Just Another Day

It’s though sometimes, some days you give up hope, on society, on people, on everything. Compared to last winter at work, there has been so many dogs, non stop, every time there one empty…there two more dogs to occupy the spot. Its overwhelming to see. Every day there cats that need to be euthanized for various reason, either sick, injured, or just because we need the space.

Yeah most of my day is spent cleaning shit. But I see these animals everyday, talk to them in a high pitched squeeky voice. Laugh when they do something silly, like steal toys from the toy box, pee on something they shouldn’t be peeing on. Get annoyed when that dog that has been here forever, uses your arm as a human chew toy. I would never want to see anything bad happen to any of them. I want to see them all succeed. After all they aren’t here because they choose to be. Their here because we have put them here, “a puppy was too much, he eat everything, he pees on the floor, new baby, new life, moving, no time” there always an excuse. Yes, I am aware I have a job because society put them here. 

I have nor will I ever give up on an animal. I see the good in all of them. I see the work some need more then others. I’m not happy or excited about an animal that fails or that doesn’t make it out alive. I don’t wish death on any of them. Sadly some will not make it out alive. But I can’t lose it and break down everyday. You need to be strong but you don’t need to be hollow.

I worry and often question those who show no remorse, no sadness, nothing, no caring. Do you hide those emotions? Or are they just not their? Is this just a job? Maybe to some people it is just a job, something you do to get by. Yeah I’m just getting by to… but at the end of the day, I have this happy feeling of knowing I have made a different for that sad lonely animal, It makes me happy inside to see them happy to see me. It makes me sad to see them sad and afraid.

Some say it is different when it is your own pets. So what are you saying? Just because they are not yours, should you not feel a certain way. I treat them like they are mind. I take care of them, they are mine, my little orphans waiting for the right home to come along.  I may never make a difference in some humans life…but I’m alright with that, I’ve made a different in a lot of animals lives. 

In my life animals are a big part of it, taking care of them is my life, to me this is just another day, another day in my life

RE: Animal Lovers Need Not Apply|

An article appeared on  the huffington post just a few days ago. The title of the article read “Animal Lovers Need Not Apply” The post is based around an animal shelter where a cat managed to get stuck in a wall, and no one did anything about it, until the cat eventually died. Only then when the body was decomposing and smelling, was when staff cut open the wall and took out the body. Now I can not speak for this shelter, I do believe there are two sides to every story. I would like to hear this shelter side of the story. Maybe someday we will; maybe we won’t. However my thoughts on the story surrounding this cat, I do feel that for a staff that is supposed to be there to protect these animals and help them, clearly have lost compassion somewhere along the line, when you feel it is okay to sit and eat your lunch knowing just a few feet away from you, there is a poor starving animal in the wall. I think it’s time for a new job when you lack caring and compassion like that. I personally do not know anybody who would just sit around and let that happen!

As I continue to read this article it begins to question how do you let people like this work in an animal shelter.

“working at a municipal pound is a job, not a mission; animal control lacks accountability; applicants who score the lowest on city aptitude tests get placed in animal control; some agencies are staffed by prison inmates with no oversight; employees who fail in departments deemed more important by uncaring bureaucrats are placed in animal control rather than fired; city officials sign draconian union contracts that make it difficult to fire neglectful and abusive staff; lazy managers won’t do the progressive discipline necessary to fire them (and workers know this); some people just don’t care; and some people are just callous and cruel.”

There are places in the states that do have a prison inmate type of program. One of my favorites can be seen on Pitbulls and Parolees. Those men on there show more caring for animals and have lots of compassion. Yes it’s a reality show but I do not believe for two seconds the caring you see from those men is an act. I see it as real, I do not believe Tia Torres would hire those men if they did not care. Now I may not know what I could score on an aptitude test… I also don’t work for animal control. I work as an animal care attendant, I do care, I am not cruel or callous…I am also not a prison inmate either. I do have two college diplomas, and have been in the animal shelter environment since I was 14. Yes, I have seen some sad things but it never once came from any of the staff that I have worked with that care a great deal about these animals. We work our butts off, helping them by fostering, rescuing, finding rescue to take animals we can not place up for adoption. This summer alone a co-worker had over 10 animals from our shelter at her home fostering them! Some people may not care, and some people maybe cruel. But the keywords is SOME PEOPLE. You can put all shelter staff in that category,

