From: paul.moor@ggcs.org (Paul Moor) 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Humankind's inhumanity
Date: 2 Jan 93 20:57:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Golden Gate Computer Society BBS - Marin, CA - 415-927-1216
Reply-To: paul.moor@ggcs.org (Paul Moor) 

[National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" broadcast this on
New Year's Day.]

   The Humane Society of the United States estimates that in
pounds and shelters around the country, 8,000,000 animals, mostly
cats and dogs, are killed every year - "put to sleep", as the
saying goes.
   That's almost 22,000 animals every day.
   The job of killing the animals that are sick or homeless falls
to people like Carrie Bowe, an animal control officer in Santa
Barbara, California:

   "I guess I see myself as sort of an animal advocate, in that
someone's got to help them, and I do it in my way.  I feel like I
can't save all the animals, but I can make this as pleasant an
experience for them as possible, and I . . . I would like to hope
that when I'm old, or suffering, or . . . that death should be as
peaceful for me as it is for these animals here."
   [Background, barks, metal door opening.]  "It's pretty smelly
in here.  This is where all the dead animals are kept.  This is
about five days' worth here.  That barrel we put to sleep yester-
day - there's probably seven dogs in there and three cats, so,
depending on the size . . . there's probably forty animals in
there now.
   "I was trained as a veterinary nurse, and to find . . . it was
hard to put animals to sleep that were .sick., that people wanted
us to do - and then to come to this job, where we were putting
healthy .puppies. and .kittens. to sleep - it was just really hard
to take.  We try to place as many as we can in homes, but people
just don't neuter their animals, and there's just a constant
overflow, and not enough good homes.
   "It's just amazing how many people find reasons for not keeping
their animals, and I feel sometimes that being put to sleep is the
best alternative for a dog that's just going to be stuck in a
little backyard and never paid any attention to, and yelled at if
it barks, and the food thrown out the door - that's no life.  I
feel like the animals in a shelter situation are the innocent
ones, they're the victims of bad homes or neglect, or whatever,
and that they deserve the very best - that because they're here
doesn't mean they're prisoners or criminals, and when it does come
time to have them put to sleep, I think it's really important to
talk to them, lovingly, and to pat them and reassure them . . .
and that's the best I can do, for those animals. . . ."

   "Okay.  We've checked all the cards and found the ones that are
to be put to sleep, and now we're just getting ready to bring the
dogs into this room, where it's a little bit more peaceful than
doing it in the kennel situation, where the other dogs would be
excited and barking and causing all sorts of commotion.  So we
have a card for each dog, and we'll go get a dog, and I'll get the
syringe ready. . . .
   [Murmured, almost inaudible:] "Hey, boy - how's it going'?"
[Barking.]  "Come on, baby."  [Whimpering.]
   "It's so distressing - they seem so active and happy. . . .
This is one that's been a real happy dog in the shelter, and I'd
hoped that the owner would come, or that someone would be inter-
ested in adopting it.  I've held it a couple of extra days,
and . . . it's just one of those kind of dumb and happy sweet dogs
. . . but no home for it. . . .
   "Usually they're just so happy to be out of the cage, it takes
a little bit to calm them down. . . .  And we just do an intrave-
nous injection of a dose of sodium pentobarbital. . . .
   [She murmurs reassuringly.]  "Uh-.huh. - real good dog. . . .
Okay. . . .  Yes. . . .  Good boy, old man. . . .
   "The needle slips into the vein and the solution's inject-
ed. . . .  [Long pause.]  Okay. . . .
   "As you can see, it just takes a matter of seconds for the dog
to fall asleep and be dead. . . .
   "That's it."

---
 . OLX 2.2 . Ancient Greeks made dolphin-killing punishable by death.
                                                                                                                          
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs