I Am Angry.

I was just reading the cover article in this week's issue of New York Magazine entitled "The Rise of Dog Identity Politics" by John Homans and I am so angry about the article's inaccuracies regarding shelter pets. John Homans has done a great disservice to the rescue community and most importantly to the dogs (and cats) in shelters as he writes the following:

"The rescuers have done their work remarkably well. Twenty-five years ago, some 12 million dogs and cats were euthanized, according to the ASPCA. Now the figure is between 3 and 4 million, about half of them dogs. Partly thanks to public education about rescuing dogs, a much lower percentage of dogs taken into the shelter system are eventually euthanized. And both because of the effectiveness of spay-neuter programs and the fact that dogs seldom are permitted to run loose, there are many fewer adoptable dogs. In many places on the East Coast, the demand for rescue dogs exceeds the supply—which means that, one way or another, the red states are supplying more and more of our dogs. A flood of dog refugees like Stella are coming from points south and west and places like Puerto Rico, where there are more-traditional dog cultures."

This is incorrect! Before the recession hit, ANNUAL euthanizations of dogs and cats were estimated to be around 4 million deaths...4 million a year! The author is leading the readers to believe that the TOTAL number of euthanized dogs and cats 25 years ago have dwindled to 3 or 4 million over that span of time. This is wrong and it really angers me. And now as we are in the recession, people are abandoning their pets to shelters at a much higher rate. Dogs and cats have about six days to live, and if they aren't adopted then they are put to sleep. And let me just tell you about the unfortunate ones who develop kennel cough, a very contagious and easily curable virus. I witnessed at the Animal Care and Control city shelter in NYC ("control" means kill, by the way) full cages of dogs and cats in the sick ward, mother cats snuggling with their newborn kittens coughing and I knew that they were not going to be shown to the public for adoption, and were to be killed immediately to stop the spread of the kennel cough. Every day at the one city shelter I just mentioned, every morning, pre-recession, at least 30 dogs and cats were being euthanized. The ones with kennel cough and the perfectly healthy young and old cats and dogs.
Another point that I want to make (not discussed about in the article) is that the ASPCA does a great service for abused animals, but the city shelters need to be interviewed as well. The city shelters are the ones who deal with the bulk of animal drop offs and they are the ones who euthanize. The city shelters certainly do not want to euthanize, but they do so because of lack of space, lack of funding, and not enough adopters.

And this statement is equally damaging-"In many places on the East Coast, the demand for rescue dogs exceeds the supply"

FACT: THERE AREN'T ENOUGH HOMES FOR SHELTER DOGS AND CATS!!! I am so angry that this author has such a public platform to publish incorrect info that can lead people to believe that the shelter pets in our shelters all find homes. His poorly researched article is unsettling. I hope that a lot of the rescue community writes about this as well. I would love for the author to take a more in depth look at how sad and disturbing the shelter situation truly is. And don't get me started on his negative digs at pit bulls. Any responsible person who is familiar with them knows how wonderful and sweet they are.

If you have any doubts regarding my frustration, go to www.petfinder.com and call up your local shelter or rescue group and ask them for the truth. There will be no hesitation, I promise you that.