Euthanasia: The Painful Truth

I was 19 years old when I got my first puppy. I didn't have a dog when I was growing up, so I was excited to bring him home. He was a Rott/Lab mix. I named him "Rebel", because he loved to run free, off of his leash. He'd always lay at my feet, and follow me around my apartment to make sure I wasn't leaving without him. I taught him to sit, to come, to speak, to lay down, etc. He was so intelligent. I had so much trust in him that when we went for our walks, I would let him walk beside me without his leash. I always had it in hand, just in case. But he never strayed. We loved our time together. So naturally, I was heartbroken when I had to let him go.

I was moving out of my apartment and I wasn't able to take him with me. I made flyers to try to find him a good home, but no one responded. Sadly, I decided to take him to a shelter. And that's when I realized how naieve I really was. The dog warden was willing to take him, but he informed me that if Rebel wasn't adopted in a couple weeks, he would be euthanized. Horrified, I took Rebel back home. There was no way I would chance his life. He was such a good dog, and there had to be someone out there who would love him.

The sad and painful truth is there are millions of dogs and cats that won't find good homes. The Human Society of the US (HSUS) estimates that 6-8 million dogs and cats enter shelters each year. These poor animals are kept in small living spaces, behind bars, and sometimes in filthy conditions. They commited no crime, except for being born. They are dropped off at these shelters with no idea the owners they love won't be coming back for them. As time passes, they become old and ill, lonely and unsocialized, and eventually euthanized.

The HSUS estimates that 3-4 million cats and dogs are euthanized each year. In a sense, they are jailed, sentenced, and killed. As soon as they reach a shelter, they are examined to determine if they are "adoptable". If they are, they will get the care they need, such as updated shots and spayed/neutered. If they aren't, they will suffer on death row until their time is up. Most will be "put to sleep" by injection, similar to human inmates on death row. Some will die by gas chamber-- a gruesome and painful way to die. The gas chamber method means a slow death, as they suffer from convulsions. Some will even suffer brutal shootings, being shot over and over until they give up the struggle to live and fall. These innocent animals don't even get a chance to live, to be loved by a person. And unfortunately, it's because of irresponsible pet owners.

Cats and dogs are domestic animals; they trust in humans to take care of their needs. But people take them for granted, and now they have to pay the price. Pet owners drop off unwanted pets in the street and rely on the pets' instincts to take over. The problem is, instincts do take over, and these stray animals keep reproducing, increasing the number of strays. Then they are picked up by animal control only to be euthanized. Pet owners that drop unwanted pets off at shelters just assume they will be adopted. But there are 4,000-6,000 shelters in the US housing millions of animals--chances are, the pets they just dropped off will eventually be killed and dropped into a barrel with dozens of other pets that didn't stand a chance. Meanwhile, people are breeding "purebreds" and selling them, not knowing their "purebred" may very well end up in a shelter. 25% of dogs in shelters are these dogs. And still, people aren't having their pets spayed/neutered. On average, a cat can have a litter 3 times a year and produce 4-6 kittens each time. A dog can have a litter about 2 times a year and produce 6-10 puppies each time. There just aren't enough loving people to take all of these animals in.

Because of our carelessness, millions of cats and dogs will die every year. People keep breeding their pets, throwing unwanted animals out into the street, dropping off their animals at shelters for other people to deal with, and just simply keep refusing to spay/neuter their cats and dogs. If every person with a cat and/or a dog would spay/neuter, it would reduce the number of animals being born, and thus, the numer of animals being killed. These innocent animals have the right to life just as much as we do, but most of them will not be able to live out their lives. They will be unwanted, unloved, unsocialized, and euthanized. And many of them will die slow, painful deaths. Worst of all, it will be for no reason other than being born into a cruel, indifferent society.

Fortunately, my dog, Rebel was one of the lucky ones. I found him a family to love and protect, who promised to love and protect him. After all, animals really are our best friends, and we need to start treating them as such.