From the last thread I noticed that a lot of people felt that euthanizing a healthy animal due to overcrowding in the shelter was awful. I agree. What are some ways we can stop overcrowding in shelters? Having animals spayed and neutered is a great way.. what are other ways?

Put birth control medicine in pet food for the public to feed their animals. Of course there could be options for people who wanted to breed, but they should be charged a premium to help support the shelters.

It wouldn't stop all the problems but it could help.

Educate the pet owners.

Spay and neuter your pets. It is awful to kill healthy dogs in the shelter but that's only to let the other 100 that needs to have food and shelter in. Some breeders, but not all, only breed for the money and sell the dog to anyone who has the money. And not thinking about the fact that half of the litter will end up homeless or in the shelter by the time they are 2 years of age. People think that because a dog is "purebred" it will not end up in a shelter. And that is the farthest thing from the truth. At our clinic we have people who abandoned their animals or bring in strays. And yes we euthanize them because there is not a home to place them in. All the good homes we know have already to many dogs because we have used them before. We have adopted them out before and they came back to us in worse shape than you can imagine. So to be able to sleep at night we would rather euthanize than to see it abused, starved, or abandoned again. It's a hard concept to conceive unless you have been around it. To kill an animal when the only sin it had ever committed was to be born is a hard job. Sometimes it makes me want to stop the job I'm in. But then I think about all the rewards and good things my job brings. And that keeps me going. Especially when we save an animal that was so sick we never thought could live. Or to make a family so happy that we helped their animal.

So I say if your not planning on responsibly breeding your dog and by that I mean keeping up with what happens to your puppies please spay and neuter your pets. Because if you don't your just adding to the problem of unwanted pets.

There certainly are a lot of totally clueless people out there. I would like to see more education before we resort to more regulation. I have seen a lot of questions both here and on other sites from those that know nothing about dogs including people planning on breeding them.

Labman.. you are the doggy god. I had a case where a woman was feeding her chihuahua (I love typing chihuahua... great word.. anyway.. ) 1-2 cans of dog food a MONTH and wanted to know why he wasn't gaining weight. Uh, duh.. but I guess "duh" to me was not "duh" to her. She claimed that feeding him more would be animal cruelty because he was a small dog.

Well, my answer will not be popular but I do not believe in the "no-kill" shelters. I believe that thirty days ( a max of sixty days) in a shelter and if the dog/cat is not adopted, then euthanizing the animal. Now I never did grow up believing that. When I volunteered at an animal shelter when I lived in Spokane, Wa. That was their policy and I did not agree with it until I had been there for a while. You cannot keep every animal out there and expect everyone else to donate in order to keep them there.

I think Labman hit it when he said "clueless". I am appalled at the number of peole who have NO idea what is going on.
"I would never take an animal to the shelter, they will kill them there" (But you will set a dog or cat out beside the road and expect it to live happily ever after)
"I'm not going to get my cat spayed, I always give the kittens away through a 'free to good home' ad" (Like someone is going to tell you they have a bad home--or that they need something to feed their pet snake, and the pet store is fresh out of rats--or they are training their fighting pit bull... )
I think the only way we are going to get a handle on this mess is a combination of education (children and adults), spay/neuter programs, and unfortunately, euthanasia.
Another thing that the general public doesn't "get" is that a no-kill shelter means a limited-admission shelter. Well-run "no-kills" may have a niche, but not as a replacement for the basic public animal shelter. There has to be a place that will take in anything, provide food, water, shelter and a chance to be adopted--and failing that, to provide a humane death to open up space for more.
Shows like Animal Cops seem to be doing a good job of raising public awareness of animal welfare issues.

Not only do people need to be educated about the importance of spaying/neutering, but they also need to be educated on the importance of matching the proper pet with their family. Someone once posted "There is no such thing as an untrainable dog." Which is true, but that doesn't mean that every dog can be trained by every person. Since many dogs are surrendered for behavioral issues, some of that could be eliminated by making smart choices in the first place. I've often thought that requiring a potential owner of a "dangerous breed" get a license showing that they know what they are getting into and will get the dog proper training, etc. is a much better solution than banning the breed.

Thinking outside the box... making pet ownership easier on renters would help create more homes.

