Safe Shelter?
Of all the stress-inducing, morally angst-ridden vocations one might pursue to make the world a better place, running an animal shelter has to be in a league of its own. Critics of animal shelters—yes, there are a lot of them—insist that there’s a loving owner out there for every needy animal. It’s just a matter of bringing the two together. I suspect this is true, much as there’s also enough food available to feed every hungry mouth in the world and that, come on, all we have to do is evenly distribute all those global calories. Were it only so simple.
Reality, of course, gets in the way. And for animal shelters that reality is a new order of grim. On one end of the spectrum there are breeders. These creeps will customize your designer dog to meet every aesthetic wish your status-seeking heart desires and then sell him to you for a mint, leaving you less inclined to pick up a loving if less anatomically appealing friend at the local shelter. No one is damming up this mill.
On the other end you have another breed of creep who forces his pit bull mixes into a procreative mash-up for the sole purpose of fighting, guarding, or otherwise menacing civil society. Not the dogs’ fault, I realize, but it’s the shelter that we call on to clean up the mess and find a secure home for a dog who spent the formative yeas of her life behind a chained link fence frothing at the mouth. Then there’s money. Shelters are seeing funds dry up faster than a cattle pond in West Texas.
That snap you may have just heard is me bending over backwards to make it clear that I know animal shelters are trying to do heroic work under dismal conditions. I make this clear because I’m about to be critical of them. Please note: what I’m getting ready to put out there is by no means a universal problem; it’s an incipient one. What follows is not a blanket condemnation but a plea to nip a problem in the bud. It also works from the premise, one that I try to live my life by, that the best approach to pretty much everything except poker and chess—be it a job, family, love, or whatever—is to be transparent. And hence my point: turns out many shelters, for fear of bad publicity, are not being transparent. Shocking! Well, no, but worth highlighting nonetheless.
The issue is this: there is an ominous if nascent trend developing whereby animal shelters are limiting public access (largely by ending or carefully limiting the use of volunteers) and obtaining legal authority to operate as a holding facility. This transition happened recently at the Lancaster County Animal Control Center in South Carolina after a volunteer leaked a photo on Facebook of a dog sitting next to her own feces in a cage. I never saw the photo but it evidently suggested poor treatment because the shelter was flooded with angry messages from the general public. The shelter responded by removing its Facebook page, reviving it with strict limitations, requiring a massive insurance policy for new volunteers, and limiting those volunteers to employees of the Lancaster Humane Society, not the general public. This turn of events, by the way, is not limited to Lancaster County or South Carolina. It’s happening elsewhere as well.
Whether or not this a story that will have long legs in the national media remains to be seen. What we can safely state is that public access to animal shelters that are financed (however poorly) with public funding is not only a basic right, but also an essential motivation to encourage shelters to lower kill rates. Additionally, given that volunteers are possibly less likely to be jaded and desensitized to animal suffering than full-time employees (I stress possibly here), it is further incumbent on the public to protect access to shelters, either as volunteers or visitors, in order to ensure the most sensitive vigilance to mistreatment.
At this point, I will simply keep an ear and an eye open for more stories that suggest a closing of the shelter doors upon both animals and the public who wants to see them adopted rather than killed. Please let me know if you have information to add or subtract. And for those who toil daily in shelters under the most difficult conditions, I salute you.
Thanks to Jennifer Mora for the tip.
Tomorrow: dog books
Hey James I love reading your articles. I have been a volunteer (in the past) at a no kill shelter. I now foster animals. We have 3 no-kill rescues and 2 kill shelters in our general vacinity of Jackson, MS. The kill shelter where I volunteered had app 350 dogs and cats, with 4 full time staff. Not many other volunteers. On any visit I could pay attention, walk or care for only about 5-10 animals. The rest languished in their kennels for years. I became aware just recently that several of these no-kill shelters routinely truck many of these animals, as many as 25 – 30 at a time, up north to the New England states because according to them, the dogs will be adopted since there are not as many adoptable dogs up there. They also recieve funds for these animals. At least two of these shelters have restrictions on who can come to help. I worry about the fates of these dogs. I am sure the northern states have strays and unwanted dogs as well as the southern states. When asked about these dogs, the same answer – they will get better homes. No transparency.
I’m sorry I meant to say I volunteered at a NO kill shelter, not a kill shelter.
No kill shelters are usually better thought of as “selective admission shelters” who merely deny admission to animals so others can kill them (think local Humane Societies) unless they have responsibility for all the animals in a geographic area — such as approximated by the Broome County shelter in upstate NY after its transformation by Nathan Winograd, who sis the greatest proponent of the No-Kill Effort in the US today.
