Another Reason Why It's Important to spay or neuter

Dear Mom and Dad-

I died today. You got tired of me and took me to the shelter. They were overcrowded and I drew an unlucky number. I am in a black plastic bag in a landfill now. Some other puppy will get the barely used leash you left. My collar was dirty and too small, but the lady took it off before she sent me to the Rainbow Bridge .
Would I still be at home if I hadn't chewed your shoe? I didn't know what it was, but it was leather, and it was on the floor. I was just playing. You forgot to get puppy toys.
Would I still be at home if I had been housebroken? Rubbing my nose in what I did only made me ashamed that I had to go at all. There are books and obedience teachers that would have taught you how to teach me to go to the door.

Would I still be at home if I hadn't brought fleas into the house? Without anti-flea medicine, I couldn't get them off of me after you left me in the yard for days.
Would I still be at home if I hadn't barked? I was only saying, "I'm scared, I'm lonely, I'm here, I'm here! I want to be your best friend."
Would I still be at home if I had made you happy? Hitting me didn't make me learn how.
Would I still be at home if you had taken the time to care for me and to teach manners to me? You didn't pay attention to me after the first week or so, but I spent all my time waiting for you to love me.
I died today.
Love, Your Puppy
(SADLY THIS IS LOST ON SO MANY PEOPLE...THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED)

PLEASE SPAY AND NEUTER

The reason so many animals end up in shelters-not spaying and neutering. There are too many unwanted animals out there. Simply stated, over crowded shelter are due to lack of education in poor and impoverished areas, and lack of spay/neuter laws. I think laws should be put in place to make this mandatory. If we S/N, our shelters would be less crowded, and animals wouldn't be put to death simply for being born. If everyone could do their part-we could end over population. Please, read the "top ten reasons to s/n" below. The animals depend on it.

1. Spaying and neutering saves lives!
   Spay or neuter one dog saves 67,000 lives in six years if two survive each litter. Spaying or neutering one cat saves 420,000 lives in seven years if two survive from each litter.
2. Spaying your female cat or dog will help prevent pyometra (puss filled uterus) and breast cancer.
   It is also less expensive and easier to treat medically (pets go under general anesthesia and are released within hours) than treatment for pyometra (requires hospitalization, surgery and IV).
3. Neutering your male cat or dog prevents testicular cancer.
4. A spayed female will not go into heat.
   There will be no yowling or frequent urination of your un spayed cat looking for a mate and no bloody discharge from your unsprayed dog in heat.
5. A neutered dog is less likely to roam.
   An un neutered male will go to extremes in searching for a mate, including jumping the fence or digging his way out of the yard. Once out, he is at risk of getting lost, getting hit by a car, causing an accident or getting into a fight. A dog who roams is also more likely to get external and internal parasites.
6. Neutered males are better behaved.
   They are less likely to be aggressive (statistically most dog bites are inflicted by intact males), less likely to mark their territory with strong smelling urine and less likely to mount when stimulated. Spayed and neutered pets are more affectionate and more focused on their owner.
7. Spaying or neutering your pet will not make them fat!
   Pets become obese from lack of exercise and overfeeding. The myth that spaying and neutering your pet makes them fat is medically and factually indefensible.
8. Spaying and neutering your pets help create a safer neighborhood.
   Stray animals can cause problems in the community. They can prey on wildlife, cause traffic accidents, scare children etc.
9. There are no benefits of letting your female have "just one litter."
   Research shows the whole pet population virtually stems from "just one litter." Many pet owners think their dog is special and unique and that is why they should breed their dog. The shelters are full of special and unique dogs. Letting your children witness your dog giving birth to a litter that you do not intend to keep does not teach them about birth, it teaches them to be irresponsible. Finding homes for the litter is not enough. An equal number of animals will then die in shelters. Furthermore what happens when the new owner doesn't spay or neuter the puppy? What if they can no longer keep the puppy? Every time an animal dies in a shelter, someone somewhere is responsible. Don't be that person.
10. Just because your dog is a purebred doesn�t mean it should be bred.
    25% of dogs in shelters are purebred not including those in rescue groups.

A day in the life of an animal control officer...

I received this story from a friend who lives in North Carolina. It tells the story of what life is like to work in a shelter and have to put innocent animals to sleep. We can stop this madness by spaying and neutering. Over population is one of the biggest issues that shelters face; Not to mention over crowding. Maybe someone that reads this will think twice before dumping their animal at their local shelter.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Yes, I Gas Dogs and Cats for a Living. I'm an Animal Control officer in a very small town in central North Carolina. I'm in my mid thirties, and have been working for the town in different positions since high school.There is not much work here, and working for the county provides good pay and benefits for a person like me without a higher education. I'm the person you all write about how horrible I am.

