This is a little rough to read.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by Lesley Carol

Rough to read, I agree - but I hope that everyone on here reads it and passes it on. Thanks!

What you need to do to help make a change is to take action. Volunteer for a rescue or shelter, donate a few dollars to help, adopt don't shop, spay/neuter. When I have given my opinion in the past it has not ended well.

There are some that bad mouth rescues because they are not allowed to adopt. Everyone will not qualify just like everyone is not qualified to adopt or foster a human child. You need to prove you are a good pet owner and be willing to be proven responsible. If you are turned down take a look at why and address the reason(s) for the rejection. If they expect a fence for the dog and you don't have a fenced yard look for one that doesn't. All require heartworm prevention and will require proof from your vet. Rescues are not evil, they want to ensure that these little ones will not end up back in the system again.

It is my belief that if you love the breed you should take some type of action to help all the homeless Yorkies. Whether you are an owner or a breeder, you should also give back. If everyone took this attitude and took action there would be much less suffering. I am by no means saying that everyone should have a shelter dog in their home. If you feel that you cannot adopt to help address the homeless pet epidemic then volunteer, make a small donation, sign a petition, be proactive. Don't purchase a puppy and use it to breed for your friends because they are so cute without knowing anything about breeding. Spay and neuter your pets so there are no Oopps accidents~happens every day. It is just so sad and heartbreaking.

This post has many lookers but very few posters which is sad beyond words. If there was a thread about making a sweater out of a sock it would be 10 pages long. But this subject everyone runs from or goes on their happy way. Yorkies in shelters/rescues are no less valuable than ones from a breeder. Surely the yorkies in the shelters and rescues didn't just drop from the sky they ALL came from breeders at some point in their life. There is absolutely so excuse for unaltered pets that have an oops litter. But when it comes time to get a new pet everyone will run to a breeder (many without doing their homework) or better yet a local pet shop. There are reputable breeders but IMO they are few and far between. If they cared about the breed like they claim, they would support the rescue effort but most do not preferring to turn their backs and look the other way. Taking the opinion that it is not their problem since they take care of their own. I too take care of my own (pets and children) but have lived my life by reaching out to others to help when there is a need.

I have stated my opinion and will not return to this thread for fear of getting into a very heated discussion with a few that I have butted heads with over these issues in the past. Like I have been told in the past~this is a public forum. I can have my opinion but do not want to be attacked.

[LilMissy]

This post has many lookers but very few posters which is sad beyond words. If there was a thread about making a sweater out of a sock it would be 10 pages long. But this subject everyone runs from or goes on their happy way.

I think there are more lookers than posters because this thread has gotten pretty heated. I feel a little intimidated posting here myself.

What a sad (but true) article. I bet most people honestly believe when they drop their pet off at a shelter that it will find a new home. Obviously, this is not the case. I will continue to donate to shelters as often as I can, and my next pet WILL be a rescue (I have rescued one before). I will also be emailing this article to everyone I know. Education is the key!

[QuickSilver]

megansmomma, I think you have good points, though they are stated rather provocatively.

I have complained about overly protective rescues because I think some are so picky that the dogs have almost no chance of actually getting OUT of the rescue. It is also a bit discouraging for me to think that I wouldn't have been able to get a yorkie from a rescue when I am doing (ahem) a FABULOUS job with Thor. However, that's a very long way from saying rescues are evil! Of course they are not. They are saving lives! I don't think anyone could disagree with that goal.

I haven't looked at how many people have viewed the thread, but I can easily see people reading the thread and taking something from it without actually posting. It's important just to get the information out there.

[Yorkiekids]

I'd like to know how these people will feel when the see their dog over the rainbow. It's so sad.

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

I wish more people who weren't such huge dog lovers like ourselves, would read this. Thanks for posting.

[yorkiepuppie]

education really is the key.

i bought milu from a breeder and i felt really guilty that i did that for a while. but i did try to look for a yorkie from shelter to adopt first, but i could not find one available in my area. i don't know if it's because i didn't know how to search or if it's because there aren't yorkies available to adopt in my area.

i bought my first bunny from a pet store, but after i found out about rabbit rescue, i have since adopted 2 bunnies from them and i will never purchase a bunny.

the only thing about adopting from a shelter is that you cant be as breed specific, you have to pick from what they have, which is hard if you are looking for a specific breed.

i have been looking for a cat for a long time, but i can never find the breed that i am looking for in the shelter. so i really want to adopt, but i will have to just settle for what they have at the shelter/rescue.

it's nice to provide a home for the animals, but it's not as easy if there is a specific breed you are looking for. you might have to wait for years and years before finally coming across one at the shelter.

[QuickSilver]

yorkiepuppie, have you checked out breed-specific rescues, or petfinder? I would imagine there are rescues for specific cat breeds just as there are for dogs, but I am not sure. My first stop is always google.

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

yorkiepuppie, have you checked out breed-specific rescues, or petfinder? I would imagine there are rescues for specific cat breeds just as there are for dogs, but I am not sure. My first stop is always google.

yes, that's how i searched. breed-specific rescues, and petfinder, and i was surprised that they do not have what i am looking for in my area. just in other states.

[QuickSilver]

I guess I'm surprised because I live near your area and I have found yorkie rescures (not cats, though). I was willing to go to LA, though.

[vincerulz]

Originally Posted by deanne

I found this on a local website, its very heartbreaking and raw but maybe it will open some eyes.




Education people, EDUCATION!! Let's pray that 2009 spares more lives than the 11 million killed this year...

(do not stop reading until you've reached the end)

A Letter from a Shelter Manager:

I think our society needs a huge " Wake-up" call.

As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all. ..a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day.

Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore.

So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are;

"We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets and why did you choose that place instead of a pet friendly home?

Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get?

"We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10- 12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs!

"She' s tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family?

They always tell me: "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog."

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies.

Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps.

It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it.

If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose.

If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted.

It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed.

If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long.

Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment.

If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.


Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down"....

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk - happy, wagging their tails.

Until, they get to "The Room", every one of them freak out and put the brakes on when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them.

Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are.

Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff".

Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams.

They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pet's corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage.

What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much further than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this: DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is.

I just hope I maybe changed one person's mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog.

I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt." THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT!

PLEASE INFORM EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!

I have wanted a yorkie for some time now (a couple of years). I have done my research on how to care for him and decided to wait. Well I read this story, and I just wanted to cry. So I looked for animal shelters that had yorkie dogs for adoption. I live in Texas, so almost any place from I live is a good two hour drive. Well I located a shelter in Texas and did not realize it is
SIX hours away!!!
I don't want anything bad to happen to the little guy...he is only 18 months old and weighs 10 lbs. If anyone near Dallas would like to adopt him...PLEASE SAVE POPEYE.