Oh my God, this pisses me off... -_-?

Question

Why is it that some dogs who are rescued could have multiple stab wounds a split open head, an ear and a leg ripped off, and the animal police have enough heart to save the poor thing and the dog recovers from it well and is rehomed. Yet, there are cases where a dog has a few pieces of skin torn off, or a few wounds which aren't nearly as bad as a ripped off leg or split open skull, and they're put to sleep? Personally, I think that the people who "rescue" these dogs care, but they don't care /enough/. And I can't believe the story I read about some dogs being put to sleep just b/c they were timid. I'm like, WTF?! That's bullsh!t. I've seen on Animal Planet, and dog who appeared to be dead. He was frozen stiff, yet still alive. There was no way in Hell he could survive, right? They put the dog on and IV and watched him and within a few weeks, he was adopted into a new home and doing fine. I mean, if they can do that, why do they kill dogs who would have a very good chance of surviving?

Wow, see? Looka' this. I just read a story on the net about a dog who's face and jaw were literally split open and ripped apart, yet the rescuers are going to do surgery on her and try to repair it, and save her. Yet, on TV, they put a dog to sleep JUST because it had heartworms and had a few teethe missing... -_- I can't stand those people... They're too lazy to help certain dogs. They only help the ones they /want/ to help... Or so it appears...

Exactly, I don't /have/ to clean up after my dogs. I put them on Nutro, and they don't have to go as often, so they don't go on walks... =) So, no cleaning dog crap for me. (Only cleaning the kennel)

And let me just say that I've gone to the pound before not long ago. I was looking for another dog b/c my dog, Strider, died. I went to the local shelter and they turned me down on 3 dogs b/c 2 were pits or pit mixes and the other was a puppy who was shy. That's the reason they wouldn't let me have the dog. B/c it was shy. So, I assume they put the dogs to sleep. That's what they said they'd do with the pitbulls. Just b/c they're pitbulls...

Oh, believe me, I know exactly how bad heartworms are... How do you think my previous dog died? He died from treatment. He only lasted 2 weeks and died from suffocation after the vets repeatedly told us that it was "normal" for him to be breathing that hard. On his last day he was breathing so hard, he couldn't even take time to eat or drink anything. We /did/ bring him to the vet on the last day, but apparently the vet thought nothing was wrong.... Pfft... -_-

And GitEmGang, what am I supposed to do at 15 years old? With a mom who works every day full time and a brother who also works and goes to school... What am I supposed to do to help animals. I'm doing what I can, alright? I just rescued a black lab from my friend's family who was going to bring her to the pound just b/c she was hyper and they didn't want to pay attention to her anymore. She was starved and very skinny and had to eat her own feces because they didn't feed her enough...

So, I'm doing my part and I'm trying to help the ones I can. So, don't you tell me that I'm not doing anything. You don't even know...

draggardevir, Aw! I wish I could be you!

K, had to get that out. See, my mom is living paycheck to paycheck. I'd LOVE to work at the shelter. I've been wanting to, actually, but I can't. Like I said before, mum works all day and bro works and goes to school. I'm homeschooled so I'd have all the time in the worls ro help at a shelter. But I can't.... =( And I'd LOVE to donate money to help, but I have none. Like I said, I'm doing what I can. Like saving that black lab. She's the sweetest and most well mannered thing on Earth, and I'm glad I saved her from going to the horrid pound. But it's not the pound I'm mad at. I completely understand how many animals they get each day, and I understand they have to put them to sleep b/c there are so many. I'm not mad at them. It's just the stories on TV or the net where /rescue organizations/ put to sleep dogs who could easily be brought back and rehomed. I'm just mad at the fact that the shelter over here isn't even trying....

I mean, how could they say, "No, we won't adopt this dog out b/c it's a pit or b/c it's shy. We'll kill it instead when there's someone who wants them..."

THREE dogs, they turned me down on... So, I got my new pup out of the paper....

Well, you've got a point there. It's the owner's fault.... True.... I agree with you there, I guess.... Yeah, I do.... But still it's just.... I want to know why they put some dogs down for the smallest things, but save others who have even more horrific injuries than the ones they put the sleep...

Well... Okay, I'll be honest and tell the whole story...
After we had asked about the dog, well, /puppy/, they all went into another room to talk amongst themselves. (strange?) After a few minutes, one of them came out and said the puppy is shy and he snapped at them when they tried to go near him. But that's just it, he was a /puppy/, so if he had a loving home, he could have turned out to be a nice dog. I've been learning about dogs for 3 years now, and I would have easily known how to deal with a dog like that, but they wouldn't even let me see him... Of course, I understand if they didn't want me getting bitten. But my dog, Strider, he was also EXTREMELY shy when I got him as a pup, but he turned out to be the best dog ever. =)

Answer 1

First, don't confuse shelters with rescue organizations!!! My wife and I are the main contact for our area (probabaly 4-7 states) for Belgian Malinois rescue and we haven't put down a single dog yet.

