People are angry with shelters, not just because of the numbers of dead animals, but also because of the shelter workers’ belief that the dead animals entitles them to show no compassion whatsoever to the human beings who find themselves backed into a corner where they feel they have no choice but to give up their pets.

I have family and friends, and my dog came from a good breeder whom I communicate regularly with. If I found myself unable to keep them, I’m confident I could place them all safely with people who would give them loving forever homes, and maybe even give them back if my circumstances changed again. (If appropriate. My older cat is old enough that if I did have to place her in another home, it would probably be better for her to stay there permanently, if she had to stay there more than a few months.)

But what about people who don’t have that network? Or whose network is too small? My sister would take my cats, but she wouldn’t be happy taking my dog for more than a few days. If she were all I had, and I were homeless myself, what could I do? Shouldn’t a shelter be the place where a person with no other options can take their pets to be safe? And should people in that situation have to face the anger and judgment of people who assume that anyone who is bringing in an animal is automatically irresponsible and a probable abuser?

What happens is that the anger at the owners gets so institutionalized and almost automatic that people kind of get to knowing that if they find themselves in a bad situation and bring their animal in, that they might be facing all sorts of punitive reactions from the person on the other side of the counter. Regardless of what led to their having to take this step. People like Becky have worked to try and make sure that front-line workers are showing more compassion and less criticism, but as is evidence elsewhere in this thread, the resentment is still there, and you better believe John Q. Public knows it - whether any given John Q. Public is an actual abuser or not.

So - as you say - there is no doubt that there are *individuals* out there who have absolutely no business ever owning another animal. But what the shelter workers have to be constantly vigilant about is not painting ALL owners who have to surrender a pet with the same broad brush. Because ultimately, THAT might discourage people from turning their animals over to a shelter for care at a time when “shelter” is what is needed most.

http://thedailybite.wordpress......-are-real/

People do need to be aware that they may need to sign the dog over to rescue temporarily for insurance and liability reasons, and that if they disappear and cannot be contacted for a excessive period of time, which should ALWAYS be determined in writing, the dog/s might be re-homed.

Again,the terms of these arrangements should always always always be spelled out in writing and signed by all involved

That is $1500 a month. And remember — it could be a LOT more if you had, say, a Labrador retriever.

I guess “not expensive” is, like most things, relative.

Additionally, many of these people have children, jobs, are moving into housing that doesn’t allow pets (as many, many rentals don’t), and it’s not a situation where they’ll be on the streets for a few weeks. It’s a complete lifestyle change with no end in sight.

I agree: It would take a lot, it would take an apocalypse, for me to let my dogs go into a shelter. But I have no kids, and I live in a place with very mild temperatures. One of the shelter workers who told me she’d “live in my car before I’d give up my dogs!” lives in ARIZONA, where it regularly goes up over 100 degrees in the summer. How the hell was she going to live in her car with dogs? What was she going to do with them during the day?

Of course, that has nothing to do with your suggestion, but apparently I’m still ranting, LOL.

I did not say anything about “shelter workers”; I said people in animal welfare organizations. The ones I’ve been the angriest at about their framing on this issue haven’t been shelters at all — well, one of them is PETA and I guess they operate a kind of slaughterhouse shelter.

The use of terms like “dump” and “abandon” to describe the act of bringing one’s pet to a shelter is so ubiquitous in the animal welfare community that finding examples of it feels kind of like proving the sky is blue. I see it constantly, in online discussions, in the comments section of my article on foreclosure pets, here on Pet Connection, in rants on other blogs, in forums on pet websites… it’s everywhere.