Ashlee Bowers

Haskins
English 103
20 April, 2017
Dog Shelter Research
Without dog shelters, many dogs would be suffering on the streets of the cities.
However, it seems like animals are suffering in these shelters instead of finding refuge.
Shelters have become death camps for dogs, a place where they stay until they are
claimed or euthanized. The way these animals are treated is not often discussed or
appreciated [because] it is too painful for most people to consider the problem (Beck
234). Opening more no-kill shelters would keep dogs from getting unreasonably killed.
Even if stopping the use of euthanasia in shelters is at the humans cost, it is doable.
There are other ways to prevent the overpopulation of animals which could replace
euthanasia for good.
Animal shelters are forced into using euthanasia because of the lack of supplies
and capacity for the mass amounts of dogs they receive. Yet, most people do not realize
that only some six to ten percent of captured pets are reclaimed [and] more than ninety
percent of all dogs brought to shelters are put to death (Beck and Katcher 234). The
reality of these numbers are that the majority of dogs and cats relinquished are clearly
adoptable, [but] a sizable number of these pets [are] presented to shelters for
euthanasia (Kas and New Abstract). The animals that are killed had no reason to die,
except for that there simply was not enough room in the shelter for them. This injustice
to these animals is cruel; although not everyone shares this view. In fact, some people do
not appreciate or care about animals to this extent which shows how humans
understand and interact with their animal companions (Arluke and Sanders Abstract).
The animal-human bond shapes the environment and is a sacred thing. There are many
ways we can restore the sacredness of this bond in replacing euthanasia in animal
shelters.
Overpopulation in any species can be helped by a common thing which is
stopping reproduction. Models have been made that show how euthanasia can be
reduced. According to one model, a no-kill society is an achievable goal at an
acceptable human cost (Frank Abstract). This same model stresses the importance in
funding spay/neuter programs to help keep the animal population low. Instead of
euthanizing dogs, we can spay/neuter them so that they can no longer reproduce, thus
helping lower the dog population. The spay/neuter programs are just as controversial as
the euthanization program, however it comes down to which belief is more morally
correct. One can either kill an animal, or make the animal not able to reproduce. Each
belief has one goal which is lowering dog populations so there is no more overcrowding
in shelters or dogs living on the streets.
Not everyone will agree on having a no-kill dog shelter, but most will agree that
the cities need to have more control on the animals on the streets. As a community,
everyone can work together to better the lives of mistreated, homeless dogs.

Works Cited
Arluke, Arnold, and Clinton Sanders. Between the species: readings in human-animal
relations. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2009. Print.
Beck, Alan M., and Aaron Katcher. Between pets and people: the importance of animal
companionship. West Lafayette: Purdue U press, 1996. Print.
Frank, Joshua. Human ecology: an interdisciplinary journal. Vol. 32. New York:
Kluwer Academic, 1972. Print.
Kass, Phillip H., and John C. New, Jr. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. Vol.
4. N.p.: n.p., 2001. Print.