The Shelter of Misfit Dogs.
So I found this ... Hatred for Winograd. And by found I mean it was linked on Meryl's blog. :) I'm not very original I guess!
Nothing all that unusual. Just more people saying that the No-Kill Shelters are the way to go. I'm not arguing that point. But I see a few issues.
In previous stories when his book was first released, Winograd said that there was a home for every animal that needed one. To this my head always goes to one side and my eyes squinch up and I go ... really? Are you sure?
Because from my time at the animal hospital, there weren't always homes for every pet. From my time looking for Mavvy, there were a lot of dogs that people just didn't want.
The article villifies the previous kill to be kind (their words) proponents and sort of makes them out to be murderers. I'd hate to see what they think of me. I've assisted with my own fair share of euthanasia.
But the big problem with all these stories is they don't address what drives pet over population. Pure breed dogs. No one wants mutts. Just ask poor Mavvy, who's own Uncle (my brother-in-law) took one look at her and said that's the ugliest dog I've ever seen. And my father said, well I think you've discovered a new breed. A slightly more polite insult, but still ... not the glowing "Oh she's so cute!" that people expect.
I think no-kill shelters are great. But the vast majority of dogs in there are like the Island of Misfit Toys. Their noses are too short, their tales are too long, or their fur is too heavy for their body type.
Maybe I'm wrong. But I think we're going to have permanent housing for a lot of these dogs in the shelters. And so far, at least with this PAWS place they opened up in Chicago, that hasn't been the case. I hope that trend continues. For the good of the dogs.
Nothing all that unusual. Just more people saying that the No-Kill Shelters are the way to go. I'm not arguing that point. But I see a few issues.
In previous stories when his book was first released, Winograd said that there was a home for every animal that needed one. To this my head always goes to one side and my eyes squinch up and I go ... really? Are you sure?
Because from my time at the animal hospital, there weren't always homes for every pet. From my time looking for Mavvy, there were a lot of dogs that people just didn't want.
The article villifies the previous kill to be kind (their words) proponents and sort of makes them out to be murderers. I'd hate to see what they think of me. I've assisted with my own fair share of euthanasia.
But the big problem with all these stories is they don't address what drives pet over population. Pure breed dogs. No one wants mutts. Just ask poor Mavvy, who's own Uncle (my brother-in-law) took one look at her and said that's the ugliest dog I've ever seen. And my father said, well I think you've discovered a new breed. A slightly more polite insult, but still ... not the glowing "Oh she's so cute!" that people expect.
I think no-kill shelters are great. But the vast majority of dogs in there are like the Island of Misfit Toys. Their noses are too short, their tales are too long, or their fur is too heavy for their body type.
Maybe I'm wrong. But I think we're going to have permanent housing for a lot of these dogs in the shelters. And so far, at least with this PAWS place they opened up in Chicago, that hasn't been the case. I hope that trend continues. For the good of the dogs.
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