Pounds, gas chambers, & pts rate.

katkisses

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I decided to make this thread because a few members were suprised that some pounds still use gas chambers. One member actually found out that their local pound was one that uses gas still. I want to know how to get involved and at least make my voice heard, if anyone has any ideas.

My local pound has an alarmingly high pts rate.... for 2007 80% of all animals that were put into the system were pts. Who know how many of those animals were lost pets, babies-no animal deserves this. The animals here that go in with no tags get 7 days tops (I believe it's 3 though), if they are not adopted in those 7 days.... well you know. RIP beautiful souls who just wanted a home


We do have 2-3 no kill shelters, but they get little funding, are always full, and are always getting the stick from the city. Our # 1 no kill was forced to put a layer of rocks in the dog runs, get new facilities, fork over $, and alot more-just to stay open. I am honestly surprised that they were able to do the upgrade.... they almost didn't make it.

So, I have to ask... You any of your pounds still use gas? What are the pts rates of healthy animals that cannot find homes in time? How many days do the animals get before .... their time runs up?
 

sakura

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Though I'm not 100% sure, I don't think our humane society uses gas. The reason I say this is because I know they give something to the animals before they are euthanized that makes them very groggy.

During one of our volunteer orientations, they told us that the national average of the percentage of animals that come through the door that are put to sleep is 50% (this includes pet relinquishments, strays, everything. At least I think so). Our average is much lower, at only 25% of all incoming animals being euthanized. We were getting about 1,000 animals a month but that has increased by 10-20% in the past few months so it's something like 1,100-1,200 now (or maybe the increase was just a summer rush). So the percentage is lower than the national average, but that's still 275-300 animals euthanized a month.

We don't have a time limit on adoption. If an animal is deemed adoptable, they will be put up for adoption at the humane society until they find a home. The thing that bothers me about our shelter is that none of the older cats seem to make it into the adoptable pet area. Most of the cats up for adoption (there are 55-ish at the moment) are under 1, with only a few between 1-2 years old. Maybe that's because we are at the end of kitten season...but it's bothersome. Volunteers have nothing to do with these decisions so I don't really know their criteria. I hate going in the stray/unclaimed room because I know a lot of the cats in it won't be up for adoption (too "old", too feral, etc.) and that means they will be put to sleep. We keep strays for the legally required time period (I think it's 5 days??) and then they are evaluated for adoptability, but I don't know how long that takes as I'm not involved with that.

We do have a considerable number of local no-kill rescue groups, including a cat-only rescue group. Our humane society has a lot of foster homes that they rely on heavily for caring for kittens and adoptable animals that need to be away from the shelter for a brief period. We also have cats at PetSmart.

Euthanization is a necessary evil until the pet overpopulation problem is curbed by more spaying/neutering and more responsible pet owners. Stricter laws about who can breed would not be a bad idea either.
 

booktigger

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I am glad that we dont have shelters like that in the US, although the problem we have is that as we dont (and the longest one of my fosters has been here so far is 14 months, as well as the couple we have had that have lived their life out with us), is that we have to say no a lot due to no space, and I always wonder what will happen to them. One of the larger charities in the UK though are known for pts, we are taking in a blind and deaf cat at the weekend as that rescue said they would pts immediately due to no space, not waht the person who found her wanted to hear.
 

white cat lover

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I know with certainty that the shelter here doesn't use gas. I say this as I've transported animals to the vet to be euthanized, and held their heads while the vet did it. Animals are euthanized for aggression or for a health issue that is untreatable/greatly diminishes quality of life. Yes - we do euthanize when cost is a factor on medical issues. If I hadn't fostered Bea & found someone to donate for her surgery - she was going to be euthanized. We rarely have to euthanize for a lack of space - rarely - but it does happen. It's been 2 years since I picked out 4 kitties to euthanize due to no space...
 

javannalynn

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I know that this is NOT going to be what you want to here....BUT I personally think it is good that the unwanted pets are "put to rest" rather then living out their days in a cage with no one to love them and take care of them. I happen to live in a small town with a "No Kill" shelter. This was one of the worst ideas they could have come up with in our small town. (about 25,000 people) The people that run the shelter now have these mangie looking sickly animals and won't take in any new animals because no one wants the mangie ones they have. My sister found a boxer mix that was so skinny you could count his ribs and we took him to the shelter and they wouldn't take him. They said they were full as this dog with very bad mange and a huge tumor come walking up to us. All we could think is this dog we have is very adoptable and just needs some good food and TLC. we ended up giving him to the animal control office who talked the shelter into takin him. There are so many cats there they don't know what to do with them. I find it sad that they would let these animals live their days in a shelter in a cage! The only reason we are over run with animals is UNRESPONSABLE PET OWNERS! Letting them breed and not taking care of them!
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by JavannaLynn

