By Aubrie Sisk

Staff Photographer

@aubrie_sisk

When I originally had the idea for this column, it was going to be against the shelters that euthanize animals, but when did I some more research and conducted some interviews, I realized the problem isn’t the shelters. It’s us.

Yes, us. It is the humans who love animals and think that we can do no wrong. Many people claim to be animal lovers, and when we think about our pets, we cannot imagine ever abandoning them.

But we do, whether it’s tying them to a pole and leaving them in bad weather or dropping them off on the street corner near a shelter. It just happens, it may have not been the original plan when you first got your dog or cat, but it is the end result of some furry friendships.

It is easy to blame shelters for “heartlessly” euthanizing animals without realizing that it is our own fault.

“Something else we have to be concerned about is the quality of life for the dogs, if I take a dog on and he’s here for three months. What kind of quality [of life] is that for him,” Carrollton Animal Shelter senior animal care specialist Joe Skenesky said.

Keeping dogs in shelters isn’t only about money, it’s about the dogs health too. Sitting in a kennel alone for months is not good for a dog, as they need to be loved, just like us. Volunteers and workers in shelters give as much love and affection to them as they can, but it’s not the same as a houseful of kids would give.

A lot of the time, we do not fully understand the process, and we are apathetic because it is not “our problem.” We are not the ones having to put the animals down.

Euthanization is often the preferred method because of how efficient and painless it is for the animals. As opposed to gas chambers, which used to be common, but are now banned in several states because of the inhumane process.

“When I euthanize an animal I have to hold them, I am holding him in my arms, at his paws, and someone’s injecting medication in them,” Skenesky said. “I can tell when that medication hits. With a gas chamber you don’t have to do that. They go in a big cage, you hit a big button, and walk away. People who use them that’s why they swear by them, there’s no human interaction.”

Many animal shelters like The Carrollton Animal Shelter, have limited space but they legally aren’t allowed to turn any animals away, especially strays.

“[It] depends on our space availability, there’s an automatic seven day holding period and they’re here for about 10-15 days, but others have been here for months,”  customer service coordinator Erica Martindelcampo said.

Even “no kill” shelters like Operation Kindness can not afford to keep all the animals that come their way. Only very few of the same breed can be accepted and there is very limited space in their facility.

“Non-profit shelters with no kill policies depend on donations and volunteers. They’re not able to accept every animal because they don’t have unlimited funding and facilities. But they have a very high intake and adoption rate that’s been growing,” Coppell High School sophomore volunteer at Operation Kindness Maggie Theel said.

An easy solution to this is to neuter and spay puppies and kittens. It may be cute to have a litter of puppies, but it will not be as nice when they are immediately left to live in the shelters. And even so, they do not face the imminent euthanization.

The reality of this is that rarely puppies or kittens get euthanized unless they are sick, it’s mainly the adult animal; the ones who have been brought to the shelter because you found a younger, more energetic furry friend.

It is easy to immediately become attached to puppies, because let’s face it, who can resist those puppy dog eyes? As they grow older our love tends to lessen and somehow you find yourself driving them to a shelter where you expect them to find a great home. Shelters are not great homes.

Ask yourself: Am I willing to make a long term commitment? Because only you can keep animals out of kill shelters.