The greater theme of today’s column could include information hidden from taxpayers, secret board meetings, embezzlement, use of spay and neuter funds as political slush funds by seeking reimbursement for such procedures on animals killed specifically so reimbursement can be sought, abusive workers who beat r neglect animals, dogs sold to dogfighting rings, and a general municipal contempt and ennui for all things non human. There are some wonderful shelter workers and volunteers but the non-sociopaths burn out or become collectors or experience “compassion fatigue” and perform as automatons. There is simply not enough space for all of this
The Lancaster shelter just opened up their Facebook page this morning to allow comments and sharing photos of animals (to network them to safety). Then they closed it down and it appears that the few animals whose pics were being circulated for rescue or adoption have been euthanized. They don’t seem to know how to handle being accountable, transparent and diplomatic at the same time. We don’t know why exactly why they did this today. They are run by the county administration which rarely goes inside the shelter versus the sheriff’s office which deals directly with animal abusers, hoarders (collectors), dog fighters, etc.
This situation is assanine.
John you are absolutely correct about no kill shelters being selective admission shelters. Understandably, they cannot take in every unwanted dog, or cat they just do not have the funds or facilities. The question that is asked is: Will this dog be adoptable ie: small, cute, puppy, purebred etc. Unfortunately the state I live in, Mississippi, have very weak animal abuse laws which makes it even harder for no kill shelters to do what they need to do. At least one kill shelter has had accusations of abuse. A case for example is 2 separate county shelters – with no pubic admission to shelters- whose director and employee were killing dogs for sport, throwing their bodies in a field with the mayor in full knowledge. His response? “This gentleman made some mistakes….” One of them was never charged with anything. I’m sure I got off subject somewhat – I am prone to that – but that being said we have many shelters who refuse to allow public access. Dog fighting rings are busted at least once a month, starving horses are left to die in fields, and many dogs spend their lives on the end of a chain. How wonderful it would be if all shelters worked with the people who want (and even work with each other) to help instead of denying them access to the shelter and therefore help.
I live in Massachusetts where there are strict leash laws (and possibly other regulations that I’m not aware of) that means that there really aren’t very many strays, as there might be in other states (referring to Jennifer’s comment above). We got our dog from a shelter that trucks dogs up from the south (we were told our dog came from Tennessee). That kind of explains why shelters do that sort of thing.
I had no idea, however, about the other issues relating to shelters (kill or no-) that James’s article brings up and that others have added to. Thank you, James, for writing about this and creating a space to discuss it.
TVK – There were a lot of animals in their shelter (I think 74 animals were killed in January, need to confirm). They had their Facebook page set up so that an individual had to copy the animal’s photo on Lancaster’s page and save it to their own computer. Then share that from their own photo album. This makes it very difficult to communicate with other rescues and cross-posters as every one leaves a comment or question. We suspect that the shelter could not handle any criticism or negative feedback about any animals on their premises. Even a comment like, “Oh, that poor little dog looks unhappy” might get someone blocked from making comments on their Facebook page. They are just crazy! I made a phone call to find out about an animal who was suspected of being euthanized because a rescue was poised to pick them up that morning via the comments on a photo from a fellow cross-poster. When I asked the office manager what the animal’s status was, she said that the dog was euthanized that morning just an hour before. She said that she had been working on socializing this dog to try to make it more adoptable. But any bit of criticism of the shelter and how it handles these things and they go off the deep end. This particular animal’s life could have been saved if they had not slowed the process of communication down with the Facebook page stumbling blocks. But you can’t tell them that and they will not listen.
James, Thank you for sharing this information about the shelters. There is Taylor, KY which has just shut down access to its shelter through a judge order (HSUS knows about it). Just a general search on the internet for terms “volunteers banned from animal shelters” pulls up Houston and many other places.
Thank you for at least giving me a little insight into why dogs are being trucked up north. But if there are no strays on the street, where are they?
dead
John I was afraid someone would say that….. then why the movement from here to new england? I know I keep asking but I truely dont understand. Every state in the nation has animal control and strays/dog pounds and shelters. I ask because the little one I am fostering right this minute is slated to leave for Maine next week and I am very worried about what will happen to him. To say “they will find him a better home” seems like a very vague answer….
