Spent a day at the Memphis Animal Services' shelter last week. What an expeience. In one hour, there were 17 kittens and 4 mama cats brought in and about a half dozen dogs.
One litter of kittens and mama were taken straight to the euthanasia room. Why? The shelter doesn't have a cage free to let a mama nurse for three weeks. There are simply too many animals coming in the door. And why is that? Well, I was at my favorite coffee house, Geekers in High Point Terrace, talking about all the kittens when a little girl piped up pointing to her friend saying her cat just had a litter of kittens.
"Why," I asked her, when there are hundreds of cats and kittens dying every month in shelters? "They are so cute," was her reply.
You should see how cute they look when they are being given a shot that stops their heart. That's what happens to most of the ones that comes into the Memphis shelter.
And don't get me started about the condition of some of these dogs. They are pathetic, scared. Many of the people who bring them in don't even have a leash or collar for them. They just drag them in using old clothesline or a rope. The dogs are unclean, unwell and many have open sores and wounds that have not been treated. Many look like they've never been touched by a hand that loves them in their whole live.
But that's not what the population is at the shelter. Usually the dogs that come in in that condition are put to sleep. Why? Well, many people don't want to start out in the negative with a dog. That is, they want to pay their $50, and that be all they spend until next year when their shots are due. They don't want a dog that they have to invest hundreds of dollars in right off the bat. It's the mentality of going to a shelter. They say to themselves, if I'm going to spend that kind of money, I'll go buy a purebred puppy from a breeder.
It's a sad statement in this society that one dog has value over another simply because of its breed. These are all God's creatures and they all deserve love and tenderness from us, regardless of their breed. To give one value over another is ridiculous.
There are some adorable dogs at the shelter, mixed-breed dogs with the most precious personalities, full of joy and fun in spite of their perilous situation that may find them killed after 3 days.
I'm working on a story about the volunteer program and I'm hoping each of you will take it to heart and dig deep to find the courage and humanity to go there and volunteer yourselves, maybe just 2 hours a week. For anyone who loves animals, it's not a lot to give and it will certainly open your eyes to their plight and hopefully make you realize that you should never in your life BUY another animal but instead adopt one from a shelter or a rescue group. Furthermore, you should teach your children that breeding is wrong and irresponsible regardless of how "cute" the offspring are. Until everyone as a society does their part, the insane killing at the shelters will never end.
And please don't be one of those people who blame the shelters. They are doing a service for these animals who could otherwise be left on the street or in a yard suffering. At least the shelter ends their suffering. Thank goodness for a place like that and a staff with the courage to do what is right and tenderly ease their suffering.
