Both Sides Of Posting Pictures Online

I've read so many blogs lately praising Chameleon, I almost feel like we should give it a little hill of it's own.  It's a decent product, it's not a miracle worker.  People coming to the shelter, looking for their lost pets are the answer to reuniting pets and owners.  How did it become the shelter's responsibility to " bring your dog home"  it's your dog, come get it. Next we can start an Amber Alert on the interstates.  A woman came in today with a truckload of grief for volunteers and staff alike over her lost dog.  Seems the dog went missing 4 days ago, and we had it.  Yes indeedy, we dognapped it.  The dog was on petfinder for 3 days and nobody came calling, so the dog was offered for adoption.  Nice dog, found a home quickly, and was in the spay clinic, getting ready for it's new family when the irate owner finally got off her couch and came down to the shelter. If she had done that sooner she would have claimed her dog the next day.  The pet in question was mix, and we try to guess as closely as we can.  Our thought was Chow/Lab mix so into the database it went, she felt the dog was Golden Ret/Collie mix.  Well you know petfinder has thousands of animals, so she narrowed her search by breed. A learned reader can guess the ending.  Pictures are only as good as the people looking for them.  Nothing replaces the trip to the shelter.
There are people who do use the web to search for a pet to adopt, I have mixed feelings about that too.  A pet is a long commitment, if you don't care enough to come down and meet all the critters eye to eye, you may not have what it takes to be a good owner.  Adopting a pet for looks is like marrying for looks.  I hope that caused some squirming:)  Also from the shelter standpoint it's impossible to get every animal into and out of the data base in a timely manner.  People come down to look at a dog that got adopted two days ago, drove in from Stockton, they are hostile.  Should the picture have been pulled, sure, is there always time for immediate updating ? Nope.
I know there are advantages to posting online, but it should be only one tool in the box of many.  Nothing will ever replace personally looking for the animal in your life, whether adopting or reclaiming.  There are no shortcuts to happy ending's. Washoe tried the shuttle service and it was a failure all the way around, it breeds complacancy in the owners of at large dogs and rewards the careless owner.  A lost pet belongs at the shelter where a caring owner will come to reclaim it.

Private Management For A Public Service, Yea Or Nay ?

In our downwardly mobile economy, like everyone else the government is watching it's budget. What do we outsource and to whom ? The big trend lately is taking animal control private in the mistaken belief that somebody else can do the same job less expensively. Beyond the hidden agenda of doing away with union benefits, is an " honest to God" weariness of being badgered by lunatics. We went through it here and I fear the loons still walk the halls looking for a light under the door to creep in again. How do they come in, the bewildered ones ? Nobody is just walking up to the counter and saying, " I'm deranged, and I'm here to take control of your shelter " Be nice if it were that straight forward.

No, they come in the guise of legislation, or volunteers with agendas...occasionally they come in the form of a partnership gone awry. They flourish with the dissension of clashing beliefs. Never has divide & conquer been more true than in today's animal shelter system. The world of grey, caught in the fight of "black or white" When one is dealing with living beings, there is no line of demarcation, no set pattern of good vs. evil, Euthanize or Hoard..... I would beg the reader to go to Opposing Views and looking under "animal rights" ( not an accurate description I might add ) read the piece by Phyllis Daugherty, on Hayden's bill and the unintended consequences. It's a poisonous root on a deadly tree. From it springs CAPA- CAARA-FARA..all bad for the sentient beings caught up in the melee. Think compassion before you leap into the No Kill fire.

Pictured is a lovely lass who will be up for adoption when her health exam's are complete. Contact Miss Priss through an NFP for contact information.

