We set up a FB page which we use to berate you worthless people while we threaten to kill pets so damn – why isn’t everyone at the shelter right now for some in-person abuse adopting?
Anyone care to asplain it to them?
I was trying to find the number of dead pets not one person is allowed to complain about at the Wise Co pound but apparently that number is unknowable. From an article dated June 2011:
[Sgt. Asa Mosely] would not release numbers on how many animals come in each month and how many are adopted and euthanized, saying there is no running tally of the numbers.
But he estimated 500 dogs came in during the last three months, and about 25 percent were adopted.
There is an odd FOIA request form on the sheriff’s office website but, since they don’t keep a “running tally”, I’m not sure what documents might be available to request.
Wise Co has zero pets on Petfinder, although there is a note telling people to visit the shelter’s website for the complete list of adoptable pets. That website does not exist. The note also mentions seeing pets on Facebook but I could not find any animals for adoption there either. There are probably pets posted at the “Urgent Animals” FB page (from which the above screengrab was taken) but I didn’t want to scroll through for fear of being unable to suppress the urge to complain about dead pets, which not one of us is allowed to do.
***
Thank you to reader Natalie who says she has offered information about no kill and asked about getting Wise Co animals neutered before adoption. In response, she was removed as an administrator and banned from the “Urgent Animals” FB page and ordered to leave the shelter. Keep going, Natalie. You are hereby given permission to complain about pets being killed and offer no kill solutions to the county’s problems.
I don’t think the problem is with the woman who posted that comment about not complaining. I have shared animals on her page and people do a lot of accusing to the people who run the page and can help pull when the euth list comes out and a bunch get killed yet her comment was probably just a response to that. She works hard to try and get these animals shared but if rescues are full and no one fosters these pullers can not pull animals they have no place to put them. The problem is this shelter is not very rescue friendly as I have called there and talked with them and they are rude and not very helpful. I was willing to adopt a puppy and someone from the area was going to help transport up to me in MN but the puppy was killed before we could get the details worked out and the shelter was not very remorseful in the killing of a puppy that could have been saved. I think they said they don’t hold animals. The problem is the shelter. The screen comment is probably taken out of context. Melinda shares the animals at wise, and helps pull I believe but I don’t think she works at the shelter and has set up the fb page to try and get animals out. I have been on her page,and she does do a lot but I don’t think she has any control over the shelters rules and or the way it is managed so she can only do what she can do and it is a daunting job posting these animals and seeing them die weekly cause there are not
Regardless of whatever justification the woman may have felt, browbeating people and blaming them for the the fact that your pound kills healthy pets is most definitely NOT productive! You don’t build community support by being nasty and blaming the people you expect to help you. Judging by this woman’s post, I can believe that pound is not rescue-friendly–she probably drove a few away with that post alone.
It’s not the fault of rescuers that those animals will be killed. The director and staff of that pound could stop the killing (maybe even overnight) by adopting the No Kill Equation.
I’ve just browsed through the FB page … I failed to see these supposedly numerous complaints, or indeed, any ‘RIP’ posts. Perhaps they’re only visible to people signed on to FB?
What I *did* see was a post apologizing for the one quoted above which also noted that page ‘likes’ and shares had gone down, and what’s clearly a state of continual crisis.
I suspect these two things are related.
And if you foster, do you eventually have to return the animals to the pound where they might be killed? This too could be a problem for people…
You can always foster for a reputable rescue group and in those cases, the foster stays with you until you adopt the animal to a forever home.
Why does the animal have to be returned to the shelter? My foster Julie has been with me for 15 months. 27 dogs have been in my foster care. None returned to a shelter, only one went to rescue. Out of all those dogs, I’ve only had rescue backing for two dogs.
Dot, some shelters require you to return the animals once they reach adoption age – like bottle kittens and puppies. Then, if they don’t get adopted, they get killed.
Needless to say, this can turn off some fosters.
Oh.. didn’t know that. I do know from experience, my shelter forgets about animals being in foster.. out-of-sight, out-of-mind. And for me.. I wouldn’t take the animal back if that was the case. Matter of fact . My dog Progie started out as a foster. When I notified the shelter she was having mini seizures, the shelter wanted her back so they could murder her.. I refused and kept her.. I few months later I did notify the shelter and finalized the adoption papers and I did not pay one penny to the shelter. That was in June of 2010.
YOU are a shero, Dot. Keep up the good work & heart.
Whilte these Urgent E-list FB pages such as the one for Maricopa County Animal Care and Control are helpful in getting some animals out, they are generally viewed by people that are already fostering , rescuing and full up. The people that post the pages get extremely frustrated by the killing while trying to do the work the shelter itself should be doing, and they don’t generally allow any negative comments about the shelters. These shelters have done nothing to get more fosters themselves of course.
One of the great mysteries of social media is exactly what a Facebook “like” means. Retailers are skeptical which is part of the reason why future Facebook revenues are such a question mark and why the stock has been so variable.
A “like” might help network an animal or an organization, but it doesn’t mean that anyone is going to do anything further. A lack of “likes” doesn’t mean that the animal won’t be rescued. Expect “likes” to lead to action at your own risk.
The shelter animals need W-I-D-E exposure to a high number of people in the local community on a continual bases and not just to a tiny group of pet rescuers that are already dealing with all the animals they can handle. Press releases and other marketing that aims at reaching the general community are needed.
I really love this comment on the FB page:
About
.This is an URGENT page for dogs thought to have very little time left. As we understand it the shelter will now be keeping no more than 25 runs occupied. If 10 dogs come in then 10 dogs must go out, by whatever means.
If the shelter has more than 25 runs then it should be using them instead of killing the dogs! If I was a taxpayer in Wise County, I would be complaining and would want to know why the additional runs are not being used.
Hear hear… got the same problem in Caswell County, NC except they have a web site, have a petfinders, has a FB page.. which none is kept up to date and only the cute little fluffy babies get their pictures taken.. per order of the director. No volunteers are allowed in to do anything for any of the animals.
The shelter director works for you. You need to get a point person type to help you change some things.
I can’t get anyone to help. There’s a couple women I’ve been trying to get to help me, but they say there’s no way to get the director to do her job. Their answer is to find something she’s doing that’s illegal and get her fired. But there’s no way to get anyone on the inside to document.
Regarding the FOIA request, even if they don’t keep a “running tally” they are required by law to have a euthanasia log which could be request via FOIA.
Seems like a bottom-line requirement for any shelter or local gov that wants to expand its foster program and save more pets is stop despising homeless pets and your own citizens. In this city, that includes homeless people: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Woof-Wide-smiles-and-wagging-tails-3884854.php#photo-3489564
Just awful…but sounds like a lot of shelters today. unfortunately. This shelter, just like them, really needs an attitude adjustment. And hopefully more people will be turned on, rather than turned off, to help them and more animals will be adopted. In the meantime, it is important to keep as many animals as possible. Its silly to only keep 10 if you can fit 20.
It’s not silly… it’s sick.
You’re right, EZ. I should’ve used stronger words than ‘silly’. It is sick. And disturbing. And ridiculous. And pointless. And well, you get the idea.