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| Adele, Chi II, & Roxanne at Rasta's Spring 2012 |
After wellness checks and getting over a bout with kennel
cough, the girls were taken to their first adoption event at Petco. Adele found her furever home within 3
hours and Chi II caught the eye of a devote dog-lover while stopping at a
friend’s shop in route back to the Ranch.
It was love at first sight for Francine at Petco and the owner of Craft
Cut. Francine and her husband had
just been to a big adoption event at PetSmart, where the Santa Fe Animal Shelter
and other rescues had dozens of dogs available for adoption. Francine had looked and looked, but
didn’t find her dog. On the way
home she just happened to say to her husband, “Let’s just check Petco.” We were the only ones there that day
and as soon as Francine saw Adele (now Ade) she knew and visa-versa.
Note here, on 3/12/12 time was up for Adele, Roxanne, and Chi
II, all three pups, three-months and under, were on the ever-present euthanasia
list. Figurative or real, the Euth
List exists at kill shelters throughout the United States. In some places it’s created in the
mornings, very early, prior to opening, and dogs of all kinds are pulled from
their tiny cement block and concrete pens, not always by human hands, but
sometimes a tool and thereafter given their lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital
or other lethal drug combination by a euthanasia technician. And some places
still shamelessly pile animals into gas chambers.
Every day rescues, cross-posters, transport coordinators, and
volunteers work tirelessly to the last minute to pull dogs and cats from kill
shelters. They take pictures and videos,
and then post them on Facebook, websites, blogs, and YouTube. They share their stories across the
country, reaching out to fosters, reaching out for help, because they know so
much has gone wrong with the shelter system. They know something must be done and do what they can. They give where others have failed,
they fight an endless tide, because for some ignorance is bliss.
Some fail to spay and neuter because they think those cute
puppies they dump at the shelter will find homes. Some get a dog then realize it doesn’t come trained. Some must move and can’t take their dog
with them. And the list of reasons, for some, continues. Not realizing
there is help, many turn to the taxpayer funded county shelter, which is
usually underfunded, understaffed, and overwhelmed. No sign on the door reads: “Owner Surrenders Will Be
Euthanized Within 24 Hours” or in some places immediately. No sign posts the kill rate of the
shelter, be it 90% or 60%. No
staff member recommends checking with local rescues. Rarely do they offer free spay and neuter clinics, though
often low cost clinics are available.
No real honesty exists because the truth would hurt the sensitivities of
enough that the community might get in an uproar and start protesting,
exposing, and deconstructing to find a better way, to get answers, to change
what is. That’s what happened on
April 30th 2012 over just one dog….
Stay Tuned for Just One Dog - Part II
