Just this morning I had to have a difficult conversation with my elderly mother regarding her beloved dog. She has dementia and can no longer care for him. I am not alone in this issue. As our nation’s population ages, their pets are left without homes often in their own twilight years. Pets that were the only social outlet for a person that time left behind. These pets are often intensely bonded with that person because no one else came to visit. Pets that will not understand why that person is no longer there and are grieving that loss. Families are unable or unwilling to care for those pets and look to shelters to take in those animals who are often under socialized, untrained and often with medical issues from advanced age or lack of consistent care.

Shelters across this country are at their breaking point. They are overcrowded and stretched thin, both financially and emotionally. People seek “no kill” shelters to dump pets, but in reality there is no such thing. Yes, there are rescues or certain shelters with very strict policies regarding types of pets they take in that can honestly say they do not euthanize. The majority are not in that position. Open door shelters such as ours cannot be that picky. We have an obligation to our community and the animals to take them all in. This year, there has not been a slow period. We have been overcrowded every day. We have been forced to have a waiting list. Unfortunately we have not been able to take those wait listed animals in, even after a year, because we are still stuffed.

There is a crisis that is not talked about in the news. There is a lack of enforcement of laws already on the books regarding back yard breeders, or breeders that just do not realize there is no demand for their large breed dogs. They are not called to task for this irresponsible behavior and the pets suffer those fools. There are hoarders that are allowed to continue because there is no room for those dogs or cats to be placed while being rehabilitated. When hoarders or breeders with overcrowding ARE raided and animals seized there is a temporary outrage and calls for change but it quickly fades. Most often before the animals are even brought to good health and placed in homes.

The economy is also wreaking havoc on the pet population. People with great plans and intentions adopt pets with no thought to their futures. Jobs are lost, homes are lost, rents go up, landlords change housing policies and suddenly the furry family members are left with nowhere to turn. People with the best of intentions refuse to have their pets altered and suddenly there is an unwanted litter to try to rehome. Again, the animals are left the losers.

Until this nation decides to address the companion animal as a family member and not just property, this crisis will continue and shelters will remain overcrowded and underfunded. Until there is a popular push, with funding included, for free spay/neuter clinics, education in areas of chronically overrun areas of this country, the pet crisis will continue. Until puppy mills are shut down and back yard breeders are no longer financially viable, this crisis will continue. Until people realize the health benefits of spay and neuter, animals will continue to be dropped off at shelters, or worse yet, abandoned in fields, houses, cars, etc.

Be outraged, but be smart. Start a movement locally and stay consistent. Volunteer at your local shelters and remain steadfast in your support. Protest for better protection and better laws for our companions. Make plans for the pets in your wills and be sure they are realistic plans. Don’t assume that family will take these beloved pets just because you think they should. If you rent, don’t adopt large breed dogs that require lots of room to run. Sure, your current landlord may allow it, but what if you are forced to move? Our shelter is full of pets from well-meaning people that just did not see their life changing so drastically.

Daily, we take phone calls from children of elderly parents that are being placed in facilities or have passed on. These decisions are heart breaking. We take phone calls from people that have lost their homes, and the shelter they are staying at will not allow pets. Their tears make obvious how broken hearted they are over needing to place their animals with us. We take calls from back yard breeders that have “oops” litters that they don’t have homes for. We have animals brought in as strays that were clearly loved at one point, but somehow found themselves lost. Until people are moved to take purposeful and fruitful action, these situations will continue on a daily basis and compassion fatigue will continue to decimate the shelter employee numbers.

Be part of the solution, spay/neuter and adopt from shelters, not back yard breeders. Make realistic plans for your fur babies in your wills. Make sure that your parents are not taking on puppies or kittens that will outlive them. Better yet, spend time with the elderly so that they do not rely on companion animals for their only social outlet and sense of self-worth. There is no one answer for the shelter crisis that this nation is facing, but one step at a time, YOU can help us change lives one pet at a time.

Author: HSSV Staff Member, Jarin