{"id":7384,"date":"2015-08-15T01:53:50","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T01:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=7384"},"modified":"2016-08-24T15:42:12","modified_gmt":"2016-08-24T15:42:12","slug":"lets-improve-on-clear-the-shelter-day-with-some-tough-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=7384","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s improve on “Clear the Shelter Day\u201d with some tough conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has been some interesting reactions today to Sharon Grigsby\u2019s Dallas Morning News article about the “Clear the Shelter Day<\/a>‘s” practice of\u00a0offering free dog for adoption all across the Metroplex. Agree or disagree with the price tag, there are some issues with the process that could be improved.<\/p>\n

Last year Dallas Animal Service (DAS) adopted several free dogs out to the address of\u00a0the homeless shelter,\u00a0The Bridge. \u00a0People that are in residence there are not allowed to get a dog while they are staying there. (people may come in with an existing dog, but they may not acquire a new dog) Sharon\u00a0is asking a perfectly legit question\u00a0asking\u00a0how potential adopters are\u00a0being screened to ensure they will be responsible pet owners and properly care for these animals as\u00a0required\u00a0by the\u00a0law. One of her\u00a0questions was about screening and\u00a0counseling\u00a0a potential adopter to make sure they understood the financial obligation required to properly care for a free dog or cat and making sure they understood how to budget for the lifetime commitment of owning the pet. Well, that ignited a fire storm.<\/p>\n

I live in South Dallas, part of our ongoing conversation about animal neglect and compliance is ALWAYS about money. \u00a0This is important to our communities safety and quality of life. Anyone know how to get rid of parvo or distemper from a public park? Look it up…you might be more concern dogs have proper vaccinations.\u00a0The City does not have the resources to help, the owners don\u2019t have resources for pet care….who is going to pay for these animals to get baseline care and vaccinations? Who is going to pay to spay and neuter them?<\/p>\n

Well, for now, it\u2019s you and me. We pay for it all in the taxes that are allocated to DAS, our money is paying for the dollars required to give those animals free spay and neuters, shots, and microchips so they can be eligible for free adoption on Clear the Shelter Day. \u00a0We pay in the donations and time we give to other rescue groups. And the problems still persist.<\/p>\n

Loose and uncompliant animals endanger our southern sector’s communities everyday. Our qualify of life suffers, our behaviors change, and there is no plan in sight to correct this crisis short or long term. So, Sharon’s questions are\u00a0fair based on the climate and animal crisis facing our City. Her column should be embraced as a way to start a honest and open conversation that pushes innovation and helps forward these issues towards solutions for everyone.<\/p>\n

If you have never held a dying parvo puppy, or watched a dog go into heart failure from heartworms in 100 degree heat, if you have never pulled a dog out of the road that has been hit by a car because its people (who loved it) couldn\u2019t afford to fix their fence, fix the dog or be bothered to keep the dog safely confined, if you have never crawled under a house to extract third generation feral puppies, if you have never tried to rehabilitate a bait dog, if you have never watched DAS try to catch and fail to catch loose dangerous dogs and dog packs, if you have never seen a dog suffering tethered on a chain, if you have never been chased or bitten by a loose dog, if you have never watched a neglected dog be\u00a0euthanized in the lab, you should probably take a step back and realize you are lucky to live in a part of town where your neighbors are responsible pet owners.<\/p>\n

I live in a part of town where this is a struggle. I have seen all of this in my daily life with neglected dogs on our residential streets, on our school properties, and at our local businesses. \u00a0It is not always about income and education, lots of poor or underserved people go to great lengths to care for their animals. Lots of perfectly well to do people let their dogs run loose, lots of perfectly well to do people don\u2019t care for their animals properly. \u00a0But the difference is, when DAS shows up to enforce the law, cost is not a barrier to compliance for people who can afford a dog. When cost is a barrier to compliance, we have to take time to ask what is the right thing to do for the welfare of the animal and for the safety of our communities.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s address the road block and the issues, let\u2019s help connect people to low cost resources, but recognize, sometimes money is an excuse for neglectful, illegal behavior and it should not be tolerated. All of you people who are reacting and thinking Sharon Grigsby is saying poor people are bad owners, you are not listening \u2013 you are reacting.<\/p>\n

If we are truly emptying the shelter with animal welfare as the main goal, it is important to understand where these animals are going and if the adopters are prepared and able to live up their forever commitment to these animals.<\/p>\n

Currently, that is not done at the Dallas municipal shelter \u2013 and that lack of \u00a0screening and education can lead to a gap in what the law says it is to be a good companion animal owner and what owners actually do. That gap turns into sick infectious dogs spreading parvo and distemper, loose intact dogs running through our street breeding and fighting, people tethering dogs without shelter and water.<\/p>\n

The safety and quality of life for other good dog owners (rich or poor) is then affected by these decisions to ignore what the law says you need to do to own a dog. Part of the point Sharon Grigsby\u2019s article is making is in the push to \u201cClear the Shelter\u201d we should make sure we are looking out for the welfare of the animals first and foremost, not the convenience and the happiness of the humans.<\/p>\n

Budget and affordability should be a conversation and a concern. There should be open conversation and education regarding baseline care and its cost. But some of the shelters will say there is not time or resources to do this important work. I fully and strongly disagree. We just don\u2019t want to inconvenience people and ask them to watch a responsible dog ownership video before they are eligible to adopt a free dog. Why not?<\/p>\n

There is supporting research and professional advise from industry experts on adopting an animal. It goes further than just talking about can you afford an animal, but that is one of the 10 important questions you should ask before adopting a new pet. Vetstreet consulted three renowned experts \u2014 Dr. Ernie Ward, animal trainer Andrea Arden, and Stephanie Shain, chief operating officer at the Washington Humane Society \u2014 about the 10 most important questions to ask yourself before you adopt a pet. (Check that important word out BEFORE you adopt.)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what they came up with (details for each point are in the link below<\/p>\n

1. What will your life be like in five or even 10 years?<\/p>\n

2. Will you be adopting the pet by yourself or with someone?<\/p>\n

3. How much time can you dedicate to your pet each day?<\/p>\n

4. Can you afford to own an animal?<\/p>\n

5. Do you have support from others if you\u2019re working late or traveling?<\/p>\n

6. How much household destruction can you tolerate?<\/p>\n

7. If you already have a pet, is that animal likely to accept a new housemate?<\/p>\n

8. What do you hope to get out of the relationship?<\/p>\n

9. Do you have the time and resources needed for proper training?<\/p>\n

10. Do you have small children?<\/p>\n

Here is a link to the full explanation and rational behind their questions<\/a>: \u00a0There is no reason adoption councilors and volunteers can\u2019t talk potential adopters through these questions and help direct adopters to resources. Lack of resources is not an excuse to not take the time to educate potential owners on what it means to be a responsible pet owner. I can tell you that when I adopted from DAS, I filled out some papers, gave them my money and got no guidance or help and I adopted a heartworm positive shy\u00a0dog they had deemed un-adoptable.<\/p>\n

I think everyone that adopts should get some kind of counseling and a resource list, like what we list below,\u00a0ahead of adoption. Something like this list (these all have hot links):<\/p>\n

\u00a0Are you ready for a dog?<\/strong><\/p>\n