8 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Dog Shelters
I don’t know who wrote this, but it’s great. From ToyBreeds.com.
8 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Dog Shelters
1. “No-Kill” Dog Shelters Aren’t Totally
In the website words of one of the first no-kill shelters, The San Francisco SPCA:
“(We) guarantee to find a home for all San Francisco’s adoptable cats and dogs - animals that are healthy and free of serious behavior problems. Animals are euthanasia only if they are too sick to be rehabilitated, or too aggressive to be safely placed in a home.”
2. Tax Supported Shelters Can’t Reject Dogs
No-kill shelters have been criticized for skimming the cream of abandoned dogs and letting public, tax-supported shelters deal with all the sick, aggressive and elderly dogs.
There is truth to this. If you take Fido to a no-kill shelter, you may be required to have a clean bill of health from a Vet before the shelter will accept him. People who won’t or can’t afford this wind up leaving Fido at the county shelter.
3. Owners May Not Have Told the Truth
The most common reasons given for turning in a pet is that the owner is moving or divorcing and can’t take Fido with him.
That may be true but begs the question of why didn’t the owner try to place the dog himself? If you paid $800 for a purebred or loved your dog, it’s very likely you’d try to find a good home for him (if not resell him).
The dogs that wind up at shelters tend to be dogs that aren’t socialized or trained. Owners are too embarrassed to admit their dog is out-of-control.
Some shelters claim they don’t take puppy mill dogs, but how could they possibly know the dog’s background!
4. Some Adoptions Don’t Take
Be sure to ask the shelter if the dog had been placed previously. You may be surprised how many dogs are rehomed and then sent back to the shelter.
People mean well but if they don’t have much experience with dogs, they may be overwhelmed by how much time and effort it takes to care for a normal dog, let alone one with behavior problems.
5. Shelters Serve Their Needs, Not Yours
Financial support for a shelter is often tied to its success in getting dogs adopted.
Some shelter volunteers or employees believe every dog should be adopted (rather than risk euthanasia) and place dogs even when they have show signs of aggressive behavior such as guarding food and toys.
Many shelters permit adoptions of small dogs with behavior problems, even biting, that they would never allow in larger dogs.
If your local newspaper has columns on dog placements, note how often the shelter claims all the dog needs is a loving home, but he shouldn’t be in homes with small children or other pets.
6. Your Dog May Bark in Chinese
Thanks to the publicity campaigns to get people to spray or neuter dogs, some shelters are running low on popular small dogs and puppies. They ensure a sufficient supply of adoptable dogs by importing them from foreign countries.
Visit the website of the Taipei Abandoned Animal Rescue Foundation to see how happy they are to have placed so many dogs in the United States from the Humane Society of Snohomish County, WA to Pets Alive, a no-kill shelter in Middletown, NY.
Shelters are exempt from many of the import laws and have no federal requirements to quarantine the imports or ensure they are free of parasites and diseases before they place them.
Does that sound paranoid? Ask the six Massachusetts residents who had to take rabies shots because a shelter imported a rabid puppy from Puerto Rico. The puppy was too young to have his rabies vaccinations completed but shelters want puppies to satisfy their clients.
7. Laws Don’t Necessarily Apply to Non-Profits
Despite the hysteria you often read about buying puppies from pet shops, you should realize that at least pet stores have to obey federal and state laws.
Usually these laws do not apply to non-profits and community shelters. For instance, federal law forbids transport of puppies younger than 8-weeks for sale. If you read #6 above, you already know that doesn’t apply to local shelters. State puppy lemon laws usually don’t apply either.
The most frequent complaint I get about shelters/rescue groups from would-be adopters is discrimination. One lady was told that at 65-years of age she was too old to adopt a puppy! Good luck trying to find an agency to investigate any complaint. Non-profits get away with things that would land Wal-Mart in the headlines.
8. Shelters Are Not Dens
Many dogs do not do well at shelters. Some dogs adjust to kennel life but others become fearful, frustrated, and overactive which makes them even less likely to be adopted.
Many shelters simply do not have sufficient staff to exercise and play with each dog to the degree the dog needs to become socialized.
It’s also extremely difficult to prevent the spread of illnesses when you have so many pets in one location. There’s a reason canine infectious tracheobronchitis is popularly known as “kennel cough.”
None of these problems are the dog’s fault, but they’re still problems. Ones that are difficult for inexperienced dog owners and time-starved families to overcome. Think before you make a decision purely on emotions.
At shelters as well as used-car lots, caveat emptor.
