Decreasing Animal Euthanasia

Animal Euthanasia is looked at in many different aspects and can be seen as a beneficial act or completely evil. Some may need to euthanize their animal for health issues, while others are just euthanizing their animal because they can't take care of them and nobody is willing to adopt. Euthanasia occurs daily, with innocent animals losing their lives because of our local animal shelters being over-crowded. Why is this? Well, many adopters are not responsible enough to take care of their animals in general, along with getting them spayed and neutered. Approximately 5 to 7 millions animals enter animal shelters annually, and about 3 to 4 million end up euthanized. (ASPCA, n. d. ) This is a prime example of a huge issue that needs to be paid attention to. These animals are having to lose their lives not because they are cruel, dangerous animals, but simply that our shelters are not big enough, and our adoption rates aren't high enough, and adoptive families aren't being forced to get their pets spayed and neutered to slow down the animal population. Spaying and neutering your pet will decrease the amount of euthanasia occurring in not only our hometown shelters, but throughout the United States as well. Adoptive families have the normal application along with reference checks and landlords if they are current renters. But is this enough to really know if someone is able to take care of an animal? Shouldn't there be a much more guided policy with strict enforcement on who adopts along with a signature to make sure at the right age, if applicable, they spay or neuter their newest addition to the family? We need to make a stand against how many animals go in and out of shelters and homes, then end up being killed because of a humans actions. It just isn't fair. Animal euthanasia occurs nationwide. Do you have an animal at home? Do you consider your pet a family member, or companion that you would be ashamed to lose? If you feel that way, its best to Decreasing Animal Euthanasia Page 3 be sure you spay and neuter your loved pets because if not, their liters could end up in the hands of wrong families, maybe not intentionally, but to families that may end up realizing they can't handle that pet, and bringing it to the shelter. Though it's only recommended that orphan animals stay a minimum of 5 days, before or after those 5 days that animal could be euthanized solely because of the caretaker, not that the animal was harmful or ill. (How Long.. Sleep? , n. d. ) According to the ASPCA, 60% of animals entering shelters in the United States are euthanized and around 4 million are euthanized simply because of shelter overcrowding. (Shelter, September, 2011. ) We have a huge issue here. This is the same as the homeless people we have on the streets today, its only going to progress! We need to take a stand and make shelter for these animals. We need to expand our shelters, and if not, maybe start spay and neuter clinics for a very low cost so more people can willingly come get their animals fixed to slow down the population of animals born each day. With almost 5,000,000 pets being destroyed annually, 13,700 daily, 570 hourly, and 10 animals each minute, within the time it took just to read part of this paper, multiple animals have been euthaniased. Animal League, n. d. ) Now think, if majority of those animals or at least half had been spayed and neutered, that would have led those numbers to be split in half, all because of a simple spay and neuter process that adoptive families are slacking to accomplish out of lack of concern. If the plan is to not spay or neuter your animal, plan to treat that animal as your own blood. When that animal ends up pregnant, the responsbility comes back on you. Same as the pregnancies today. Females take a birth control to avoid unwanted pregnancies, thats the pet owners responsibility to keep their animal from pregnancy as they can't go to the vet and pay to get it done themselves! After doing some research I have found that there are other supporters other than myself trying to make an end to this animal euthanasia for innocent animals. Fosterspot. com is a website that was Decreasing Animal Euthanasia Page 4 designed for stopping euthanasia to healthy animals and making this website a nation-wide network of fostering families. I thought this was a great idea because of the fact that some adoptive families are picky for what type of cat or dog for example they are looking for. On this website, people not only from our hometown would know what we have at our local shelters, but anyone interested in certain types of animals could see where they were available! Not only can we just simply adopt to stop euthanasia and its daily occurrences, we could also try to have a local fundraiser or charity fund to expand our local shelter. We would speak to the president of the animal shelter and work together with the shelter on this. If expansion wasn't a possibility, we could also help by spreading the word of adoption, along with being a volunteer at your local shelter if time permits. Any help in the humane society field would help! Also, helping fund/collect animal food so the shelter can put more money towards expansion or other plans that are more costly. Another big issue and something to promote, is getting adoptive families to spay and neuter their animals. Yes, its true that spay and neutering your animals is not cheap, though many people don't know that there are alternatives and ways to receive low-cost spaying and neutering. The Humane Society of The United States promotes a low cost alternative on their website where you can enter your zip code to find places close to you. (Humane Society of The United States, n. d) Luckily, our community of Waterville in Maine has our local humane society that offers low-cost spaying and neutering prices! If we could get the word out there on how crucial it is for families to bring their pets in for this procedure, not only would this help euthanasia statistics, but also the adoptive