Friday, October 23, 2009

Why we need to have 'room at the inn"

This afternoon, I received an email from someone whom I consider to be a reliable source :
Lexus is a five year old black domestic medium hair, spayed female. She is not currently up to date on her shots, but that will change. She is also at risk for euthanasia if an alternative home can't be found.
Her current owner recently purchased a new sofa, and Lexus has taken to clawing at it. Her owner is now threatening to have her euthanized, either at the vet's office, or by way of an inhumane homemade gas chamber, courtesy of a family member.
She refuses to explore other possibilities such as soft paws, nail trimming, or training.
This is a cat who has upwards of another fifteen years of life left in her. She's happy, healthy, and active, and sweet natured. There is NO NEED for her to be euthanized. Please pass this along. If anyone can help this poor girl find a home where she will be loved for the rest of her days, please contact ..... in the interests of protecting her privacy, please feel free to email me at webmaster@nshomelesspets.com
Emails like this are getting to be the rule rather than the exception. Responsibility for owner surrenders is tossed like a hot potato .... the society is crystal clear about the fact that accepting owner surrenders is not their job.... most municipalities do not accept owner surrenders ... and most rescue groups are already too full to help.
It has been a tradition for some in the rescue community to view accepting owner surrenders as enabling irresponsible pet ownership. The reality is that accepting owner surrenders saves lives.
Right here, right now, its time to stop making excuses. Don't say that there is no room at the inn if the adoption fee is still being used to recover some of the rescue costs. Don't brag about all the dogs that are being saved when two thirds of the cats are still being killed. ( and before the keyboards catch on fire, the society's claim in its publicly available online stats of one -third is utterly irrelevant if Metro ... just one of their shelters... is turning away 20 to 30 cats a day )
Don't whine that there are no adopters out there when they still have to come to the shelter to meet the adoptables. Don't dare to suggest there are not enough homes when the hard truth is that if one percent of the households in this province woke up and adopted a pet, there would not be enough available for them today.
It isn't the society's job. It isn't the municipalities job. It isn't the job of all the small private groups and shelters.
What time is it? Its time to acknowledge that it is everybody's job. It is a community responsibility and not a hot potato to be tossed around while innocent bystanders like Lexus lose their lives

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