The Animal Shelter Paradox

[MommaFox]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

A close friend of mine did his Sociology senior research thesis on animal shelter workers, which included shadowing my coworkers and I for weeks. He emailed it to me and I read all 30 pages of it tonight. His final conclusion paragraph hit me right in the feels. I thought I should share.


"Gandhi once said, "the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated." If this is true, then the moral progress of our nation is segregated. We construct laws that allow us to abuse animals to the brink of death, and then suffer virtually no punishment for doing so. Those who would care for the animals are left to pick up the pieces that lesser men left behind, with no justice on behalf of their grievances. As a society, we construct a system that creates situations in which our animals breed out of control and no one will take charge of their care. The people that try and maintain this task are then labeled as deviants for doing what no one else will do. As cruel irony would have it, they are also the ones who love the animals the most, and consequently have the most to lose."

 

[emacc]

Having very recently dealt with a situation wherein a dog had been mistreated and beaten so badly he appeared to have serious brain damage causing uncontrolled aggression (cornered and attacked me with his tail still down and wagging), this brought up all the feels. Definitely tearing up. We couldn't do anything for that dog, animal control cited a lack of proof despite all of us knowing exactly what has to happen for a dog to become like that (he even had a dent in his head) but still we have to drag ourselves back up and just try to do better for the next one. They said they'd keep an eye on the guy but that never turns into anything.

I always find myself wondering at night what happens to the ones we can't help. I hate seeing them go home, but no one around here sees a need for reform because "they're just dogs".

Too many feels, going to bed. 🙁

 

[cloverbug]

Your friend is spot on, and it breaks my heart. I read a story about a service dog who was trained to handle PTSD and belonged to a soldier who had returned from the Middle East. The dog was left with his previous owner because the current one had to do some kind of therapy. The previous owner punched this dog in the face until her hand bled and then proceeded to beat him over the head with a metal pole. Not once during the attack did the dog show any sign of aggression, and then the woman dragged him into the house where he then bit her just hard enough to get away. The woman needed 5 stitches while the dog needed extensive surgery and hospitalization. The woman then had the nerve to sue the current owner for damages, and she won!! The judge said because he bit her in a different location from the attack then he was deemed an aggressive dog and was sentenced to death. Three or four world renowned trainers have tried to get the poor thing to be aggressive again and they can't do it. It's sad that this is how society works, where if it was a human in this situation then the woman would be on trial for aggravated assault and attempted murder, but because it's "just a dog" then it's ok. Penalties for animal abuse are way too lenient.

 

[MommaFox]

Cloverbug, I heard about that story too! I think they are still in the appeals process. The woman who beat him claims she was breaking up a dog fight, and was cleaning up his wounds when the attack happened. But who knows. Very sad story!

 

[cloverbug]

Cloverbug, I heard about that story too! I think they are still in the appeals process. The woman who beat him claims she was breaking up a dog fight, and was cleaning up his wounds when the attack happened. But who knows. Very sad story!

He's a big dog. Any dog owner should know better than trying to get involved in any dog fight, but especially with big dogs. If you can't grab a collar and remove one dog quickly and safely, then you find other ways to get them apart that don't require you to stick hands into the mayhem.

 

[cs5910]

That's so sad. I hate people. I really do 🙁

 

[MommaFox]

He's a big dog. Any dog owner should know better than trying to get involved in any dog fight, but especially with big dogs. If you can't grab a collar and remove one dog quickly and safely, then you find other ways to get them apart that don't require you to stick hands into the mayhem.

I totally agree.