First of all, it makes you make very TOUGH decisions. When I do dog evaluations, I'm the person who decides if it lives or dies. It's not easy. I always have to question, what if I say no becaue it seems fear agressive and the dog, in reality, was just having a bad day and was really super sweet? I live with this on my conscience. I almost didn't pull a dog mainly because of his size and he looked mean, but after 10 minutes with it, I reluctantly pulled him from the shelter. Luckily, he turned out being the sweetest dog ever.

Now, say I do pull a dog out who ends up biting someone, or worse? Guess who's legally responsible? ME! If I think the dog will be agressive, then I have to refuse it.

Our local shelter has to euthanize thousands of animals a month. Why? Overcrowding. Instead of being mad at the rescue organizations and shelters, why not be mad at the irresponsible people who don't spay or neuter their pets, or the irresponsible breeders who just dump whatever puppies are in the litter that thay don't want? Yes, our local shelter, like clock work, gets a batch of puppies, my wife looks at them and knows what lines they're from and we know the breeder.

Shelters do not have the room for all the animals coming into them, and no one is willing to transport the animals to where they could easily be adopted out.

Rescue organizations, while giving the animals a good home, are very often strapped for resources and rely on donations of cash, time, and gas (yes, I drove 4 hours once (each way) just to complete one leg of a transport for a dog who was being homed over 1,000 miles away).

Instead of complaining about the end result, why not complain about the cause of the problems? Why not donate time and/or money to shelters and rescue organizations so they cantry just a little harder to save one, or two, lives?

Work with your local rescue, see if you can foster a dog for a while so they have a little extra time to find a good home for the dog?

*** (added) ***

At 15 years old there isn't much you can do, but instead of complaining about people trying to save these animals, while protecting themselves form lawsuits, why not go after the cause of it? Irresponsible breeders / breedings, irresponsible owners, etc..

Rescue organizations and shelters have a legal responsiblility to ensure that not only does the dog go to a good home, but that the dog will be good to the home.


*****

In a perfect world, we wouldn't need pet shelters or rescue organizations, and they would all be kennels for people who go on vacation.

In a near perfect world, 100% of the animals who go into shelters or rescue organizations would be adopted to great homes and wouldn't come back.

Too bad our world isn't nearly perfect. The shelters and rescue organizations need to be 200% sure that the dog will not be any issue. They won't put down a dog just because it's shy or missing teeth.

Now, they said "shy", but what else was there, was it fear agressive (where the dog's agressiveness comes uot when it's scared, a symptom of that is being shy). Did it have other illnesses?

They love to show dogs being healed by vets, especially from serious injury, that makes for good TV ratings. The I've pulled a puppy out of a shelter once w/ a broken leg. She healed, and is not in a great home.

The pet rescue / animal cops shows look for ratings, like any other TV. Would Cops or Rescue 911 have their high ratings if most of the criminals got away or they all died? Nope, so the animal programs do the same. They're only showing you less than 0.0001% of what goes on.

If you really want to see what it's truly like, volunteer at a local animal shelter. Even a few hours a week. Maybe even keep a journal of what you do. Do that for a few months, then maybe submit a story about your experiences in the shelter to the school paper. Get others involved. Who knows, if your story is a success in the school paper, maybe a local newspaprt (or news station?) might be interested in it.

Good luck!

Answer 2

That is a horrible story, unfortunately there are people out there that really "DON'T" care like they say they do. There are certain things that some dogs don't recover well from, like heartworms, or so I have been told. But to be in dog rescue and put dogs down for wounds more repairable than others, I don't understand that either. I am with you on that. How about "food aggression"?
Did you see "Shelter Dogs"? It will make you look at dog rescue in an entirely different light. I know a few people in animal rescue, I am involved with cat rescue and wildlife rescue, (raccoons) and I have a cat that the vet wanted to put down, for Leukemia, she is the best cat in the world, I have had her since 1999, they said she would not live passed 2 years, but she is so healthy and strong. I think if these dogs were given more hope and love they would make it. I don't agree with alot of people on animal rescue, (probably why I like animals more than alot of people) :)
I don't know what else to say, except that I am happy for the dogs that were given a chance and sad for the ones that were not given a chance. You have a good heart. Have a good day.

Answer 3

Sometimes dogs have personality disorders that do not allow them to be adopted. Being in a rescue program myself, I am the one who is responsible for the behavior you are so disgusted with. ASPCA (who you see on animal planet) has much greater resources than the average rescue group. Also, as a rescue group, we must abide by state laws that determine what path a rescued dog will take. Not every dog is a good canidate for adoption just a not ever person is a good canidate for a dog. Timidity is not a reason to have a dog put down. There was probally an underlying cause for the procudure. I have taken many dogs that seem unadoptable and turned them around and found good homes for them. If this is unacceptable to you, join a rescue group, we always need help, people and money!!!!!!!