“Studies of slaughterhouse workers have found that in order to cope with the fact that they are paid to kill day in and day out, self-preservation motivates them to devalue animals in order to make what they are doing less morally reprehensible. In other words, the workers make the animals unworthy of any consideration on their behalf”

“Employees Wanted: To Commit Daily Violence Towards Animals”

First of all. I am not a slaughterhouse worker. I am an animal shelter work. Second of all, I am not paid to kill day in and day out. I also don’t devalue an animal. You think it makes us happy when we have to pick animals to euthanize. I have said this before it’s not easy to say who deserves to live and who gets to die. It is not an easy part of the job. We don’t desensitize our selves to this. My last litter of foster cats all had to be euthanized. Yes, I made that decision. They were really ill and not responding to their medication. Turns out the mother had feline herpes virus and transmitted it to the babies. They were getting sicker and sicker each day. What would you have liked me to do, leave them suffer until they all dropped dead, or humanely and yes I said HUMANELY euthanize them. Do you think I didn’t cry? You think I didn’t care? It killed me to make that choice but for me it was the right choice, and maybe that something you will not agree with.

“Because shelter workers understand that they have the power to kill shelter animals, and will in fact kill many of them, every interaction they have with those animals is influenced by the perception that the animals do not matter, that their lives are cheap and expendable and that they are destined for the garbage heap.”

You honestly think that? Really? I did not apply to work at a shelter because I enjoy killing and think every animal is going to die. It’s a sad truth yes animals are euthanized in shelter. Yes many will me euthanized. But I will have you know every interaction I have with everyone of my animals, at my shelter is not influenced by the perception they do not matter or destined for the garbage heap like you say. Every interaction I have with those animals is full of love, caring and expecting they will become a great pet to someone, and watching there confidence grow. Every animal that walks through that door will have the chance and will be expected to become a great animal for someone. And sometimes that doesn’t happen. Sometime they are euthanized for various of reason. You think I don’t care? You think I excepted them to fail? It is the saddest thing in the world when you have tried so hard for an animal and unfortunately they do not make it. It makes you feel like you have failed that animal, and that feeling of failure is a heart wrenching thing. But we do have to be strong, STRONG, not heartless, we have to move passed it and be there for the next animals, because let’s face it, those kennels will always be full, and there will be another animal waiting for you to them.

“The reality is that truly caring people, people who actually love animals, either do not apply to work at these agencies or if they do, they do not last.”

It is true that a lot of people do not last in animal shelters because they can not handle the sadness. I’ve had my days were I felt I did not want to do this anymore. I actually care about animals, whether you believe me or not. I go in on my days off to socialize scared animals and work with dogs with certain issues that need help. I spend a lot of time off the clock at my shelter.

I’m sorry for what happened to that poor cat in Dallas. That is really sad. It is beyond me how anybody could just let an animal suffer like that. But you can not blame all shelters for something that happened at one shelter. Or something you have seen happen at a few shelters. There are shelters our there that care for these animals and do whatever possible to help as many as we can. I’m sorry that you blame all the “killing” on shelter workers. Yes, we do euthanize animals. I don’t feel we are to blame. If you want the euthanizing to stop I feel you need to look at where there animals are coming from? If people would stop buying from pet stores, puppy mills, back yard breeders, if they start spaying and neutering their pets, if more people adopt from shelters, then and only then will the euthanizing of animals in shelter will be minimized and who knows maybe it will stop.

I am an animal lover, and I did apply and I do care for every animal that walks through the doors of my shelter doors.

You can read the article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-j-winograd/employees-wanted-to-commi_b_4311182.html

Aviva Community Fund

Last year was the first year I heard of this, I don’t really understand the concept of how funds like this work. (That would involve numbers and math, and I am just no good at that). But basically what happens is, a bunch of people come up with ideas and what in society would benefit from getting a little extra cash. So Ideas range from youth clubs, kid things, to animal welfare ideas. I guess aviva has a 1 million dollar fund, the willing charities/ideas get a share of the profit.

Last year my animal shelter became a semi- finalist and we won $5,000 for our shelter and the animals. This year we are competing again. It is pretty simple, everyday you go to the web page and you vote, you can vote for one or more cause, and you vote everyday. There is three rounds, we are in round one and last time I checked we ranked #6. There is three more days of round one, I’m positive we will make it to the second around, but you never know how fast things can change.

