by Sherry Law

Created on: September 02, 2008

For over 5 years, I volunteered at an animal shelter in a large Texas city. Though I did everything I could to help the dogs find either a home or snag them a spot with the ever-full rescue groups, I left the shelter in tears most afternoons. I tended to work with big dogs, shy dogs or dogs that appeared to have problems. Most of them ended up being killed. On average, over 50% of the dogs, cats, kittens and puppies that were brought through the front doors of the shelter left cold and stiff in black plastic garbage bags; destination the city landfill. Now I live in a smaller city and find the statistics even worse only a dismal 10% to 15% of the animals at the shelter are adopted before they are killed.

In many cases it is not that these dogs and cats were sick or injured; they had no desperately bad habits or behavior problems that would keep them from being good pets. Though some were what would be considered "unadoptable" (for whatever reason), most of them would have made excellent pets. Many of them were young and up to a quarter of them were pure-breds. So why are so many animals across the country being killed? Sadly, many people are unaware of the overpopulation problem among the world's pets. Also, many people are either unwilling or unable to afford the expense of spaying or neutering their animals.

In a single year an unspayed female dog can have between 8 15 pups and an unspayed female cat will often have as many as 15 kittens. It has been estimated that there are 6 puppies and kittens born for every human birth. That means that to give all those cute puppies and fuzzy little kittens a home, the average family of four would need to have twenty-four pets.

The solution to this appalling problem is both education and action. First, pet owners need to be educated about pet over-population issues and the health benefits of having their pets spayed or neutered. Secondly, pet-owners who cannot afford the expense of spaying or neutering their pets need a place to go where they can have it done inexpensively.

If your area does not have a low-cost spaying and neutering facility, you might want to consider organizing one. Though it is not simple, the results will be felt for years to come. Here are just a few ideas that can help you get started.

1) KNOW THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM. Make sure that you know the scope of the problem. Talk to local animal shelters and rescue groups and determine exactly how much of a problem animal overpopulation is in your area. Be

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>