Linda Norris: I also foster for a rescue out of Brooklyn, New York. However, I am kept in the loop from the time my foster leaves my care until long after it goes into it’s forever home. My rescue contacts me regarding their care, and what is going on with them and sends pics of them in their new home. They have a $200 adoption fee which helps to cover tranport and spay/neuter costs and also helps to ensure that someone is really ready for a pet. They also have a 12 page application and a home visit is a must before the adoption can be completed. Any dog adopted must be kept as an inside pet. And, if for any reason that the owner has an issue with keeping that dog, then it must come back to the rescue for replacement…this is signed in a contract. I also fill out a 2 page questionnaire before sending the foster that answers questions about their behavior, likes/dislikes, any and everything that will help when seeking out adopters. If the rescue that you foster for doesn’t offer this information to you, then I assure you, that there are some out there that will give you access to your fosters for an extended period after leaving your care. I know that there are no absolute guarantees of safety, but I feel much better about my fosters because I am able to have access to all of this information.
Angela I have never been asked to fill out any paperwork about my fosters (I have fostered app 20 last year). I do not know exactly where they go. There is a rescue(?) group called Canine Commitment they have mentioned to me. Once they leave my house, I never hear about them again. When I ask I am told oh he is doing great. Are you familiar with this group?
Linda – May I interject here? Is this them on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canine-Commitment-Maine-New-Hampshire/171494870210
If it is, they post pictures of their rescues and the family photos. The page is real open to comments and sharing.
And here is the Maine chapter’s website. http://www.caninecommitmentme.org/
I’m not sure if it is – it sounds like it may be. I will call the rescuer who is taking the pups and find out. Thanks!
transports are way of reallocating economic and social disutilities in terms of surplus puppies and an insufficient supply of compassion in Mississippi. The munis in Mississippi should allocate resources for no kill shelters and also enact breeding taxes and bans on retail pet stores as a way of minimizing municipal costs.
your puppy will probably be ok
Well, you are right on as far as compassion. As far as allocating funds for no kill shelters and breeding taxes…. I hope I live long enough to see it but I doubt it. I must say we have very few pet stores in Jackson metro and surrounding communities which sell dogs or cats. Every street corner however, has someone sitting in a lawn chair with a puppy on their laps and a for sale sign leaning on the chair. And thanks John. I appreciate the nice word on my foster.
I am drafting a retail pet sale ordinance for a large municipality in the South (not Mississippi) right now which includes a ban on roadside, parking lot, and flea market sales and have already done the same in other states which have enacted them as laws. if you can organize your muni government to adopt such an ordinance i will be happy to customize it for them
Couldn’t get my comment to post early this aft., so am trying again (James, if I succeed this time, please ignore my request to post on my behalf):
As I understand it, there’s the old model “no kill” that is known for warehousing dogs and for selective admission, though such decisions vary from shelter to shelter, depending upon management.
And then there’s the newer “No Kill” (all caps) movement, advocated by Nathan Winograd. No Kill has been fine-tuned to prevent warehousing and can be applied to any shelter, whether open or selective admission, whether public or private.
In your backyard, James, lives and works one of the most prominent activists in the No Kill (all caps) movement, Ryan Clinton. I sense he’s so well-versed on the entire shelter industry that he could bring you up to speed on all the issues you mention, including transparency.
Here are a couple of stories written about Ryan, his FB page (for those who are still on FB, that is!) and the Pets Alive! FB page:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2011/1031/Ryan-Clinton-wants-to-make-animal-shelters-no-kill-zones
http://www.theamericandogmag.com/no-kill-movement/ryan-clinton- (requires the hyphen at the end to open the link)
https://www.facebook.com/Ryan.David.Clinton
https://en-gb.facebook.com/austinpetsalive?v=wall&viewas=0
P.S. As to dogs going from South to North, yes, trailers loaded with pre-adopted shelter dogs from Mississippi are trucked to Connecticut weekly. My sister and her family stood out in the cold December air waiting for their new “family member” to arrive three years ago. In 2010, ANIMAL PLANET featured their dog’s rescuer in a show titled “Last Chance Highway.”
