Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nina Steele
Professor Toole
ENC 1102
5 February 2017
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
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
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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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
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
Works Cited