Bentley's Buds Great Dane Rescue

Let's pray that 2009 spares more lives than the 11 million killed in 2008.

The following is a letter from a Kill Shelter Manager:

I think our society needs a huge " Wake-up" call.

As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all. ..a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day.

Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore.

So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are;

"We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets and why did you choose that place instead of a pet friendly home?

Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get?

"We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10- 12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs!

"She' s tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family?

They always tell me: "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog."

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies.

Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps.

It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it.

If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose.

If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted.

It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed.

If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long.

Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment.

If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.


Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down"....

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk - happy, wagging their tails.

Until, they get to "The Room", every one of them freak out and put the brakes on when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them.

Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are.

Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff".

Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams.

They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pet's corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage.

What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much further than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this: DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is.

I just hope I maybe changed one person's mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog.

I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt." THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT!

This information was shared by an unknown Kill Shelter worker in the United States. It is not written by or property of BBGDR.

Written by an anonymous DVM
As printed in the Therapy Dog Inc. News Magazine

From time to time people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog", or "that's a lot of money for just a dog."

They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog".

Some of my proudest monents have come about with "just a dog."

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog",
but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog" and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you too think it's "just a dog", then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend", "just a sunrise", or "just a promise".

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a dog", I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.

So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an imbodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog", but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man" or "just a woman".

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog", just smile....
because they "just don't understand".

We have had many success stories, you can see pictures of these happy animals in the photo gallery. They all have a wonderful story. But it is not the only story. The terrible truth is that for every shelter dog who finds a happy, stable home, there are dozens who don't. By conservative estimates, four to six million dogs and puppies are killed in American animal shelters and pounds every year -four to six million wonderful animals, young and old, male and female, purebred and mixed-breed, full of personality and potential. Most haven't done anything wrong; they're no less affectionate or intelligent or beautiful than their luckier conterparts. Almost any of them could become someone's ideal companion, but few ever get the chance.

Where do all these dogs come from? Some are the products of unplanned matings of strays or between pets whose people have neglected to neuter them and have allowed them to roam. Some were bred by people who thought that puppy raising would be fun and profitable, until they discovered how much time, energy, and money the process required, and how difficult it was to find homes for the pups. Some shelter dogs used to be family pets but were discarded when they ate too much, barked too loudly, or took to long to housebreak. Some have moved from home to home and shelter to shelter for years. Many abandoned or unwanted dogs don't even make it to animal shelters: they grow up on the streets, living rewardless lives and dying young.          We humans, unfortunately, have helped to create this problem by failing to lie up to our end of the dog-human contract, the contract which says that our dogs will give us their loyalty and respect in return for our care and protection. Loving our dogs isn't enough. We also have a responsibility to sheild them from danger, to meet their  physical needs and to keep them from producing more puppies and adding to the already staggering number of homeless dogs. And we have a responsibility not to give up on them when things don't work out as perfectly as we'd like. Some of us aren't living up to  those responsibilities.      You may not be one of the people causing the problem. But you can be one of the people who helps to fix it. You can give a homeless puppy or dog the love and guidance he/she needs- and find yourself a terrific one-of-a-kind friend, too. We are not going to tell you that every adoption is a fairy tale, because that would be a lie. Adopted dogs eat furniture, stain carpets, pull at their leashes and bark at the wrong times just like other dogs- sometimes even more, thanks to their often checkered pasts. An adopted dog is a special dog; he/she will require an extra share of your patience and understanding in order to smooth out his/her rough edges and become a civilized family member, but chances are, her devotion and appreciation will more than compensate. By turning one dog's difficult past into a promising future, you can not only enrich his/her lifeand yours but also play a small yet significant part in solving the larger problem of pet overpopulation.

Don't Breed Or Buy While Homeless Die.

A Pet's 10 Commandments

Factors that contribute to Dog Bites

OWNER MANAGEMENT & CONTROL OF DOGS

Owners failing to humanely contain, control and maintain their dogs (chained dogs, loose roaming dogs, cases of abuse/neglect), and owners failing to properly supervise interaction between children and dogs.

FUNCTION OF DOG

Owners maintaining dogs for guarding/protection, fighting, intimidation/status, or as yard dogs. Such dogs are resident dogs, not family pets.

REPRODUCTIVE  STATUS OF DOG

Owners failing to spay or neuter animals not used for competition, show, or in a responsible breeding program.

Canines not spayed or neutered are three times more likely to bite than sterilized ones.