Spay and Nuter!!!!! (that way we dont need rescue groups!

Heartworm is a very serious condition. If it is too advanced, there is nothing that can be done.

Answer 4

it does seem like an interesting problem but im not sure why other than possibly doing it for the TV/media value. there are often a lot more problems than just torn skin. for example there could be bacteria in the wounds.

unfortunately, rescue centres dont always have a lot of money, if they know a dog will get rehomed then it is worth it for the happiness of the dog. also the personality of the dog is important, if a dog is scared witless at the sight of a human then it isnt going to rehome and will take a long time to rehaibilate.

its all a money game unfortunately. its the way of the world

Answer 5

nothing is ever fair, not everyone loves animals like we do, i would do anything to save a dog, i once saw a dog get hit by a car and the person drove on, i was in my car behind and i jumped out and lifted the poor thing up into my car. because the vet wasnt open i had to sit in the police station for about 2 hours until they rang the vet and got him to open the surgery, when i took the dog up to the vet the vet said they would keep it there over night to see if anyone came to claim it, i asked them if they would be giving it some medication & an xray, they said no because who would pay for it! anyway i went back up the next day & the owner had been in so thank god or it would of been put to sleep

Answer 6

I think you maybe confusing "animal control" with "rescue"

Any open shelter has to euthanize. Over crowded breeds diseases. Animal control officers are there to put the animals out of misery. County shelters get funds from fines and penalties placed on poor pet owners and via county contract to accept animals in that county. They have to accept everything coming in the door this is why owner give ups have no hold time. SOmeone takes a pet in that they can't keep they can go directly in the door and euthanize. They use their funds to continue getting pets off the street. Their adoption guidelines are excessively strict on disposition yet they will adopt you a sick pet.

Rescue is usually a bunch of crazy women trying to save the world. We can not accept everything anyone wants to bring us so we can save the ones we do take. We don't get government funds we rely on community patrons donations to save the ones we can.

Something about Heartworm. It is the worse treatment I have ever seen. I have my rescue that went through treatment. She has other issues too, but they are not okay after treatment!! I was told forever that it was treatable and they are fine afterwards. When Bess went through treatment and the vet told me he didn't want to discuss the damage to her heart until the worms were gone I about fell over. (I get attached to my fosters) He said there was damage and I should think of heartworm as a worm eating an apple all the heart tissue is gone. You don't know how bad the hw was and Bess is doing good now its her home and she rules the roost all 120lbs of fur. We love her and her wicked ways but we fell for her out of guilt. The treatment was horrible and painful I probably should have let her go. I refuse to foster HW dogs but Ill take parvo any day!!

Answer 7

A lot depends on the nature and extent of the wounds as well as the level of medical care available for the animal immediately.
If the animal has superficial wounds then they'll make every attempt to stabilize them and get them to a proper facility.
If they're severely injured and in great pain but not anywhere close to a clinic then the humane needs of the animal have to be considered.
Your reference to heart worms... Sometimes the animal is so far gone with an affliction that the attempted cure would kill the animal quicker than the affliction itself. Heart worms have to be caught early in order to be treated effectively. In that case, euthanasia was the humane decision.

Answer 8

I personally stopped watching Animal Cops Detroit because of putting all the Pitties to sleep just because of them being Pits.I will watch Animal Precinct ,they tempermant test and do their very best to adopt Pitties out.It's not that I don't care for other breeds of dogs,but Pitties are the ones who need the most help out of any other breed of dog. In my area Pitties are adopted out to homes. A very rigid screening process is involved ,which thank god people care.

One last comment ,those poor Pitties that where pts during Floyd Burduoxs(sp) bust. None of those dogs had a chance.Again because they where Pitties and possibly been fought. Instead of testing them ,lets just destroy them. I'm off of my rant. I could go on and on.

When I look at Piper and Tigger ,I feel so much pain for all those abused ,and unloved Pitties in the world. They are pts just because they are Pitties.


This is not what you're asking for. Sorry.

Answer 9

The people that rescue animal's do care or they would'nt be doing that , quite often, heart breaking labor of love. When a dog comes to you all torn up, he must be taken to a vet and that costs a lot of money. I alone spent over $4000.00 last .year , and that does'nt include food or flea prevention, or the many other little cost involved with dog's. As far as putting a dog down because of a non-agressive personality problem, I don't understand that either, but all we can do is our best , and save those that we can. If people would learn the importance of spaying or neutering their animal, this problem would'nt be nearly as large. Please be a new ambassador of spay and neuter and you will be doing your part to help. Thank you for caring.

Answer 10

Different cities and states have different ordinances as to what they will and are willing to do for an animal. And it often comes down to budget constraints or what the public is willing to give. It's a harsh cruel world out there.