Mabel the Rescue Dog

4 min read (Articles narrated by Mabel)

This is a serious topic, but I felt like I needed to make a post about it because I keep seeing it posted on social media. I’ve come across some petitions that people are supposed to sign to tell shelters to stop putting down healthy dogs. In theory, it sounds like a good petition, right? But the reality is that signing a petition like that won’t do anything because it doesn’t provide a solution for the shelters that are forced to put dogs down.

Why Do Shelters Put Dogs Down?

Some states have a lot more kill shelters than others, but all states are putting down some healthy dogs. It’s not because they want to. It’s because they can’t find other options. Dogs are severely overpopulated in the United States because puppy mills keep mass-producing dogs and many of the people who buy those puppies don’t get them spayed and neutered.

Many shelters are getting more dogs in than they have space for, and turning dogs away or putting them down are the only options. Turning dogs away might sound like the more humane option, but owners of those dogs may find inhumane ways to put the dog down instead. Or, if the dog is a stray, they could get killed by a vehicle or wild animal. Those fates seem much worse than humane euthanasia at shelters.

Rescues take dogs out of overcrowded shelters as much as they can, but they need funds and space to take as many dogs as possible. No one involved wants innocent dogs to die, but sadly, with the way the world is right now, there’s no way to save them all without lots of help and support.

Why Can’t Shelters Choose to Stop Putting Dogs Down?

I hate that other dogs have to be put down. I was in an overcrowded shelter before I ended up at the rescue Molly adopted me from (I think, it’s hard to remember that far back), and I’m lucky I made it out, but not all dogs are that fortunate. But signing a petition telling shelters to stop putting dogs down isn’t going to magically make it happen.

For shelters to stop euthanizing healthy dogs, they need enough support from rescues. For rescues to support these shelters, they need to have foster homes lined up and enough donations to care for and transport the dogs. Every rescue and shelter I know needs donations, so as much as they want to help every dog, they don’t have the resources to.

How You Can Help

I know this topic is depressing, but we can turn it around. There are ways to reduce the number of dogs dying in shelters, but telling the shelters to stop isn’t one of the solutions. If you’re passionate about helping healthy shelter dogs live, here are ways you can help:

• Foster dogs – Dogs taken out of kill shelters need foster homes to go to, so the more people that can foster, the more dogs rescues can take in.
• Adopt a rescue dog – Every dog that’s adopted opens up space for another dog to be saved. And if you adopt from a kill shelter, you could be directly saving a dog from euthanasia.
• Donate – Donating may not free up space, but it could make it easier for rescues to afford to take in more dogs. It’s a great alternative for people who don’t have time to foster or adopt. If you’re unsure what type of donation will make the greatest impact (money, food, supplies, etc.), contact the rescue to find out what they need the most.
• Share adoptable dogs – If you don’t have time or money available, you can help by sharing posts about adoptable dogs and suggesting rescue dogs to humans looking for a new dog. Do anything you can to get more dogs adopted so more dogs can be saved.

Next time you see a post or petition begging shelters to stop putting down healthy dogs, think twice before you support it. I know whoever makes those posts means well, but this situation is much more complex than meets the eye. Instead of shaming shelters and demanding them to change, let’s help them change by volunteering, adopting, fostering, donating, and educating. Dogs shouldn’t be dying in shelters, but the issue can be fixed with lots of support from dog lovers.

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