Name That Pit, A Spin On YB's Name That Animal

It's a good thing I am discreet about where I volunteer,  for today I look at some things I don't like going on there. Part of my duties are evaluating and posting on Petfinder, both give me a sense of satisfaction, and sometimes a headache.  I leave the pictures up to Oreo, but today I wish I knew how to do it.  A picture would be most appropriate.
I have always considered the Nevada Humane Society to be either the dumbest, or the most deceptive in their labeling practices.  Well, Sac wants to jump on board the competitive train. That is not a the best moral compass to follow. A few weeks ago a picture came across my desk of a black and white dog, rather stumpy with a blocky head, slick hair and slightly bowed front legs.  It bore the label of German Shepherd Mix, I looked closely, even enlarging the picture to full size.  Maybe around the eyes?  Not really.  I called the boss asking for a change of description, I'm not allowed to do that.  All come to me in PDF,  that keeps everybody honest.  After a long study of the offending picture he said " don't you think it could have some shepherd?" I didn't.
From there we called for a meeting the following week with volunteers and staff.  Everyone knows there is a No Kill person in most neighborhoods and we have a pair, like hangars in my closet, they are trying unsucessfully  to multiply.  We are under the gun to get more out 'ALIVE'  The fact that we are not an adoption center has eluded this mentality.  Of course when there's an adoptable animal you want to try to place it, but resources are finite.  That's why it's so urgent to be extremely honest the first time.  The first time is usually the only swing a shelter gets at a family looking for a pet.  Blow that and you have lost them for life.  When that " border collie mix" turns into a pitbull a few month's down the path, the new owners will be in potential hot water.  Many places now will not rent to pittie types and even insurance is threatened, so why are shelters lying and putting the public and the dogs at risk ?  The dogs end up back at the shelter and now they have other issues, while the shelter has alienated the adopter. 
At NHS they lie and hope you will come down and " fall in love" then after that they may or may not tell you your dog could be pitbull..   Luring people into shelters with mis-labeled dogs is like the bait & switch that got big box stores busted. Deservedly so I might add.  I am disgusted with my shelter, I know they read me, I don't know if they know me, but I suppose they will now. It's dishonest, self-serving and cruel to the dogs to be put out under false pretenses, it's also spreading.  Please be a part of putting honesty back in your shelter listings.  This is not about the pitbull, it's about honesty.
There are some very nice pitbulls, the problem is you don't really know which ones they are until they are about 3 years old ( which is usually when they hit the shelter ).  I hope shelters continue to offer pitties to the public, but they better start putting the right name on them at the front..

No Kill , Rebranding ... As CAPA

No Kill has become the laughing stock of the animal community, seldom seen anywhere except on Winograd's outlets. So, how does an unscrupulous marketeer ( not an sp ) peddle a bad product ? A rational developer would look over what went wrong, the cause of the failure, and try to correct it, but we are not talking rational here. We are talking Nathan Winograd. His approach upon realizing his program, and himself were unwelcome in most cities, was to rebrand. One of the country's most annoying infomercials is now attacking at the state level through CAPA, which stands for Companion Animal Protection Act. This first appeared as the Hayden bill in California and has caused extreme controversy because it allows rescues to take sick and dangerous animals resulting in aggressive dogs being released in a city already full of them. Perhaps even more morally abhorrent, it allows sick animals to be pulled by persons who may not be financially or emotionally able to provided the care needed.
When a shelter deems an animal adoptable they are eager to get the animal into a home, however, when the decision is made the animal is not a good candidate for placement, they need to be able to enforce their own decisions. No shelter will euthanize for space if there is a rescue standing by ready to take the animal at once. But if an animal is aggressive or sick, the job of animal services is to protect both the animal and the community from misdirected instincts. An animal with cancer needs to be protected from the likes of Winograd who would let them die unassisted and often in homes without resources to care for them. Hospice for any animal other than your own is cruel. Dog's and Kitties don't get "hospice"... They don't know they are going to die, they only know they feel awful... They don't understand "tomorrow" and they don't live in fear unless we project it onto them.
If the public knew the sick animal they took to the shelter for treatment they couldn't afford, or necessary euthanasia, could be given to total strangers to die a lingering death....They would never support CAPA. It's up to us to educate legislators, do it, search the web and send highlighted copies of CAPA to friends. Let them speak at your state assembly.
To the person who is doing the Delaware informational blog on CAPA, God bless you....
Pictured is a sketch of our Oreo, she lived a long & comfy life, with lots of "medical issues" and lots of money, when her burden became to heavy she was humanely put down by a vet she knew and trusted. Oreo has been Miss Priss's spiritual guide on this post.