The horrid ‘truth’ about animal shelters
DIEPSLOOT - An animal centre in Fourways is urging the public to think before surrendering their animals to a shelter by circulating a letter which details the truth about shelters.
Sacha Fraser of FourPaws animal shelter, just outside Diepsloot, said while they are a pro-life shelter, meaning they do not euthanise animals, they want the public to be aware of the reality many unwanted pets face.
FourPaws has been circulating a letter, written by a shelter owner who wanted to remain anonymous, exposing what happens at shelters which are forced to euthanise pets.
The letter reads, “How would you feel if you knew that there’s a 90 percent chance that a dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at, purebred or not. About 50 percent of all dogs that are ‘owner surrenders’ or ‘strays’ that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.”
The letter goes on to list some of the reasons that owners give shelters for surrendering their pets. These include, because they are moving and can’t take their pets, that the dog got bigger than they thought it would, that they don’t have time for their pet and that their pet is tearing up their yard.
In the letter, the shelter owner wrote that from the moment owners drop off their pet, it has 72 hours to find a new family if the shelter is already full. If the shelter is full, the pet is euthanised. If the shelter is not full, the pet is homed at the shelter for as long as possible if they are not adopted.
“Your pet will be confined to a small run or kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals, it will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps,” the shelter owner wrote.
“It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it.”
The letter goes on to give graphic details of the process of euthanasia.
Fraser explained that the letter was not intended to scare or upset people, but that FourPaws would like the public to consider adopting a pet from a shelter instead of buying one from a store. The shelter also wants pet owners to understand the importance of sterilising their pets to prevent unwanted puppies or kittens from being born.
FourPaws also wants residents to understand the value of their pets and re-consider surrendering them to a shelter.