At the same time, there are animal shelter fighting to get to the top spot, and it makes me sad. Yes, we need the money, but there are also other shelter that REALLY need the money. Is it hypocritical for me to say let us win, but please vote for other shelter as well? After all you can vote for more then one idea, however you only get so many votes, and once you use all your votes, you can not vote until the next round.

So I would like to ask my followers if they would take a few seconds and vote for the shelter I work for, and also for another animal shelter that I feel will benefit greatly from any money they will win. Thank you.

http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf16854     <– The shelter I work for(Moncton SPCA)

http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf17545     <– Quinte Humane Society

Hash Tag Lights For Pets

Sometimes I wonder who invents these things, it’s like one day someone decided today is going to be a day to honor so and so. Out of nowhere yesterday, a post on facebook brough lights for pets to my attention. So on Thursday September 26th, we will all remember and honor the millions of homeless pets in shelters throughout the nation, and to do so, somewhere in your status on facebook with me #lightsforpets.

First of all, I have yet to understand what and where did this “hash tag” has come from. It’s like it just went viral and now everyone is doing it. I don’t think hash tag for pets really went to viral, I did not see much of it on facebook, but I could be wrong, I don’t spend enough time on facebook as everyone thinks I do.

Today on my day off, I went to do what I usually do , spend time with the shelter babies. It was going to be my status for lights for pets. While just hanging about with a little dog, I spotted something with a shelter number that was very familiar to me. A while back I wrote a blog poem called “I couldn’t save you” about a shelter boy I was not able to save and who was euthanized. This thing that I found has his number and name on it. It belonged to him. Now I have his collar, it sits just above my stove in my kitchen, I see it everyday. But seeing this thing that was his, and thinking of him. It brought tears to my eyes. I loved that dog more then anything and tired my best, but that still was not enough. It did not save him.

So my lights for pets will be honoring those in shelter everyone that we have all got attached to and could not save. When our hearts are breaking, and we feel we can not continue what we do. We need to honor those who we have lost just has much as we should honor those who are still with us. Those just waiting, waiting to see what fate has in store for them.

Times Up!

I’ve been finding it hard lately to put my thoughts into words. But I thought a quick post on some different feelings and thoughts might help clear my mind and help with my writing.

You know the other day, about 7 cats/kittens where dropped off at the shelter. The shelter that is already full and no room as it. So of course this meant 7 cat kennels needed to be emptied to make room for the 7 new crates of animals waiting for a spot. Most of us have a hard time picking who should stay and who should go. They all were friends and so nice, some just babies, some just scared. Usually we look for the sick ones, they would just infect the rest with URI or any of disease they might be carrying. But this day, there was no sick ones, and those that were, we had bonded and were trying to save. It is one of the hardest things to do, how do you choose which cat has more priority over the next, who deserves to live? They all do, but there no room, and maybe it is better there last days were spent in a warm blanket with food and water, and someone to snuggle them and love them for the little time they had left. It’s not like this is new. It happens everyday! Everyday someone dies to make room for the next. It’s a sad cycle really.

When I walk into the receiving area, I feel like my life is just on repeat, vaccinate everyone new…. it seems like every time I go in there, they all are new! Like didn’t I just do this yesterday? Yes, yes I did, but yes that’s right, all those other cats came, and needed to make room. 

I don’t really understand how the no kill revolution is suppose to work? What do you do with all these animals? Especially during low adoption peaks, and high in take peaks. Where do they all go? Yes, I would love to see no kill happen, but with the amount of homeless animals out there now, how is it possible! Or is it, you send them to another shelter, and they do that for you? We do send animals to other shelters, after awhile I wonder if people ever inquire about them? Who knows, maybe it will happen, and I  will just have to sit back and wait for it to happen. In the meantime people will drop off there pets, and my life will continue on repeat until that day.

When people say they have a hard job, it makes me laugh. You have a hard job? I just had to pick animals to die? But you have a hard job? Until you have watch little kittens have to be euthanized, who life has just begun, they didn’t stand a chance. Until you witness what man has done to his best friend. I refuse to think anyone has a harder job then those who work in an animal shelter. But yes we do it, because we love them, and will do what we need to, to keep them safe, even if safe means they will be sent to heaven at the end of the day.