We all must choose our battles. Sometimes though, the battle chooses us. Whatever my logical mind may be trying to tell me about this one, my heart is doing that LA-LA-LA-I-CAN’T-HEAR-YOU thing. Which is another way of saying – even if it seems like a losing battle, I can’t let this one go.
The Memphis pound is closing this weekend for mandatory employee training on pet killing. Sunday will be the “practical” – that is, killing actual pets. MAS kills more than 11,000 pets a year. And they say they’ve got to close on the weekend – which is their greatest chance for increased traffic and adoptions – for more killing? This sucks. Balls.
Please pick up the phone and speak for the pets at MAS who won’t be adopted this weekend but who will be killed in a practical for a killing course – call Memphis Mayor AC Wharton at (901) 576-6000.
Attention Mayor Wharton, Janet Hooks, LaSonya Hall et al:
Memphis, if you will pledge to open up your pound on Saturday for a full day and post every pet – all 500 or so of them – online (which you can do easily with your Chameleon software and existing pet records), I will pledge to sit at my computer from the time I get off work Friday and all day Saturday networking your pets. I will ask everyone I know to help. I will be totally annoying – so much so that some people will probably help just to shut me up. I will try my damnedest to empty out your facility so you do not have any pets left to practice killing on by the time Sunday rolls around. No charge. What do you say?
I called. Phone answered by a nice elderly woman. I stated my name and location, and my reason for calling, and she said *just a minute* and then *can you hold please* I did…for a while.
Should I call back? Nah, vote submitted.
She answered right away, so I’m thinking the phone bank isn’t full quite yet…
Thank you LynnO. Hopefully she left you hanging on hold b/c others were calling in their protests.
I called and offered to network their pets all day Saturday( Networking pets is what I do all hours and for all over) if they would please keep the shelter open on the high adoptable hours on weekends. The lady transferred me to a person for neighborhoods and community to leave a message. So i left the message and my name and phone #.
TY for calling and for offering to help. Although they typically only post a few pets online, they have the capability to post every single pet online with their software. And it wouldn’t be any extra work. All they have to do is say yes. Imagine if the public could see all 500 pets at MAS. How many lost pets might be redeemed? How many pets might be adopted or fostered or rescued? It’s a no cost opportunity that’s been available to them all this time and they’ve never taken advantage. No time like the present!
I tweeted and Facebooked (do the same please): Action Alert: Call #Memphis #TN Mayor to Protest MAS Closing on Saturday to kill #AnimalShelter #Pets http://ow.ly/8zHh5 SHARE
Thanks for helping to spread the word Joni.
Shared.
I also put on my Facebook and Google + and my blog!
Please let it be known that the volunteers (some of them, anyway) offered to at least go in and care for the pets all day Saturday during the “training” and were turned down. One person offered to spend the whole day photographing adoptable pets. Also denied. The volunteers are horrified at the closing of the shelter on the busiest adoption day. They have made calls to the Mayor, and have sent emails to the others, and have had no positive influence. The situation is very sad. It may take mass mutiny…
I am ALL FOR non-violent resistance Not Usually Anonymous. Please let me know if I can help promote any mass mutinies in order to help save pets at MAS.
Would it be considered “non-violent” if we nicely hold the shelter hostage, kick out all employees and lock the doors, then post EVERY pet online and network to get them out the doors in less than 2 days while not letting ANYONE but rescues/adopters in the doors?
I called – talked with a live person…a lady named Marilyn I believe – she took down the information and said she would relay the message – she was very polite.
the person who took my call was also really polite.
Thank you for calling Jen.
Thank you to everyone who is calling and sharing. If you are unable to call today but think you can call tomorrow, please do that. If you can’t call either day, please send the mayor a note via e-mail to protest the closing of the pound on Saturday for a pet killing class. His e-mail is Mayor@memphistn.gov
Called the office of Mayor AC Wharton. A nice spoken lady to my Protest Message against the Closing of the MAS on this coming Saturday, for the so called training session of there employee’s on euthanizing the Cat’s and Dog’s that they decide on. I mentioned the following:
1. ) Saturday’s are the best days for the public to visit the shelter and adopt dogs and cats respectively. Most of the public work weekdays and have on the weekends to go to the shelter for adoptions.
2. ) That I would want to see adoptable pets posted on their website with photo’s and details about these pets.
3. ) That I would like to see which pets are scheduled for euthanizing and the reason they are going to be killed by M.A.S…
I had a few other ideas, but didn’t have the time to organize them before the Mayors office closed.
Those are all good ones William – thank you. In addition to adopters, there are people who lose their pets during the week but can’t get to MAS before they close on a weekday. Saturday would be the day they could get there to look for their pet (since they can’t look online as MAS posts only a fraction of its pets).
Thank You… Wish I had taken more time to edit my typo’s…..
This is very upsetting.. I will try to call tomorrow, but if I’m put on hold.. I will have to hang up. I don’t have free long distance. I have shared on facebook and will keep sharing often. This is so bad.. Shame on the Mayor.
What is the press in Memphis saying about this? (if anything?)Seems like holding a “killing class” would outrage a few locals…
Why would a state mandated class to teach the techs how to humanely euthanize outrage locals? If this city can’t be a no-kill then it’s good they are learning to do it more humanely.
But but but—Shirley— if you network all the pets out, then there wont be any left for the workers to kill!
And yes, that was sarcasm.
Being true about the killing though, I swear I think they get off on it.
How many adoptable dogs and cats will die this saturday as part of the inservice training on how to kill them. Wonder why all the staff have to be there? Do they have so many pets to kill that everyone needs the training?
Hi, I live in the UK and would adopt one. Can one or two of you guys go to the pound today to take pictures of the animals and post them on the internet? It doesn’t look like many of the staff would or can do this! I’ll going to email the major to ask him to keep the shelter open to the public today.
Jill, your offer is fantastic but I’m really not sure how we’d go about an adoption actually making it overseas to you…
but your offer to email the mayor is FANTASTIC!