Letter: Shelter deserves more funding

I have served on the board of directors of the Companion Animal Alliance since its inception. During this time, it has been a privilege to work with some of the most-dedicated individuals who hold animal welfare deep in their hearts.

When the CAA first assumed operation of the Baton Rouge Animal Control and Rescue shelter, we carried the hopes and dreams of a large segment of the community. Prior to the transition, the BRAC&R fulfilled its mandate from the city/parish; however, the focus on adoption, foster and rescue was limited and the euthanasia number and rate were high.

Since the CAA assumed operation of the shelter, the number of animals adopted, rescued, transported and fostered has increased dramatically. Over 400 volunteers have worked in the CAA shelter in the last 12 months — all to make it a better place.

Numerous stop-gap and permanent repairs have been made to the shelter’s physical plant, where environmental conditions were untenable. Numerous animal-welfare groups have assisted with adoption days and events to save animals from euthanasia.

Fundraising efforts to support CAA have been valiant, with tremendous community response, including two CAA-organized Fur Balls that were a resounding financial success. In addition, after a national search, the CAA has recruited an experienced shelter director with a clear vision for our future. And yet we fall short.

Several barriers prevent smooth shelter operation, but the constant overriding issue is inadequate funding because of the size of our community and the massive number of animals taken in every day.

The CAA currently receives less than 50 percent of the accepted minimum funding for U.S. shelters, based on the population of East Baton Rouge Parish.

The CAA inherited a shelter with a high-volume, high euthanasia rate, and its long-term goal of “no-kill” raised unrealistic expectations. The mistaken notion that “no-kill” could be achieved by declaration rather than the end result of a lot of hard work over time has not served the CAA shelter well and, unfortunately, has led to serious disillusionment among many volunteers who perceived a more-immediate resolution of the high animal euthanasia rate. Building a robust adoption program takes time.

So many resources have been applied to support the CAA endeavor, and so many community leaders are on board. It would be shameful to fail to take advantage of this opportunity we have leveraged because of inadequate base funding. We owe it to the animals; we owe it to our sense of pride in our community; and we owe it to our own humanity.

David Senior, associate dean

for advancement and strategic initiatives

LSU School of Veterinary Medicine

Baton Rouge

Comments

1) Comment by phil - 13/11/2012

I would hope everyone is for the "no kill" concept. However, I think this is just another place for tax funds to disappear into with few beneficial results. This seems to just add another organization with a new layer of administrative costs and salaries and does little to help the overall situation. This organization already is costing taxpayers more money, and now they want even more? A study needs to be done and released to the public that details how much more taxpayers are now paying in comparison to before this organization was started, and also what the benefits (if any) to the community have been so far. Animals should be "fixed" to prevent over population in the beginning and not killed after they are unwanted and end up in a shelter. Puppy mills should be outlawed. Pets have become a big money business for some. Our society is not addressing this issue correctly, in my opinion. Shame on us!

2) Comment by Stephen - 13/11/2012

I second what Country Boys wrote. SPQR, this is why most/many people should never try to be a pet owner. The responsibility is taken too lightly and most of the time it is for the benefit/convenience of the owner and the animal is an "accessory" or somehow meeting the needs of the owner with little regard for the real needs of the animal. You probably go to zoos with a good conscience. I don't.

3) Comment by Chucky - 13/11/2012

Take the money that CATS was getting and give it to the shelter. CATS funds for Cats ( Dogs and others )

4) Comment by [e-mail] - 13/11/2012

"...less than 50 percent of the accepted minimum funding for U.S. shelters.."? Senior is obviously in the midst of a Senior moment. Why worry about feral cats and dogs when we're headed for a "fiscal cliff"? Get Obama on it.

5) Comment by jdk944 - 13/11/2012

@CountryBoysCanSurvive - thank you for sharing the TRUTH behind the scenes. Two years ago we adopted from the BR Animal Shelter. We got the sweetest Irish Jack Rusell Terrior. What a joy she is. Unfortunately, when people and babies are thrown away like yesterday's garbage, this mindset is what you get. Too many are in this "throw away" society!! And then are surprised to read such information as you have posted. My heart goes out to you and ALL THE OTHERS who serve in this difficult situation. And to those who deal with seeing the travesty of abortion etc. SHAME ON THIS SOCIETY for losing it's soul!!

6) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 13/11/2012

An open letter from a Shelter Director Our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a "view from the inside"- if you will. First off, any of you whom have surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter - for just ONE DAY. That puppy you just dropped off will most-likely end up in my shelter when it's no longer a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know, there's a 90% chance that your dog will never walk out back out, once entered in to the shelter system... Purebred or not! About 25% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into a shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses: "We're moving and can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her & we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog". Odds are, your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think it is for your pet? Did you know... Your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off? Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog/cat manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it is euthanized. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with other barking & crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and will cry constantly for you. If your pet is lucky, there will be enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If not, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of it's pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. If your cat is scared and doesn't act friendly enough, or if it catches a cold (which most of them 'do'), it will be put to sleep. Those dogs & cats just don't get adopted. In most cases, it doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your pet doesn't get adopted within it's 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your pet is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long. Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because the shelter gets paid a fee to euthanize each animal and making money is better than spending money to take this animal to the vet. Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk... happy, wagging their tails...until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when they get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there. It's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 shelter workers, depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a shelter worker who we call a "euthanasia tech (not a vet)" finds a vein in the front leg and injects a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerks. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood... the yelps and screams are deafening. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. You see, shelters are trying to make money to pay employee pay checks and then, there's the board of directors...who need to be paid too! Consequently, corners are cut, & we don't spend our funds to tranquilize the animal before injecting them with the lethal drug, we just put the burning lethal drug in their vein and let them suffer until dead. In the end, your pet's corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer, usually in the back of the building with all of the other animals that were killed. There they will sit until being picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? rendered into pet food? Or used for schools to dissect and experiment on? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. After all, it was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?! I hope that those of you who still have a beating heart and have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head. I deal with this everyday. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make changes and start educating yourselves, your children, the public. Do the research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they've become.

7) Comment by spqr - 13/11/2012

Stephen, you are kidding, right? What a nice guy. Oppose funding to a group trying to do something needed and good and your solution is to ignore it all. Yep, same old Baton Rouge.

8) Comment by Stephen - 12/11/2012

I oppose more funding for the shelter. Yes, more should be done to prevent the proliferation of dogs and cats in the community. Pet ownership should not be promoted as much as it is. Few people have the resources really needed to keep a dog (and even a cat) in a healthy way. Please stop getting dogs and cats if you do not have the resources to properly care for them. This includes lots of your own land for them to roam.