I think there should be more volunteers and workers trying to find temporary homes for dogs after the allowed time runs out in shelters. That is one telemarketing call I would certainly pay attention to.
We recently offered our home to the S.P.C.A in Edmonton AB to any friendly dog of any size. No one has gotten back to us, it's sad that they would rather put the animal down than to let me pay for food, give them a caring home and do my best to get the little one adopted.
I did notice on our last visit to the shelter, the majority (95%) of the dogs were not to be adopted by families with children under 10. That is behavioural and it comes down to education of the human, conundrum: Putting in regulations that require people to attend a class or fill out a lengthy test would only deter more good families from adopting. I really enjoyed the above post in thinking outside the box. Making pet ownership easier on renters. Or maybe that post is on another page now? I'm so excited to find out!! LOL, best regards animal lovers

I worked at and managed a Shelter for 6 years and I was constantly preaching spay/neuter to anyone and everyone.I saw enough death to last me a lifetime ,we euth. Healthy animals as well as sick or abused so badly that humane touch was not possible.I adopted several myself,including 2 abused dogs that did learn to trust again.I wanted to video tape us euth.these animals and go around to schools and let kids see what happens when pets are left to breed at will,but no one wanted to do that because it would tramatize children.I think education should start with kids because obviously adults either don't care or don't realize how severe the problem really is.And before someone reads this and blows up at me over this comment,not all people feel this way and there are some good responsible pet owners,but in my experience there are more people who don't care than those who do,just look at the numbers of animals that are destroyed,it proves my point.I also had the same people over and over bringing in litters of puppies and kittens to the shelter and I would tell them that we were not there for their personal use and they were to either have that pet fixed or surrender it to shelter as well.When a pet was adopted from us it would be fixed before the owner ever took it home to,that way we knew for certain that animal was'nt reproducing.If it was a puppy or kitten they had to sign a contract that it would be fixed when it turned 6 months of age and I would put the approx. date of that on the contract,and 2 weeks before that date I would call and remind them to get appt. for surgery.The contract also stated that if said animal was not fixed,it would have to be brought back to shelter.I too wish people had to purchase a breeders license and proceeds from that go directly to shelter,because we see a lot of people here who constantly breed their dogs and cats every time they come in heat,and C-section it to death if necessary.I would also ask potential adopters if they owned or rented their homes and if they rented,we had to have a statement from landlord giving them permission to allow a pet in that home.That may seem a bit extreme to some of you,but a lot of people don't want pets in homes they rent out,and if they find out someone has a pet without permission,they either have to get rid of pet or move.And last but not least,our shelter had 2 Vets work with us that really dedicated themselves to making a difference and are big spay/neuter advocates,it's not about the money with them.

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Some breeders, but not all, only breed for the money and sell the dog to anyone who has the money. And not thinking about the fact that half of the litter will end up homeless or in the shelter by the time they are 2 years of age. People think that because a dog is "purebred" it will not end up in a shelter.

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But why the heck would anyone pay top dollar for a pure-bred dog, only to have it wind up a stray or in a shelter? Something doesn't sound right here. Is it really a common thing?

You'd be surprised at how many purebreds end up at the shelter,my last Boxer came from the shelter,I also adopted a Spitz and a Pomeranian from the shelter I worked at,the Spitz was surrendered by the brother of the deceased owner,and the Pomeranian was brought in by the cops for neglect along with several other pets.So it happens more than you think..

JUST one thing that is overlooked about the problem is landlords NO PETS rule.
Apartment buildings in Arizona allow small pets up to so many pounds so why can't single house rentals with yards allow pets?
The landlords can add a pet deposit and $xx. Per month for allowing you to have a pet.
Every time I look through apartments for rent in my entire county I might run across one Pets allowed for every thousand that say NO PETS

I've found that many people also love puppies. Then one of two things happens: They find out it is WORK to train a puppy and don't want it anymore or the puppy grows up and isn't as cute to them anymore. Good breeded ask for people to return the animal to them if they decide they don't want it. That doesn't mean they get their money back but it does stop the dog from ending up at a shelter. Sure, there are a ton of mixes. I have one. I wouldn't own a pure breed, if only for the fact they are more medical issues usually. (I'm leaving all my puppy politics out of that last statement.)

I think that education and regulation are both wonderful ideas. I think that animal breeders should be required to have classes and continuing education, you get a license that you have to renew yearly (but you need certain hours of education) and a portion of this fee can go to animal shelter. Then there should also be required education to take before you purchase a pet to make sure you are both responsible enough for a pet and that the breed or species is right for you, this way you have a chance to back out before you realize your dog screams all night, gigs up your yard and eats your furniture and clothing. The fees for this can also go to animal shelters. It is not all that much different from what I have to do to be able to keep my 2 licenses to work in health care. I sit in meetings and inservices to learn about new things, review old programs and meds, go through what is and what is not working, I pay a fee for my license every year. If I don't have enough inservice hours, I don't get the license.

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Originally Posted by s_cianci

But why the heck would anyone pay top dollar for a pure-bred dog, only to have it wind up a stray or in a shelter? Something doesn't sound right here. Is it really a common thing?

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Yes it's a common thing. I have 7 dogs. Six out of seven are purebred. I rescued them all. Just because its "purebred" doesn't mean that it won't be abused or abandoned. Some people buy a dog and realize its not the breed for them. Because of lack of research of what breed fits their family or household. They usually go out and buy a dog based on looks and how "cute" they think it is. And then suddenly realize its not the dog for them. So it gets set out or sent to the shelter.

Pet ID tags would help lost pets find their way home. Spay/Neuter should be a law. Puppy mills should be shut down and education for all is important.