Why I spay/neuter?

Question

This is why I spay:

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 Yotz.
Yes, I'm going to Yotz. 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 nobody'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 bellys.
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 Yotz, 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 overstuff 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

P.S. This is not my story, it is a man who I have had close contact with for some time. He is a very kind man and he is telling the truth.

Answer 1

I wish every idiotic BYB on these boards would read this and really understand what the rest of us are trying so desperately to get into their heads! What i really think that needs to happen is that everyone who plans on breeding ACTUALLY go to a shelter or control facility and watch a handful or so of loving, adoptable animals be put to sleep. I would hope that that would change their minds.

Thanks for posting this, I hope it it will hit home the overpopulation problem in this country to some of the morons on these boards.

Answer 2

Your story is very sad, and I have never called you any of those names. I am an animal lover, and since I lost my buddy 4 years ago, I haven't the heart yet.. to get another. It is horrible what the animals go through, but also what you endure as well. It must be terrible for someone with such a kind heart, to be in a position to have to do such a horrible task. It takes a toll on ones soul. I sympathize with you and understand your anguish. Your in my prayers, and I hope that people hear and understand your plea, then maybe more will reach out to not only make the treatment of these animals more humane at death, but more humane and bearable for guys like you that have do a job they hate... just to make it.
Maybe, you should stop judging yourself in such a negative way, you aren't a monster, just someone faced with monsterous society.

Answer 3

Thank you. That brought tears to my eyes. I volunteer with a no-kill rescue, but I know all-too-well how most shelters work. I doubt anyone with your job enjoys their work.

It's so easy for people to blame the ones who do the killing, when in reality, it is not you at all. If people would just fix their pets. ALL their pets. BEFORE they ever have babies. Every one of my pets is fixed, including my rabbit, even though I only have one. All of my pets were fixed PRIOR to 6 months of age, or within weeks of me getting them if they were adults. Nothing makes me want to smack somebody upside the head more than hearing "I've got some cocka-lab-schnauzer pups, want one?". A friend asked me the other day if I had any pregnant cats cuz she wants a kitten. It was so hard to not just go off on her. I told her "No, all my animals are fixed" and left it at that. Biting my tongue.

Thank you for trying to make people realize what they're causing.

And as for those who "can't afford it"... almost every community these days has spay/neuter assistance. In my area, there are countless places that will do it free if you are low income. In most cases, it's not that they can't afford it... it's that they wont take an hour or two out of their day to go where they need to go to drop off the cat and pick it up at the end of the day. It's "too inconvenient". THOSE are the people who shouldn't have pets.

Answer 4

I wish more people would take your words to heart. It really pisses me off, some of the people I've seen on here want to start breeding animals just to make some extra money, or they are just too stupid & lazy to get their animals fixed. I think its great that the animals that do get put down by you in your shelter have a last memory of 1 good time in their life. They may not have been lucky enough to get a new home & life, but they were lucky enough to be seen to by someone who truly cares.

Answer 5

Well stated.......the idiots out there that CAN afford cat food to feed the kitten or puppy CAN'T afford the $35 to get the animal fixed so it doesnt reproduce.

Ive heard some people say"I got a male,I dont care"

I think it should be illegal to have an animal not netuered/spayed unless you can prove you are a licenced breeder

Answer 6

This is a very sad fact. Thousands of animals are euthanized daily.Overpopulation of pets needs everyone to do their "bit". We, as pet owners should aim to be part of the solution,not part of the problem. Spaying /neutering our pets not only helps reduce needless deaths,but it also has many health benefits too. All responsible pet owners should spay/neuter.

Answer 7

i feel for you if the authorities made it so people could afford to spay or neuter then maybe you wouldn`t have such a crappy job.all of my animals have been spayed or neutered,the people that can`t afford to have it done shouldn`t be allowed to have animals.i would not want your job for all the money in the world,may you have some peace at night.god bless you

Answer 8

omg this is so sad I am sorry you do this and i love animals but i am glad you atleast give them one good day... I am sure all there souls are looking at you with happyness and no you not going to yotz you seem to be a good man but the person who makes you do this so you can have money to live is going they are terriable.

Answer 9

That is the most interesting thing I have ever read on this site. I hope it is sincere and I also hope that others take the time to read it in it's entirety and do the right thing which is to spay/neuter their pets.

Answer 10

Good luck, man.