Some people asked why we should save Mario from MAS when there are so many other dogs in need of help there. The answer is simple: Because every pet has a right to live.
Would it have been better to allow MAS to put Mario into the dumpster? Here is a recent photo of him at Olympic Animal Sanctuary, as posted on Facebook:
I’m so glad people came together to fight for Mario’s right to live even as the city of Memphis worked toward killing him. He has a lot of living left to do.
That just melts my heart. So happy he has a chance to play and be a dog, just like he deserves. God bless you for saving him!
I was so happy when I saw the videos on ARNO’s facebook page. Seeing Mario happy and healthy renews my spirit. Thank you for sharing.
Sooo freakin cute!! Thanks to everyone who helped save him!! All dogs deserve this.
What a great way to start the day – seeing this picture of Mario (he looks so happy!). Thanks to all that had a hand in his rescue. I hate to sound like a broken record but SHAME ON YOU, MAS!!! Too bad they can’t learn from this!
Nice to see Mario showing his true personality and enjoying his life. Thanks to all who aided in his rescue.
I think the essence of no kill is that you can’t turn saving dogs into an equation that attempts to come up with some sort of “value” return for the effort or cost. The mindset of calculating the cost/effort/benefit of saving some animals over others is what the no kill movement is trying to overturn. Because once you start calculating, you can very quickly arrive at the conclusion that it’s usually cheaper an easier to kill most of them.
In addition, I think it’s important to note that feral dogs and cats typically have NO ONE advocating for their right to live once they get locked up at the local pound. For those who feel compelled to draw up an “equation”, that certainly must be part of it.
I’m so grateful he made it out. If MAS had had their way, he would have ended up in a plastic bag on the back of a truck.
Thanks for posting that wonderful picture! He is so happy.
Those (fill in blank) at MAS use a chokepole every chance they get. They were going to use a chokepole to take Mario to the kill room at 5pm that day but they refused to use the chokepole to get Mario in the trap to save his life. Staff and a “friend” kept rolling their eyes, gawking, staring, whispering, and smirking at us. It went on for hours. No one would help except one staff person offered a leash you would use on a Chihuahua. So not funny. They all wanted Mario to die and they did little to hide that fact.
Why would we pull a dog like Mario? See picture above.
Feral dogs don’t stand a chance of getting out of MAS alive. A miracle happened for Mario. He was being pulled for a person experienced in rehabilitating feral dogs. Thank you Steve Markwell.
If MAS staff had loaded Mario in the trap at 10:00am that morning as requested in an e-mail days prior to picking him up, it would have been quick, smooth, and easy. Instead Memphis Animal Services staff and the City of Memphis turned it into a huge fiasco.
And so Mario’s amazing journey continues. I am so happy for him. He looks ab fab!
We were all watching via the webcams, Ona – we saw Tracy and Jeanne HIDING behind a wall dozens of feet from the kennel. They were occasionally peeking around the corner, but generally acting like you guys were trying to move a slathering pack of rabid hyenas, rather than a single terrified dog of middle size.
The cowardice we saw that day was…beneath all expectation.
Add to that the fact that they were more than willing to use a chokepole to kill, but not to save a dog and we have a pretty complete picture of the mentality at MAS.
Thankfully, Mario got out…and is happy!
HAHAHAHA! Wait – is there a slathering pack of rabid hyenas at MAS? I want to save them too! Ona and Lou Ann, get your trap loaded up and get over there w/your Chihuahua leash!
We are not going without Jan.
Oh yes, Jan the Hyena Whisperer is a must-have.
I love Hyenas! :)
I feed ferals everyday….I used to try to trap them but there is no place for them to go. I am not qualified to help a feral (except for their puppies) so I see to it that the ones in a business area are fed everyday and dewormed, periodically. I feed a “phantom” pit on the interstate that was skin over bones. I have only seen it 3 times in a year….it looked great the last two sightings…It’s bowl is empty everyday, so I know the dog is well fed! I would love for them to go to a sanctuary but I would rather keep on feeding them and let them live out their lives with food in their stomachs than for them to be killed at MAS!