families in the long run of dealing with a pregnant female dog or cat in their household! They then would have to deal with a liter and getting rid of them, which isn't always as easy as people presume it to be! Spaying and neutering household pets not only keeps away from unwanted pregnancies, but has Decreasing Animal Euthanasia Page 5 other benefits as well! This keeps animals alive longer, have a healthier life, along with saving the adoptive family from frustration as well. Things like breast cancer or dangerous uterine infections in females or testicular cancer in males can be reduced or eliminated all together. Also, messy heat cycles in female animals aren't a very joyous experience. Yet many people complain of the cost of getting animals spayed and neutered but getting pets spayed and neutered will eliminate that extra expence for food or vet services in the event of an unexpected liter of kittens or puppies. So whats more worth it? Finding a low cost clinic and getting pets spayed and neutered or waiting for pregnancy to happen which in turn can be ten times the amount of a simple spay and neuter procedure! Following spaying and neutering household pets, its also important to make sure the animal can be identified because sometimes animals stray away and end up not coming home, which in turn either the foster family looks for the animal and calls local shelters if the animal has been found, or they just aren't concerned. This in turn also causes overcrowding in shelters, due to lack of care on the families end. Making sure that these pets are wearing an identification tag, including the foster families name, address and phone number would eliminate that part of the animals being put in shelters. Also, don't assume that indfoor pets don't need tags because many strays in shelters actually are told to be indoor animals that escaped. (Animal Shelter Euthanasia) One thing that I think I will always wonder if why animal euthanasia is legal, but human euthanasia is not. We don't take our homeless population and kill them because there is no place for them to go. Euthanizing an animal who is suffering and should be put out of misery is fine, but a human is not? If someone is suffering so much no matter from what the circumstances may be, we are either drugging the patient up to not feel the pain as much, or just letting them deal with it everyday. Euthanasia in humans is not permitted, even in the most extreme cases, though animals are being euthanized for simply having no place to stay, or being cramped in a kennel. It makes me think of Decreasing Animal Euthanasia Page 6 something like suicide and how people have to suffer to end their lives, or suffer simply in a hospital bed getting infused with all kinds of drugs. Whats the point of life when you've reached those limits? If animal euthanasia is permitted, I believe human euthanasia should too. Working in the medical field and pursuing my degree as a registered nurse, I see many patients suffer and their lives being just a miserable mess, along with the family dealing with seeing their loved ones suffer. Sure, some people have to suffer in order to get better, and then they can be back to normal some day, though others may not ever be able to communicate again, to walk again. I think with our freedom we have today, we should have the right to be euthanized if we are in severe sufferage and prefer to just go on to the after life. We are the voice for these animals though. We are their protectors and we are the ones who have to make their decisions. Euthanizing an animal simply because it would cause crowding in shelters, or because of adoptive families not following through on getting the pet spayed and neutered is just disturbing. I think that if we take these steps together, along with having others proceed on this issue with us, there will be more awareness and more information put out there. It truly is the only way to really get something across is to spread the word, and never give up on your beliefs and your goals and achievements. These innocent animals deserve a life just as you or I do. We all have one precious life, and once its taken, we never can get it back. People may not look at animals as an importance, but they are here for reasons, just as we as humans are. Animal euthanasia is immoral and wrong and I know that if you feel as strongly about animals as I do, you will do whats in your will power to help decrease animal euthanasia in your community. Wither you can make a big impact, or small, it really all balances out and everyone matters. It's about coming together and making a change for the better. So today is the day to take a stand and make a change. Go and get your pet spayed and neutered along with spreading the word and letting others know the importance of this matter. In the end it benefits more than just the Decreasing Animal Euthanasia Page 7 animal, but also yourself as you can be rest assured you made your impact on this issue.Reference Page Animal Shelter Euthanasia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/stop-animal-abuse/fact-sheets/animal-shelter-euthanasia.html ASPCA | Pet Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics.aspx How Long Do Animal Shelters Keep Animals Before Putting Them to Sleep? | eHow. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_7404543_long-animals-before-putting-sleep_.html Reducing Euthanasia – North Shore Animal League America. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.animalleague.org/about-us/how-we-help/reducing-euthanasia.html Shelter Animal Euthanasia Could End With Help From National Foster Home Network — CYPRESS, Texas, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –. (n.d.). Retrieved fromhttp://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shelter-animal-euthanasia-could-end-with-help-from-national-foster-home-network-129786818.html You Can Afford to Have Your Pet Spayed or Neutered : The Humane Society of the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/tips/afford_spay_neuter.html