Isn't it great that some vets go that extra step and try to help with an animal being adopted instead of being euthanized? I have seen the photos of some animals at the vet's office that are in need of being adopted also. It's nice they help their clients that way.
Thank you for the uplifting update.
That is great news! Thank you for making my day!
I'll bet the previous owner is SO happy about that, too! What a relief for her. Good news all around.
That is great news! The vets around here will do the same thing. A few years ago, one vet adopted a 12 year old Basset that needed medical attention on a daily basis. She didn't have the heart to put him to sleep. His illness was not terminal just chronic.
I am very pleased that someone was able to give the three cats a good home. Most cats are not that lucky.
The sad reality is that most shelters will kill owner released pets within 24 hours of relinquishment. They are usually required by state laws to keep found animals for a minimum number of days before they can be killed. That does not apply to pets whose owners sign them over to shelters. Unfortunately, there are still shelters that use the very cruel gas chamber method of killing pets. A caring owner, knowing that is the fate awaiting an owner relinquished pet would choose the kind, quick and painless death of euthanasia, rather than abandon a pet to that fate.
Over a number of years of doing rescue I would occasionally encounter owners who were heartbroken at their inability to find a place to live that would allow their pets. It is getting harder and harder to rent a place that allows pets.
I knew someone who had a cat that they attempted to find a home for. The cat was about seven or eight years old and had refused to be completely housebroken. The owners had done everything that had been suggested by several vets in trying to get the cat to be clean in their home. They were moving to a new home and expecting a baby and they spent months looking for a home for the cat. No one wants a cat that urinates in corners and behind furniture. That cat was eventually taken on a one way trip to the vet. There were no other options.
People have to make heartbreaking choices like these every day. One friend of the people I just mentioned was very unpleasant to my friends and demanded that they do more and more about finding a home for the cat, but that person refused to take the cat or try to find a home himself. He just sat in judgment on my friends.
While it is true that some "no-kill" shelters will turn animals away when they are full, there are an increasing number of open adoption shelters that are refusing to kill healthy adoptable animals. In my own county, the open adoption shelter only kills animals that are hopelessly ill or injured beyond hope of recovery or if they are irredeemably vicious. It is not easy, but they have put into place many programs to increase adoptions, increase volunteer participation, make full use of local rescue agencies and foster homes; they engage in regular off-site adoption efforts, they stay open several evenings as well as Saturdays and Sundays so that people who want to adopt will have greater access. They have experienced the same influx of relinquished pets that other shelters have experienced. Unlike most of those other shelters, relinquished pets at this shelter are not killed.
Someday, all shelters will be like this one: temporary homes for animals that have lost the homes they had. You can help if you will contact your local shelter and see how you can volunteer. There are a number of Pet Lovers in this group who already volunteer at shelters and they are saving lives and/or making lives better. If you can't volunteer to work at a shelter, donate something. A quick call to the local shelter will give you a list of supplies that are needed. Whatever you can do will make life a bit better for a shelter animal.
