As rescue networkers are wont to do (and I’m glad of it!), the following e-mail has been making the rounds this afternoon and is purported to be from MAS. Of course I can’t personally verify it as it was simply forwarded to me (and many others) but it does look very similar to the MAS rescue pleas we’ve seen in the past and it contains similar information as the FB posting above:
Hey All!
Due to spacing issues, we have several dogs in need of placement. They are all currently in the adoption area and have not been placed. All are HW+ but are adorable and need good homes. Due to the spacing issues, these dogs will need to be placed before noon tomorrow, June 18. We know this is very short notice, but we are getting lots of good dogs that will need adoption cages to be given a chance. All these dogs should be on the face book page so look there for pictures. Please let me know if you can help any of these dogs. Thank you in advance for all you do for our four-legged friends.
OBV 01 – 227396, labrador retr., male, 1 yr., black, named “Louie”, stray in on 06.05.11/out on 06.10.11, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, light HW+.
OBV 06 – 227405, border collie mix, female, 1 yr., red/white, stray in on 06.06.11/out on 06.10.11, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
OBV 19 – 227523, lab/cocker spaniel, female, 2 yr., black/white, named “Chloe”, owner surrender on 06.08.11, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
OBV 21 – 227440, G.shep, female, 3 yr., tan/brown, named “Mojo”, owner surrender on 06.07.11, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
OBV 22 – 227726, Am. Bulldog/Mastiff, spayed female, 4 yr., tan/white, named “Sandy”, owner surrender on 06.11.11, microchip # 10224B0E75, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
OBV 23 – 227694, Pug mix, neutered male, 3 yr., brown/black, stray in on 06.10.11/out on 06.16.11, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
OBV 25 – 227415, boxer, female, 8 mo., brown/white, stray in on 06.06.11/out on 06.10.11, natural ears, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
OBV 29 – 227677, lab/chow, female, 2 yr., black/brown, owner surrender on 06.06.11, rabies, bordetella, DHLP, HW+
I certainly hope these dogs are adopted and I’m grateful to MAS and the volunteers for advocating for them. I hope this posting might assist in spreading the word about these eight dogs.
But – no seriously, you knew this was coming – I just have to toss in my two cents.
Cent #1: I’m glad the shelter is putting heartworm positive dogs up for adoption since this is a treatable condition and not a reason to kill a pet. And it’s great to hear that there are many more dogs waiting in the wings to be adopted (I hope the puddinheads are among them!). But instead of keeping your rescuers and fosters in continual crisis mode by sending out yet another last minute “take this pet or we’ll kill him” notice, why not solve the “spacing issue” by simply designating additional adoption cages? In fact, why not designate every cage in the stray area as adoption cages? Let people in, post the dogs online – the irresponsible public might just surprise you yet.
Cent #2: I abhor the sentiment behind this whole plea. The heartworm positive dogs are “adorable” but “they take a long time to place”. And there are “good dogs” and “happy healthy dogs” who can only be given a chance for adoption if some of the 30 cages get freed up. I’m sorry but is it the HW + dogs’ fault that YOU take a long time to get them adopted? Are they not “good”? Are they not “happy”? Should we threaten to off them so “good” dogs can have their cages because they are more deserving of life? This is not a judgment anyone has a right to make. We are not talking about dogs who’ve been deemed medically hopeless and suffering by a vet. Nor are they vicious. The heartworm positive dogs are GOOD. They are HAPPY. They want to LIVE. They don’t mind that you’re not particularly successful at getting them adopted quickly (but to that end, why not drop the requirement of a vet letter to treat the heartworms?). It’s not their fault you only consider 30 cages in your shelter of hundreds of cages to be “adoption cages”. The shelter has said in past that they only want to offer screened dogs to the public for adoption and thus, the tiny fraction of pets in the adoption cages. Well these dogs are screened – adopt them out. If MAS can not commit to advocating for the right to live for the dogs they themselves handpick for the adoption cages, what bloody use is any of this? Just open up the stray area and have adopters sign a release on any dogs you haven’t had time to screen yet.
Come on MAS, I didn’t go to brain surgery school, but isn’t this a totally obvious self-made problem here with a built-in solution?
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I want to include another plug here for Mr. Kissyface. He’s not on any list of pets that MAS is e-mailing to rescuers. He’s not on the “Friends” FB page. He’s not on Petfinder or anywhere else online. He has no advocate. Please help spread the word about him as he likely does not have until noon tomorrow to live. And thank you for all your help.