From The Beginning, Animal Groups Must Find A Common Ground..

By Ardena Perry

Animal welfare is a sensitive subject. Most people want to do the right thing; we just can't agree on what that is.

There are "no kill" advocates who believe life at any cost is acceptable. Many of us find that appalling, knowing that animals become less adoptable and suffer mentally with prolonged kenneling -- isolation from others, chaos, despondency. A dog does not know if it is in the county facility, the Humane Society or a puppy mill; the kennels are the same -- rows of barking dogs in concrete runs with chain link gates. In the county facility the stay is short; in the Humane Society it can go for months, until the animals go kennel crazy or develop health problems that go with extended confinement.

We face hard choices: euthanasia or life behind bars. Neither is something we would pick for the cute puppy of just a few months ago, so can we agree that neither is "humane" and meet somewhere in the middle, putting what is best for both spirit and body of our companion animals first.

From January until Sept. 18, there were 167 dogs and

221 cats, all healthy, all adoptable, euthanized at Washoe County Regional Animal Services. They were killed because the Humane Society was full of long-term residents. The contract that was agreed to when we built this regional facility was that WCRAS would take in all strays, and Nevada Humane Society would transfer animals from WCRAS and be responsible for all adoptions. Former pets leave Animal Control in only four ways: redemption, rescue, euthanasia or transfer to NHS.

When the Humane Society pursues a "no kill" policy, it becomes overcrowded, and animals are not transferred from the county side without an adoption hold. Five days to live or die, based on space, nothing more, while Humane Society animals languish for many months before a rescue group takes them, so they are kenneled in a different location, but nonetheless, kenneled.

From January to August, there were 252 dogs taken by rescue groups. I commend their effort. However, transferring the problem is not solving it. Owner surrenders now are being asked to come back, so that portion of the NHS contract is being sidestepped, and still animals are warehoused while others die, without being seen. From my determinations, the recidivism rate is about 10 percent. Storing animals is cruel; it is demoralizing to be returned and readopted, and returned.

The Nevada Humane Society was built with the funding of George Whittell in the spirit of the Humane Society of the United States. That money rolled over into the current facility. The agenda of the no-kill advocacy, based in California, is not feasible in Washoe County. It was never the intention of the voters to circumvent his intentions.

Let Animal Control handle adoptions. Keep the Humane Society as we voted for it.

Ardena Perry lives in Sparks.

Welcome Back Deborah

We took a break today and went out to take some images.....Autumn is such a lovely time of year and as I walked among the blazing leaves, my eyes kept looking to the sky, now blue....... It's funny, during the smoke from the Butte fire, it seemed like it would never end, and then one day suddenly, it was clear, and back to our lovely valley.  So it is with the storms of life, things seem as though they have stopped, and may even go backward.... but life is only adjusting back to it's own rhythm.
Our Burley Dog suffered mightily with the smoke, he ( as most of you know ) has afib, and the dirty air was not good for him.  There were a couple of days that all we could do was keep him quiet,.. then a reprieve in the form of wind brought relief.  This morn he bounded in, all 200 pounds jiggle & wiggle for his walk, so off we went.  People came out and waved at us, they , good friends all, had been quietly watching and worrying along with us.  At almost 10 years, Burley Dog is very old for a Newfie. Excited by his high energy we called his groomer and were blessed to get a visit tomorrow. She is not a mobile, but does house calls for the big guy and his little sister.
I worry about the senior animals, and those with serious health problems, many of them don't get care, some are abandoned.  I see the feral cats and worry about them when they become ill, who will truly care for them ?  Our Gracie was 23 when we had to put her down, we got her at the real Nevada Humane Society, I think it was Mill street. could have been Kresge, then 3 weeks after losing her Marble 21 had to be put down.  They both had gone to the same vet all of their lives, never knew hunger or fear, slept at our feet, or on our faces :)  I can only feel deep sadness when the cat feeders say that feral cats enjoy the same life, as owned and truly loved cats, because they don't.  We didn't get more cats after them, not because we quit loving cats, but because our circumstances changed.  The cat feeders come to Oreo, I think they come to gawk, and stay to learn...... Sanity is contagious, although some of the more rabid types, or those  already toxo infected cannot see the suffering they cause.......We still welcome them, because for the most part they are not of importance.. they are only, tools and fools, of the political and financial game know as No kill and TNR. they are puppets dancing on a string, serving a naked Emperor....... The politicians are getting wise to the game, and I hope that soon the smoke will clear and the sky will be blue again....  So welcome back Deborah, I hope you learn something that will point you into a direction of peace and compassion for all animals.