The Robeson Co pound kills animals while half the dog cages sit empty. Supporters defend the practice, saying it reduces the spread of disease. This has not been the case at Robeson, where 700 dogs have been killed in the last 2 months.
There are proven methods to reduce the spread of disease in shelters. Vaccination upon intake for every animal is one such practice. Robeson does not do this. Killing apologists will say the “irresponsible public” is to blame for failing to vaccinate their pets. But the shelter should be leading by example. More importantly, the shelter is supposed to be a safe haven for the community’s pets – not the county pet butcher.
While recognizing that shelters face special challenges with regard to contagious disease, an info sheet from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program says:
Even if infection control is less than perfect, we can support animals’ own immune response through attentive vaccination practices, stress reduction, wholesome food and clean water and other measures to support well-being. And a well thought out, comprehensive plan for sanitation can reduce the dose of exposure to one the animals’ immune response can handle in many cases.
I don’t see any mention of sending 700 dogs to the landfill in two months’ time in the UC Davis info sheet. I hope Robeson considers an alternative approach since obviously the one they use isn’t working.