2,815 Animals Put to Rest!
Had I said that, in person, there would be a long pause right here because that number was staggering. In one year, one third of the animals this shelter takes in is destroyed because they are aggressive and considered a danger to humans.
BBC News reported these animals were brought to the shelter after be rescued from their original owner, and this charity refuses to turn away any animal. Which leaves them with the ultimate choice of deciding if an animal is safe to return to society.
Animals are not humans, and most people will tell you the reason is they do not think, feel, or even understand. I hate to disagree with them, but I do. Just last night, I was in my dining room writing an article for Associated Content, and my husband was in bed. Around three in the morning, our dog Dusty went into our bedroom and started to whimper. This is common for her to do because she thinks she has to sleep with us. Thinking that was what was wrong with Dusty, my husband lifted our 25 pound dog onto our bed, where she is not allowed to be, to be rewarded with, not a kiss, but pee. The dog peed on my husband.
Again, If I was telling this story in person, I would pause here for the laughter. It is okay to laugh, I was on the floor laughing so hard.
She understood what she did wrong. Animals, dogs especially, do understand. Next to Chimpanzee, they have the intelligence to understand basic communications. If I forget to put food in her dish, in the morning, she will bring me her food tray. That is why they are man's best friend.
Now here is my question for the day.
Less say you have a human being, and this human being breaks into a home and slaughters the family. Maybe he or she claimed they were crazy. Either way he or she goes to jail, and gets out on good behavior or the mental hospital said they are mentally healed. Now they are out, and than they do it again. Was this person not a danger to society?
I just wrote about the breakout of an Arizona prisoner. Two of the three men are still on the run and considered armed and dangerous. To translate it into English, they are a danger to society right now. Yet, when they get caught, they will go right back to jail.
Animals do not have that option. If they show one sign of aggression they are put to sleep, permanently. Animals are not humans, but they can be trained. Animals become aggressive when they are threatened or feel their territory is invaded. If I grew up in an abusive home, I probably would not trust humans either. Just as we would a human being, animals need kindness. With kindness, comes the good in animals. If you can take a killer whale, a lion, a tiger, or even an elephant and train it to do tricks than why is it not possible to retrain an injured animal.
No one will forget what happened at SeaWorld in February, and this whale is still there, but it shows even a trained animal can get aggressive. Abused animals are mentally ill, and it is there only defense to protect themselves. However, if you can show this animal that you are not going to hurt it, than maybe these abused animals have more than the option of being killed.
Published by Theresa L.
I am a lover of animals, writing, reading, music, and sports. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentYes, it is very sad. Thank you for commenting Sandy.
Sad, sad story.
Our dog Dusty came from a shelter as well. It is hard to think that is no one wanted her, or she was aggressive that they would have put her down. These poor animals.
So sad to hear this. We got our dog, Toby, from a local shelter.
Putting them to sleep is probably better than doggy jail. Least it is the humane thing to do. Thank you Atlanta.
I love animals, i have several cats, 2 dogs and 2 ducks. This is a tough one though because, they are smart, they learn, but they aren't able to reason like we are. Reason, yes but not the same debth of reasoning. Animals have instincts. They get flashes in their minds, usually this is when they do unpredictable things. Unless you can remove the memories entirely, It's risky to keep an animal that has bitten or the like. Just my opinion from some experience. :) good article Theresa, got me thinking.
I am not sure about other states, but in Michigan when you adopt a pet you are legally obligated to get the animal spayed and neutered. If you fail to do it within a month, they will take you to court. This article was very sad. When I got Dusty, in March, my family was looking at the big dogs. I go back in this smelly back room, and there was this little yorkie/russel mix. I was like 'That one'. I knew within first site Dusty was the one I wanted to have. Her original name was Dinky Doo, and I changed it to Dusty because the front of her face (where the fur hands over her eyes) reminded me of a feather duster. When we first got her, she did not bark. We thought there was a problem with her vocal cords, but now she has turned into a little watch dog. If there is something, or someone around, that is not suppose to bee here, she will let us know. This article was very sad. If I had the room, I would take in more animals.
Good article. I hate that animals are killed because humans are not responsible. I always adopt shelter animals and they have always proven to be the greatest pets for us. Sadly, there are not enough good homes to go around.
I am an advocate of spaying and neutering to prevent over-population of the shelters. As far as rehabilitation - it is the humans not the animals that ruin their temperament. Sadly so. Good article, sad though. cheers :)