Errol still waits, after 70 dog years
From London's Times Online.
I'm going to say a couple of things about Errol and this story that it doesn't say. Errol is a lucky dog in some ways because he is apparently at a no kill shelter. Good for them. No kill is the way to go. If you have any doubts, pick up a copy of Nathan Winograd's book Redemption. However, that same book and its ideas will tell you that Errol should not have had to spend 10 years in a rescue center. Yes, thank goodness there was a place for him. But couldn't some creative ideas from shelter administration have found this handsome boy a real home at some point in the last 10 years? It's admirable that the center wanted to home Errol with his brother, but during the course of 10 years surely a good home could have been found that would have adopted both of them if the shelter staff had made them a priority.
I'm sorry to be critical of the rescue center, but it's distressing to hear of a dog living 10 years at a rescue center when some good ideas might have found him a home sooner. One of Mr. Winograd's ideas is that dogs at no kill shelters should be effectively marketed to the public so they don't languish in shelters — or worse, so they aren't euthanized needlessly. Rescue and shelter staffs should start using some public relations skills instead of focusing exclusively on eliminating dogs. That's not how you manage the pet population. Instead, you make sure cats and dogs are in good homes.
Let's hope that Errol finally finds a terrific, loving home for his last years.
I'd like for you to also note what the people in the article say about dogs being dumped. The main problem with shelters filling isn't coming from puppies — shelters have trouble keeping enough cute puppies to meet the public demand for adoption. Shelters are filling with dogs of all ages who are dumped by their owners. As many people have said, what we really have is an owner retention problem. People moving who say they can't take their dogs with them; people laid off who say they can't afford to keep their dogs; people who dump their dogs when they go on vacation; people who get pregnant and don't want to keep their dog anymore…the list goes on and on. One person at a time, it adds up to hundreds of thousands. There are many people who think of dogs as something disposable. When the dogs become inconvenient, people dump them.
You can't legislate ethics or morals. Laws against breeders will not prevent people from dumping their pets. Hobby breeders are not the people responsible for the unwanted pets in shelters. In fact, hobby breeders try very hard to choose the best possible homes for their puppy buyers and to educate them about caring for their puppies. If anything, when lawmakers create harsher dog laws, they increase the chances that the average owner will dump their pets. Higher license fees, mandatory spaying and neutering, and other recent ordinances that make it more difficult for people to own dogs lead to more dogs in shelters — and, in many places, more euthanasia.
Education does work. We have gone from rampant pet overpopulation in the 1950s and '60s to having about 70-75 percent of the dog population spayed and neutered VOLUNTARILY today. What we need to do now is to educate people about their responsibility toward their pets and the commitment they are making when they buy or adopt a dog or cat. Pets shouldn't be disposable, but don't make laws that create additional burdens for pet owners. Help educate them about good pet ownership.
When I was in the 4th grade we had a Be Kind To Animals group at my school. We learned about different animals and how to take care of them. We read books about animal communication. We read books about dogs and cats. It was a great introduction to animal care. I imagine it was especially good for kids who didn't have pets at home. That's the kind of thing we need in schools now instead of a curriculum supplied by HSUS or PETA telling kids not to eat meat or drink milk.
There's a difference between education and propaganda. Education can save lives and help us all. Please try not to confuse the two.
Errol
Errol still waits, after 70 dog years
Home Staff
Errol could be the unluckiest dog in Britain, after spending ten years in a rescue centre.
The 12-year-old border collie cross has spent about 70 dog years (according to the popular myth) in kennels after he was abandoned by his owner. But as animal charities prepare to be inundated with dogs and cats dumped over the festive period, Errol is hoping that 2008 might bring him a new family.
He is not alone. The RSPCA takes in more than 50 unwanted dogs and cats a day during December, a figure that rises to 90 in January. The charity said that the surge was not just a result of unwanted Christmas presents being dumped, but was also a consequence of many families having a winter “clear out” before the new year. There is usually a second surge in the summer, when people abandon pets because they cannot find anyone to care for them while they are on holiday, a spokesman said.
Errol was abandoned at the Gemini Kennels in Wickford, Essex, in the summer of 1997 with his brother William. William died last year.
Now the owners of the kennel are hoping that someone will be prepared to offer Errol a home. Michael Knight, 51, said: “We couldn’t home Errol and William together because some people don’t want to take on two dogs and we weren’t prepared to split them up. But now William has gone and Errol is a bit older, we feel it’s time for him to move on.
“There is nothing like a home environment for a dog to live out their final years. Dogs these days can live until they are 17, so he could have a long and happy retirement with the right person.”
He added: “[Ten years] is a long time for a dog to be in kennels, even though he has been loved and looked after. He is fit and healthy. He is not aggressive at all and he is still full of life. After his brother died he fretted for a while but now he is fine. He has calmed down a lot.”
Mr Knight, who runs the kennels with Eunice Reece, 50, said that they were looking ideally for a family or an elderly couple. Mr Knight said: “We are looking for someone who will love him throughout the time he has left. We will be sad to see him go, but we want to find the right home for him. That is our aim for all the dogs at our kennels.”
Last year alone, Gemini Kennels picked up 284 dogs that had been dumped, and rehoused 260 of them. Over Christmas, three unwanted puppies — Holly the Staffordshire bull terrier, Tinsel the shih tzu/pug cross and Violet the collie — were rescued after being given as unwanted presents.
Mr Knight said: “Sadly the number of dogs dumped each year is increasing. We are not just talking about middle-aged dogs but dogs of all ages. We are trying to get the message across to members of the public, but they still don’t heed it. Every rescue centre we know says it is getting worse, not better. It is horrific.”
