I was elated to see the editorial Time To Kill The Policy.
I fully understand that many of the animals in shelters have problems that are caused by people and mistreatment or abuse. They didn’t choose the lives they’ve had to live and, as a result, their behaviour. It’s sad what people do and don’t do to pets to hurt them and neglect them, it’s not their fault and it’s sad.
I also think it’s cruel and sad to keep an animal in a tiny cage for years and years because it’s not adoptable, or gets returned to the shelter over and over for behaviour issues.
Some animals just can’t be adopted out, they are violent, untrainable, sick, etc. and it’s not fair for the shelter to expect the public to take them in.
As a human being, I would much rather have my time end peacefully than live the rest of my life miserable, in a cage. Why wouldn’t we extend this compassion to pets?
I personally adopted an adult cat from the shelter a year ago. I was flat out lied to about the animal’s behaviour. She was not housebroken, mean, had a skin condition I was not told about, shredded my furniture, attacked my kids, did not get along with other cats and in fact was not an indoor cat, which I later found out.
Needless to say I had to take her back, the shelter benefitting from my $130, and the vet bill for her next round of shots.
Had they told me she was an outdoor cat and not used to being inside, I simply wouldn’t have adopted her.
The shelter needs to be 100 per cent honest about the animals and not try to “sugar coat” everything to basically trick people into adopting them.
Animals that are aggressive, feral or sick need to be put to sleep, that’s the humane thing to do.
They have cats in there that have been there for years, in a cage, in and out of their so-called foster homes; how is that a life?
We need to accept that in certain cases it’s much more humane to end an animal’s life than actually be the source of its suffering, just because we’re too squeamish to do the right thing.
Jessica Ukrainetz
Whitehorse