I know that this is NOT going to be what you want to here....BUT I personally think it is good that the unwanted pets are "put to rest" rather then living out their days in a cage with no one to love them and take care of them. I happen to live in a small town with a "No Kill" shelter. This was one of the worst ideas they could have come up with in our small town. (about 25,000 people) The people that run the shelter now have these mangie looking sickly animals and won't take in any new animals because no one wants the mangie ones they have. My sister found a boxer mix that was so skinny you could count his ribs and we took him to the shelter and they wouldn't take him. They said they were full as this dog with very bad mange and a huge tumor come walking up to us. All we could think is this dog we have is very adoptable and just needs some good food and TLC. we ended up giving him to the animal control office who talked the shelter into takin him. There are so many cats there they don't know what to do with them. I find it sad that they would let these animals live their days in a shelter in a cage! The only reason we are over run with animals is UNRESPONSABLE PET OWNERS! Letting them breed and not taking care of them!
Fortunately not all no-kill shelters are like what you describe. In fact what you describe is animal abuse and the people running the shelter in your town should be prosecuted and if I were in your shoes I would be pursuing this very strongly.

The no-kill shelter near me does not keep their cats in cages. They have 2 cats rooms where the animals are free to roam and separate rooms for quarantine animals. The cat rooms are well equipped with cat trees, padded shelves all over the walls, food dishes, fresh water twice a day and multiple litter trays. The animals are brushed and groomed by volunteers, nails clipped by volunteers and socialized by volunteers. They are in excellent condition, in fact I found a stray that was matted beyond believe and starving. He was treated by their vet, shaved and brought back to the beautiful condition he should have been in to begin with. He was at the shelter for almost a year before being adopted.
 

booktigger

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I sort of agree, but it depends what the local rescues are like - the local mixed rescue here has some dogs that are going to live their life out there (you aren't allowed to ask why) and they are going to spend the rest of their lives in an outside concrete pen - it claims on their cage that they have good food, friends and everything they could want - but they dont have a nice fire to sleep in front of, or a rug, and it is quite upsetting. I am lucky that our rescue is a home run one, so the current longstayers are living in my house, i tend to get all the oldies. The other two rescues i have involvements in do have lots of space for the cats, and they all seem very happy, however long they are there.
 

jason.drwe

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Wow

This is a heartbreaking thread and really brings home the reality of working (volunteer or otherwise) in this area.

It is a hugely difficult and philosophical debate to euthenise or not. But any animal lover or owner will know what fantastic and individual characters they are, if only the choice was straightforward.

Jason
 

mrblanche

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Our shelter euthanizes with an anesthetic, not with gas. We don't euthanize any unless they get too sick to be helped, or are too feral, or (dogs) are agressive.

We have adult cats all the time. We had a pair brought in, one 5 and one 13, and both were eventually adopted.
 
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katkisses

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Originally Posted by JavannaLynn

I know that this is NOT going to be what you want to here....BUT I personally think it is good that the unwanted pets are "put to rest" rather then living out their days in a cage with no one to love them and take care of them. I happen to live in a small town with a "No Kill" shelter. This was one of the worst ideas they could have come up with in our small town. (about 25,000 people) The people that run the shelter now have these mangie looking sickly animals and won't take in any new animals because no one wants the mangie ones they have. My sister found a boxer mix that was so skinny you could count his ribs and we took him to the shelter and they wouldn't take him. They said they were full as this dog with very bad mange and a huge tumor come walking up to us. All we could think is this dog we have is very adoptable and just needs some good food and TLC. we ended up giving him to the animal control office who talked the shelter into takin him. There are so many cats there they don't know what to do with them. I find it sad that they would let these animals live their days in a shelter in a cage! The only reason we are over run with animals is UNRESPONSABLE PET OWNERS! Letting them breed and not taking care of them!
You misunderstood the thread...

I am saying that shelters shouldn't use the gas chamber to pts animals. Not that we shouldn't pts animals ever...
 

duchess15

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

The no-kill shelter near me does not keep their cats in cages. They have 2 cats rooms where the animals are free to roam and separate rooms for quarantine animals. The cat rooms are well equipped with cat trees, padded shelves all over the walls, food dishes, fresh water twice a day and multiple litter trays. The animals are brushed and groomed by volunteers, nails clipped by volunteers and socialized by volunteers. They are in excellent condition, in fact I found a stray that was matted beyond believe and starving. He was treated by their vet, shaved and brought back to the beautiful condition he should have been in to begin with. He was at the shelter for almost a year before being adopted.
That's how my no kill shelter is here. Granted - it doesn't always smell the best, but with over 100 cats, what can you expect? The cats are well taken care of and they always have volunteers helping out.
 
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