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Nina Steele

Professor Toole

ENC 1102

5 February 2017

Another Chance at Life or Death

Ever since the domestication of cats and dogs, they have lived alongside humans as their

friends, companions, and family. Unfortunately over the years, furry friends have accumulated a

rather large population and many have been left without a place to call home. The few fortunate

homeless and unwanted animals will end up in the hundreds of open admission animal shelters

that are staffed by professional and volunteers. An animal shelter is a safe place where displaced,

abandoned, or surrendered friends can find refuge however, despite these animal shelters having

the same goal and mission, they are not all similar in the ways they are run. There are kill

shelters who will end the life of an animal if they are seen as unadoptable and then there are

no-kill shelters who will house animals until they die or get adopted. Although kill shelters are

frowned upon because of their belief in the euthanasia of animals, they are actually the more

humane option between the two because of their adoption policies, their ethics, and because their

main goal is for the wellbeing of the animals.

All shelters have their animals up for adoption however, kill shelters procedures are

safer and more secure. Maurie Poppliers from the ASPCA explained that kill shelters, especially

ASPCA shelters will not hand over their animals to just anyone. Poppliers elaborated on

adoption procedures when she said that, first and foremost potential adopters must have

background checks done on all adults in the family and all children under 10 must meet the

animal before adoption takes place. The ASPCA even has an insurance policy called a pet
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trust which ensures that any animal adopted from their shelters has a loving home no matter the

circumstances and never ends up at another shelter again. Pet trusts basically obligate owners to

give their animal a god-mother/father because it makes sure there is always someone there to

care for the animal in the case of an emergency. There are also organizations and services that

the ASPCA offers that will hold and take care of animals whose owners are serving in the

military or are being hospitalized so that they dont need to be surrendered (Poppliers). Kill

shelters many programs work ensure that these animals are going to a safe home where they will

spend the rest of their lives because in the end, the ultimate goal is to make sure those animals

never walk through a shelter door again.

That being said, Poppliers who has worked at both kill and no-kill shelters explained that

the amount of time it takes to adopt from a no-kill shelter is significantly less than a kill shelter.

Although no-kill shelters do have regulations and adoptions procedures, they are not as thorough

which makes them irresponsible. I have never adopted a dog before however, my mother and I

came extremely close last summer. One day at PetSmart there were dog adoptions from an

organization that fostered puppies from kill shelters. There was one dog in particular my mom

loved so we decided to get more information. We learned that the adoption process with this

organization was fairly simply, they were not doing any kind of background check, you just had

to sign paperwork, be over eighteen, pay the due amount, and the puppy was yours. Although my

mother and I are not animal abusers, in a situation like that, someone with bad intentions easily

could have gotten their hands on an innocent puppy. In the end, kill shelters strict regulations

are better than the no-kill shelters laid back policies because they protect the animals by giving

them a safe and secure future versus just assuming or hoping that their animal is going to a good

home.
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While it is important to have regulations and steps when adopting an animal, so is

investigating the conditions these animals are kept in at shelters and how they have their medical,

physical, and emotional needs met. When an animal first arrives at a shelter, they get all their

routine medical needs, which includes flea/tic prevention, heartworm treatment, and standard

vaccinations, in addition to any special care they may need (Poppliers). The benefit of being a

kill shelter is that there are always professional veterinarians on site in the case of an emergency.

In addition to being cared for while at the shelter, after an animal is adopted they are spayed or

neutered, and are also micro-chipped which is included in their adoption fee (Poppliers).

No kills shelters also provide their animals with exceptional health care however, the

animals everyday life differs than the life of an animal from a kill shelter. At kill shelters,

volunteers main objective when they arent showing pets to potential adopters is to take each

animal outside for exercise and basic obedience training (Poppliers). This is major difference

from no kill shelters Poppliers has worked at because she explained that at no kill shelters,

volunteers are constantly showing animals to adopters in hopes of getting them out of the

shelters that although every animal goes at once, they are not taken out as often as they should

be. This is when morals come to questions because should it be more important to ensure an

animal is physically and emotionally healthy, or is adoption a no kill shelters only priority?

In addition, the choice between kill or no-kill shelters truly comes down to ethics.

Poppliers explained that she believes, it is irresponsible to keep aggressive, sick, or otherwise

unadoptable animals in a cage for the remainder of their lives. The sad reality is that these poor

innocent animals may enter those shelters doors without any hope of ever seeing the outside

again. Poppliers revealed that the issue with no kill shelters is that they are essentially killing
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their animals either way because they are letting them sit in cages for the rest of their lives,

instead of having another option. This is awful because it creates a horrible cycle. Poppliers

elaborated on the cycle and said that, shelters with the no kill policy result in highly aggressive

animals living stressful lives in cages which if the shelter is at capacity (which a grand majority

of the time they are), will then result in other adoptable animals, even puppies, being sent to kill

shelters that have time limits on how long animals can stay until they are put down. No matter

what way you look at it, no kill shelters are ending an animals life either way.

On the other hand, critics of kill shelters may question their ethics and ask that if these

volunteers love animals so much, is it not twisted in a way for them to be in favor or killing

animals? The explanation Poppliers gave is that if these animals have little to no chance of

being adopted or helped by anyone else, it is only reasonable that a responsible animal shelter

should at least provide them with a painless release from a world that does not want them.

Animals at kill shelters who are unadoptable, aggressive, or terminally ill, are given a peaceful

death and some are even offered a second chance at life by being put into a special training

programs. Poppliers explained that, [ASPCA shelters] have a service that trains volunteers and

their pets to become therapy dogs that visit hospitals, schools, and homes for the elderly.

Despite it being heartbreaking to end an animals life, euthanasia is considered a peaceful way

for animals to pass and has also been named as humane. From Poppliers understanding, the

animals experience 0 pain and feel as if they are going to sleep. In addition, euthanasia is

necessary for animals who have a chronic illness and will not get adopted because there is no

reason to keep an animal alive just for them to sit in a cage for the rest of their life when there are

other animals, even puppies, who could benefit from that animals spot in the shelter. No
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organization that truly cares for animals should ever turn the other cheek to an animal in need

just because they are at capacity.

In conclusion, people should be choosing kill shelters over no-kill shelters because of

their adoption policies, their staffs care for the animals, and because of the ethics they practice.

Kill shelters work hard to ensure that every animals that walk through their doors will be

welcomed with open arms and not be turned away into the cold harsh world. A huge reason that

shelters exist in the first place is because of puppy mills and breeders. If people turned away

from spending thousands of dollars on buying pets and began adopting animals instead, the

homeless pet crisis will have been solved and every furry animal will have a place to call home

and humans to call their family. Although people should be choosing to adopt from kill shelters

instead of no-kill shelters, an adoption from any shelter is a victory in itself because it makes

organizations such as the ASPCA one animal closer to ending the homeless pet crisis. Next time

youre looking to get a pet, remember to visit your local shelter because you just might give an

animal in dire need of family a forever home.


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Works Cited

Maurie Poppliers. Personal Interview. 2 Feb. 2017.

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