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BitaTruble -> RE: "Dropping off" an animal ... (2/22/2009 5:56:34 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY
But most of the time the dogs were harmless, prior pets, lovable in their own right, and I respected them enough not to put them to death. If I could find no one to accept responsibility for them, I'd "drop them off".
Some (many, I dare say) see this as being somehow "cruel". I disagree, and believe it is cruel and unfeeling to simply condemn an otherwise healthy and lovable animals to extinction without chance of reprieve. By taking them out, and leaving them to chance and the kindness of strangers I believe that I at least gave them a chance at life, and a chance at happiness, even if the occasional cost was struggle and death.
That's all I've asked for in my life: a chance. I see extending the same possibility to these animals as the moral and respectful thing to do.
What are your thoughts?
Firm
When I get an emotional kneejerk reaction to a post, generally, I try to step away and try to see if time will allow me clarity of thought. If that doesn´t work, I turn to doing what I do best which is research. Getting facts often helps me see beyond my heart and with this post, after wishing vile things upon you, hoping that you would get caught and criminally prosecuted for animal abuse, I figured it was time to do some actual research to see what other options you would have had in KY.
When it comes to stray dogs and rescue shelthers in KY, basically, they suck. Two counties are currently undergoing law suits for violating federal animal cruelty laws, failure to wait a mandated 48 hours before carrying out euthanasia and failure to test adequately for rabies at their shelters and several others have had to clean up their acts because of the inhumane way that strays were and are being treated. Resources are slim in the cities and the rural areas have almost no resources at all. Labs, Goldens, Rotties, Beagles, Siberian Huskies and German Shepards are the 6 most common breeds of animals which are abandoned or lost. These breeds all require more food and care than simple lap dogs and are more likely to survive in the wild. Dropping off a lap dog in the wild is pretty much a death sentence.
I could not find any statistics regarding pure breeds versus mixed breeds and the associated survival rate except that pure breds who are lost have a 67% chance of being reclaimed if they are taken to a shelter. Mixed breeds have only a 40% chance of reclamation. If the dogs were truly abandoned rather than lost, then, of course, they would not be reclaimed although if they are chipped, their owners could be located and then they would be responsible for the dogs expenses if the owners are still in state. In addition, I could not find any statistics on a national level, but researching several states, the average seemed to be about 25,000 abandoned dogs per state per year. That was for 1993 though and including 1998. Given the state of the economy in the US now, I would surmise those numbers may have risen significantly.
So my thoughts .. given the information I found out, given the fact that any stray that came into my possession would have an unknown history, given the state of animal shelters in KY, I suppose I can understand driving several miles to drop off the strays that found their way into your life but that you could no longer care for .. for whatever reason. That said, rabies, while rare in the United States has not been eradicated and putting strays back into the wild increases their chances of infection. Also, because of the unknown history, you cannot say for sure whether the animals were lost or abandoned nor whether or not they were chipped. Driving them to the shelter could have determined whether or not that much loved, otherwise healthy and previously lovable pet was being missed by some family and since most of the shelters in KY are in compliance with mandated law, the odds are the dogs would have, at least, been given a health check and then been adopted or not as luck allows. If adopted, they would have received automatic rabies vaccines. Most folks who want a pet do not go driving around the rural country side looking for one.. they go to rescue shelters.
All in all though, I think you were stuck between a rock and a hard place and did the best you could at the time .. and any choice could have been good or bad for the animals. Strays left in the wild; usually bad and their chances are slim. Strays left at an animal shelter in KY; also bad and their chances are slim but they have more of a chance if they are left with another human, especially if they are lost rather than abandoned, than if they are left in the wild in very rural areas such as yours.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation in the future, you have more options now. Craigslist, a resource which did not exist 10 years ago but which does now, is one of those new options.
You have taken some heat on this thread. You knew you would though, and knowledgeable consent is the best kind. [8D]
Was it justified heat? ::shrugs:: You choose to bring this to the boards so ya takes yer chances. Do I think you are some sort of asshat for what you have done? Not really. I do hope you do not do it again, though, since you have other options now and if you did do it again, then, yes, I would consider you an asshat. For the time frame of which you spoke, with the resources you had available, it comes down to doing what you think is best and that is what you did, so I cannot fault you for it. I, personally, would have made a different choice.
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