I live in Chester, SC, a hop skip and a jump from Lancaster, and saw the photo mentioned in this article.. Yes it was appaling to see, however I saw no reason to pass judgement on the employee’s there, People do not understand this is a very small rural shelter that is vastly understaffed…There are a mere 24 runs in this shelter and they are bombarded with people surrendering their pets as well as the dogs that people put out on the road for AC to pick up as strays…. Remember that these people have a very difficult job to do already, and passing judgement on them in no way, shape or form is helpful…..To those who saw the need to make malicious and vile comments thank you for sitting behind your computer screen passing judgement and making a bad situation worse…My suggestion to all of you who did that, log off, and go to your local shelter and volunteer to help. Help clean pens, and exercise the dogs, take photo’s of the dogs on need and help find them homes, WORK to make shelters no kill, and if you can not do this much then sit down and STFU, you are not part of the solution!!! Let those who are on the front lines do what they have to do and keep your holier than thou opinions to yourself!!! Now I have to get back to my FB page and post more animals in need from Lancaster, Chester, and Union SC, shelters, because I chose to be part of the solution!!!!!!!!!!!!
Janetta – The fact is that this shelter could vastly improve its situation by opening up its shelter to help from volunteers and do what I mentioned earlier which is to be diplomatic (respectful to its constituency and general public) in regards to that photo. Their reaction resulted in punishing those animals. Their attitude is moronic (and it is equally questionable that you shoiuld support it) in that they cannot accept criticism from people who you say don’t know what they are talking about. So why should it matter? By telling anyone who is critical of their incredible missteps to STFU is just as disrespectful as their behavior to their constituents and does a disservice to the animals. Their reaction is a step backwards for the sake of their own egos. This shelter is not the only one closing its doors to the public (as mentioned earlier). Again, their reluctance to accept help from volunteers and move towards a no-kill agenda speaks volumes. If you care so passionately about non- human animals then you should care about this too. No one person’s actions are above reproach especially where taxpayer dollars and animals are concerned. A good shelter director knows that the animals matter more than what someone says behind a keyboard (your characterization). The shelter should not use your taxoayer dollars to hire an attorney to tell them to shut access to volunteers who could help them and to shut down their Facebook page. That is just ridiculous and it is even more so that you would defend that.
Janetta just a side note here… I was a foster for one of the no-kill shelters in our area. They do good work-yes and no argument there. I had fostered, taken dogs to vet, taken them to petsmart for adoptions, cleaned cages etc for this shelter. So imagine my surprise to find myself defriended by shelter’s director. After some research (maybe a mistake? ) I was told she had deleted me because of my POLITICAL views….. huh? I had caused her to be stressed after she saw one of my posts after the election which, btw had nothing whatsoever to do with animal rescues. She would be posting no other animals on my page. I was completely shocked that she would put her political feelings before the animals needing fostering and crossposting and told her so. Her reply? You caused me emotional distress, (with the post) I am the director and I’ll do what I want. There are 3 no-kill shelters here and none of them work together. They cat-fight, backstab, and trash talk each other. So sad but it is the animals who pay for that kind of behavior. ONE no-kill facility actually is run professionally and they def are beyond reproach. The rest fall victim to their own actions. And when you say log off and go to the shelter…. I can assure you I do that. Foster and give money also. So some of us are not simply sitting behind their computer screen complaning.
Linda – The tactic of “getting personal” is very unprofessional and one adopted by commenters such as Janetta when she accuses critics of not doing anything more than complaining. The people employed by the shelters ARE accountable for their actions and the less ego-driven ones know it and act with humility and optimism. Shelter employees are not martyrs. They receive a paycheck for which the public trusts them to “do the right thing” and be transparent about it. If the shelter does not do everything in its power to keep these animals alive and eventually find good homes then it is doing a great disservice. I have seen defenders of this shelter react as Janetta has without regard to what the critics actually do for shelters. All they say is, “Don’t you dare criticize us” and less respectfully, “STFU”. And this to volunteers, who get paid nothing, to transport animals great distances, take photos and videos of them, clean the shelters, etc. Yes, very disrespectful and ignorant.
The lack of transparency and culture of fear in animal shelters is not a nascent trend, it has been going on full force for decades.
When I lived in New York City twenty years ago, the Center for Animal Care and Control (the city’s shelter) prohibited volunteers after a number of volunteers starting protesting about the needless killing of healthy dogs and cats. Similarly, when I moved to Austin, Texas
six years ago and volunteered at Town Lake Animal Center , the lack of record keeping and reluctance to be forthcoming about the numbers of animals killed was pervasive. Many of the volunteers I met there were
afraid of speaking their minds for fear that they would no longer be allowed to volunteer. Luckily, this facility is now run by Austin Pets Alive under the leadership of Ellen Jefferson. She is an excellent person to contact for information about how to run a No-Kill shelter.
I know that shelters have routinely shut out volunteers who do not toe the party line, and that volunteers are very afraid to speak out. I have never, however, heard of the public not being allowed to come into a shelter during designated hours to adopt.