Question about no-kill shelters

[MushyMushy]

DS has been volunteering for the local Humane Society, which went no kill a few years ago. I volunteered for them when they were a kill shelter, and it was so hard working with dogs who might end up being put down.

DS has gotten attached to a few of them and wants to rescue one -- a pitbull -- because it has some aggression problems and will be sent to a kill shelter if they can't rehabilitate it. Well, it's out of the question for us to rescue it.

Anyway, doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of being a no-kill shelter if you're just going to send a dog to a kill shelter if you can't re-home it? Aren't they supposed to hang on to dogs or find them a rescue, rather than having them put down?

 

[GoodFairies]

No-kill shelters can't just keep accepting animals. Why use the food and space for an unadoptable dog (an aggressive pitbull) when it could be used by an adoptable pet? It's a sad situation but they can only do the best they can.

 

[MushyMushy]

No-kill shelters can't just keep accepting animals. Why use the food and space for an unadoptable dog (an aggressive pitbull) when it could be used by an adoptable pet? It's a sad situation but they can only do the best they can.

I agree, but I think they shouldn't advertise themselves as a no-kill shelter. Sure, the dog won't be put down on the premises, but it will still be put down nonetheless.

I volunteered for a no-kill shelter many, many years ago and it did have to turn away a lot of animals because they were so full. But, they didn't release any that would knowingly be put down.

 

[DMickey28]

Our local shelter is similar. They are a no-kill shelter for dogs that are adoptable but not for aggressive dogs. It stinks. A few months back we no choice at the end of a long long road but to bring our dog there ... he was not deemed adoptable, which in my heart of hearts I knew, but he was adopted by a person I had spoken to about him in the past in the end.

There is another local shelter that is true no-kill and a few aggressive dogs live there in the back away from guests and other animals. In my opinion that is not fair to them either.

Unfortunately there just are not enough people, time or money to rehabilitate all dogs that are aggressive but can be rehabilitated.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I have a problem with the whole concept of a no kill shelter. A life stuck in a cage or dog run is no life at all. I think it's more humane after years of not being adopted out to euthanize (humanely euthanize, not shove into a gas chamber).

Bottom line is there is not enough homes and until people stop buying puppy mill dogs and start spaying/neutering their pets, we never will get on top of the pet population. Shoving them into cages for the rest of their lives is no life at all. Often times the most humane and loving thing is to put them to sleep.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I adopted from a no kill shelter when I lived in Cincinnati. They truly were no kill as they didn't send animals out and didn't accept more than they had room. It was set up like a house where pets (cats/dogs) of varying ages and aggressions were given rooms together (5 dogs/cats per room, filled with toys and beds and room to run around), none of them were in cages. The dogs were taken out to play and run around many times a day. The rooms with the aggressive dogs and feral cats people weren't allowed in. They would bring out animals individually if you wanted to see them and the volunteers told me they did a lot of work with the dogs to help with aggression and if someone wanted to adopt an aggressive dog they had to go through several days worth of classes and they went to the person's home to make sure the home would be safe for the animal and that the home didn't have small children. And if they adopted the dog/cat and it didn't work out they would always take the dog or cat back. It was a really nice place.

I never realized that some no-kill shelters send out animals to be euthanized.

 

[npmommie]

Bottom line is there is not enough homes and until people stop buying puppy mill dogs and start spaying/neutering their pets, we never will get on top of the pet population. Shoving them into cages for the rest of their lives is no life at all. Often times the most humane and loving thing is to put them to sleep.

agree