Warning: Some animal lovers will find this particular paper disturbing.


Animal Shelter Killing and How We Can Stop It


A heartbeat can be felt as I hold this soft, fuzzy, living creature in my

arms. I walk slowly down the dark hall; a pitiful attempt to delay what I know is

coming. The door at the end seems to be taunting me as I draw closer and closer

to it. Barks and whines can be heard by other employees, but not by me. I feel as

though I’m in my own world wishing this wasn’t my fate.


The door creates a small suction as I turn the handle and push forward. Still, I can

feel the heartbeat of this animal I cradle in my arms. Another person is already in

this room waiting for me and the trusting, loyal critter. My heart skips a beat as I

place the animal on the steel, cold, almost evil, table. This animal has a name:

Precious we call her. She’s only a young pup dropped off by an uncaring owner

whose dog had wound up pregnant with her and her siblings. The other person in

the room hastily grabs a needle and a small bottle of liquid. I bite my lip in a

desperate effort to hold back the tears threatening to give way. I then look into

the eyes of this small animal that did absolutely nothing to deserve this

horrendous fate. Her only crime was being born and then ending up here.


The eyes tell all I once heard someone say. Whoever said this spoke the truth. I

could see the touch of fear in her eyes. Beyond the fear I could still find that trust

she had towards me. In her mind, she was safe. Trust is the thing that most dogs

can truly show in their eyes. As my thoughts returned to the other person in the

room who had now turned toward me and Precious, I took a very deep breath.

This is it, I thought. Holding Precious close to me to ease her apprehension, the

unforgiving needle pierced her beautiful skin. I watched in horror as the liquid

disappeared. My mind raced as it always did during this time of the euthanasia. A

heartbeat is something we often take for granted. The needle was removed and a

moment passed. Soon the heartbeat was gone and the body of an innocent

creature was now lying limp in my hands. I walked to the box for such bodies and

gently laid her to rest. A sigh escaped my lips and a tear dropped to the bitter

concrete floor. All in a day’s work, I sadly thought to myself.


What you’ve just heard is what so often happens behind the scenes in

kill animal shelters. Workers there are plagued with the duty of senselessly killing

unwanted animals. After 5 or so days, the animal is killed for the simple fact that

the shelter doesn’t have room for them and no one else wants them. How can the

killing be stopped with millions of homeless animals in these shelters? You may be

surprised at how simple the solution really is. First, when you adopt an animal

from a shelter, you make a huge commitment. An animal is not disposable, nor can

you just take it back when it’s no longer convenient for you. This is why committing

to your new family member is so important.


Second, spaying and neutering all your pets is vital to preventing unwanted litters.

It doesn’t matter if you have a dog or a cat, male or female, purebred or mutt;

spaying and neutering is a great thing for them, you, and your community. Just

think of it this way, when you spay or neuter your animals, you may be saving the

lives of thousands of animals. This is because just one litter of pups or kittens can

cause a chain reaction that can last for years. So please, be committed to your

pets and spay and neuter all of them, because you could be saving more lives

than you know.




Works Cited:

www.aspca.org

www.hsus.org

The Animal Sheltering magazine


THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT SPAYING/NEUTERING ALL YOUR PETS! IT SAVES LIVES!