it out, I feel like I'm playing God, deciding whose going to live and die.
We take the cats into my truck, and put them on blankets in the back.

Usually, as soon as we start to drive away, there are purring cats sitting on our necks or rubbing against us.
My buddy and I take our one way two hour trip to a county that is very wealthy and they use injection to kill animals.

We go to exclusive neighborhoods, and let one or two cats out at a time.

They don't want to run, they want to stay with us. We shoo them away, which makes me feel sad.
I tell them that these rich people will adopt them, and if worse comes to worse and they do get put down, they will be put down with a painless needle being cradled by a loving veterinarian.

After the last cat is free, we drive back to our town.
It's about 5 in the morning now, about two hours until I have to gas my best friends.

I go home, take a shower, take my 4 anti-anxiety pills and drive to work.. I don't eat, I can't eat.
It's now time, to put these animals in the gas chamber. I put my ear plugs in, and when I go to the collect the dogs, the dogs are so excited to see me, that they jump up to kiss me and think they are going to play.
I put them in the rolling cage and take them to the gas chamber. They know. They just know. They can smell the death.. They can smell the fear.
They start whimpering, the second I put them in the box.
The boss tells me to squeeze in as many as I can to save on gas.

He watches. He knows I hate him, he knows I hate my job.
I do as I'm told. He watches until all the dogs, and cats (thrown in together) are fighting and screaming. The sounds is very muffled to me because of my ear plugs.
He walks out, I turn the gas on, and walk out.

I walk out as fast as I can. I walk into the bathroom, and I take a pin and draw blood from my hand. Why? The pain and blood takes my brain off of what I just did.
In 40 minutes, I have to go back and unload the dead animals. I pray that none survived, which happens when I over stuff the chamber. I pull them out with thick gloves, and the smell of carbon monoxide makes me sick. So does the vomit and blood, and all the bowel movements. I pull them out, put them in plastic bags.

They are in heaven now, I tell myself. I then start cleaning up the mess, the mess, that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not spay or neutering your animals. The mess that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not demanding that a vet come in and do this humanely. You ARE THE TAXPAYERS, DEMAND that this practice STOP!

So, don't call me the monster, the devil, the gasser, call the politicians, the shelter directors, and the county people the devil. Heck, call the governor, tell him to make it stop.

As usual, I will take sleeping pills tonight to drown out the screams I heard in the past, before I discovered the ear plugs. I will jump and twitch in my sleep, and I believe I'm starting to hallucinate.

This is my life. Don't judge me. Believe me, I judge myself enough.

That is one job in this world I would NEVER want. I had tears in my eyes too.

Oh dear...all the benefits and pay in the world could not get me to do this job. How awful...it's any wonder this guy can't sleep at night.

I just can't imagine dealing with that job week after week. He is a very brave man.

i emailed this out, it sad, but needs to be heard, maybe it eill get ppl off their butts to get their animals fixed!

Sad isn't the word for that. Who ever wrote that was a very brave soul to bare all of that for the world to read for the sake of getting more people to spay/neuter their pets. If he wasn't doing it someone else would and at least he has empahty for the animals.

omg thats the saddest thing ive ever heard i feel like throwing up and now my day is crappy..poor babys i wish i could take them all in i swear one day im going to open a no kill shelter and help animals out i wish ppl would spay and neuter there animals!

Now if only more people see this & understand.

I thank god that right now, the HS here is only deciding the fate of one dog. One dog. Not suffing gas chambers full.

Here's a link to an online petition to stop this practice in Texas:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/249938390

How horrible.

That was not a good one to read at work, but the reality is there, and people need to see this type of stuff to WAKE UP and be responsible so this is not a common event.

I couldn't even read the whole thing, I started feeling sick to my stomach.

It sounded like the guy really hated his job, but I really feel that he also loved the animals and even though he knew what he had to do, he tried giving them just some love.

That was so very very very sad.

OMG i balled and balled and balled.

I have mixed feelings about it, its a very sad story, but im also mad at the guy for doing what he did, even though he showed them love, it doesnt take away that he killed them in the end, its confusing.

i doubt that the person that wrote that is really someone that does that for living, but i guess it could be true. It was well well written to pull your heart strings for sure. however it will only affect those of us who care about animals. Will it change the general public ideas? maybe.

however it does show for sure the need to fix your pets.
We say we love are animals, but we(humans)we allow them to make more unwanted puppies and kittens.

if we dont want, things like this to happen, then we need to do are part to see it does not happen, and people are not forced into a spot where there is a need to destory these animals

I couldn't read the whole thing -- it's just too sad.
There was something similar in a NY magazine a year ago, and the person talked about how s/he tried to make the animal's last moments before the injection special -- lots of petting, a treat, sometimes some music -- it killed me.

Thats just showing how Human is absolutely the top predator in the animal living chain...how cruel and how sad!
And who we are to judge to..when, where, how to make them die or not?

And I think this mail is a "campaign" to neuter our pets. If he doesn't want to do the job...fine, just quit?!..don't make an excuse for neutering as the choices that he cannot make when he kill the animal.

However those are a sad job !...if he knew he is going to hell why he just find a better work to live??....

I don't know if the story is true or not, but I do know that people who work at our county shelter have told me how they hate having to put the animals to sleep, that it really hurts them to do so. I can only imagine how awful it must be to know that you have to do that on a weekly basis. I know I couldn't do it. But they told me it's part of the job, and that the older animals have to be put down to make room for the younger ones who stand a better chance at being adopted.

But when I offered to adopt an older cat, to keep it from being euthanized, they wouldn't let me because the cat would live outside on my farm. (I have a unique situation here where my cats have access to my potting shed, so they have their own house, lots of water and food a litter box and of course they are utd on all shots and on Frontline plus so they don't get the itchies from flea bites)

Now that is confusing...I think my two cats would say that they have a very good life here, and that it's sure better than being killed.

I get frustrated at that, I could easily afford two more cats, but according to them, I do not qualify. I don't get it...