I'm the one that gasses the dogs and cats and makes them suffer. I'm the one that pulls their dead corpses out smelling of Carbon Monoxide and throws them into green plastic bags. But I'm also the one that hates my job and hates what I have to do.

First off, all you people out there that judge me, don't. God is judging me, and I know I'm going to Hell. Yes, I'm going to hell. I wont lie, it's despicable, cold, cruel and I feel like a serial killer. I'm not all to blame, if the law would mandate spay and neuter, lots of these dogs and cats wouldn't be here for me to gas. I'm the devil, I know it, but I want you people to see that there is another side to me the devil Gas Chamber man.

The shelter usually gasses on Friday morning.

Friday's are the day that most people look forward to, this is the day that I hate, and wish that time will stand still on Thursday night. Thursday night, late, after nobody's around, my friend and I go through a fast food line, and buy 50 dollars worth of cheeseburgers and fries, and chicken. I'm not allowed to feed the dogs on Thursday, for I'm told that they will make a mess in the gas chamber, and why waste the food.

So, Thursday night, with the lights still closed, I go into the saddest room that anyone can every imagine, and let all the doomed dogs out out their cages.

I have never been bit, and in all my years doing this, the dogs have never fought over the food. My buddy and I, open each wrapper of cheeseburger and chicken sandwich, and feed them to the skinny, starving dogs.They swallow the food so fast, that I don't believe they even taste it. There tails are wagging, and some don't even go for the food, they roll on their backs wanting a scratch on their bellys. They start running, jumping and kissing me and my buddy. They go back to their food, and come back to us. All their eyes are on us with such trust and hope, and their tails wag so fast, that I have come out with black and blues on my thighs.. They devour the food, then it's time for them to devour some love and peace. My buddy and I sit down on the dirty, pee stained concrete floor, and we let the dogs jump on us. They lick us, they put their butts in the air to play, and they play with each other. Some lick each other, but most are glued on me and my buddy. I look into the eyes of each dog. I give each dog a name.

They will not die without a name. I give each dog 5 minutes of unconditional love and touch. I talk to them, and tell them that I'm so sorry that tomorrow they will die a gruesome, long, torturous death at the hands of me in the gas chamber. Some tilt their heads to try to understand. I tell them, that they will be in a better place, and I beg them not to hate me. I tell them that I know I'm going to hell, but they will all be playing with all the dogs and cats in heaven.

After about 30 minutes, I take each dog individually, into their feces filled concrete jail cell, and pet them and scratch them under their chins. Some give me their paw, and I just want to die. I just want to die. I close the jail cell on each dog, and ask them to forgive me. As my buddy and I are walking out, we watch as every dog is smiling at us and them don't even move their heads. They will sleep, with a full belly, and a false sense of security.

As we walk out of the doomed dog room, my buddy and I go to the cat room.

We take our box, and put the very friendly kittens and pregnant cats in our box. The shelter doesn't keep tabs on the cats, like they do the dogs. As I hand pick which cats are going to make it out, I feel like I'm playing God, deciding whose going to live and die. We take the cats into my truck, and put them on blankets in the back. Usually, as soon as we start to drive away, there are purring cats sitting on our necks or rubbing against us.

My buddy and I take our one way two hour trip to a county that is very wealthy and they use injection to kill animals. We go to exclusive neighborhoods, and let one or two cats out at a time.

They don't want to run, they want to stay with us. We shoo them away, which makes me feel sad. I tell them that these rich people will adopt them, and if worse comes to worse and they do get put down, they will be put down with a painless needle being cradled by a loving veterinarian. After the last cat is free, we drive back to our town.

It's about 5 in the morning now, about two hours until I have to gas my best friends. I go home, take a shower, take my 4 anti-anxiety pills and drive to work.. I don't eat, I can't eat. It's now time, to put these animals in the gas chamber. I put my ear plugs in, and when I go to the collect the dogs, the dogs are so excited to see me, that they jump up to kiss me and think they are going to play.

I put them in the rolling cage and take them to the gas chamber. They know. They just know. They can smell the death.. They can smell the fear. They start whimpering, the second I put them in the box. The boss tells me to squeeze in as many as I can to save on gas. He watches. He knows I hate him, he knows I hate my job. I do as I'm told. He watches until all the dogs, and cats (thrown in together) are fighting and screaming. The sounds is very muffled to me because of my ear plugs. He walks out, I turn the gas on, and walk out.

I walk out as fast as I can. I walk into the bathroom, and I take a pin and draw blood from my hand. Why? The pain and blood takes my brain off of what I just did.

In 40 minutes, I have to go back and unload the dead animals. I pray that none survived, which happens when I overstuff the chamber. I pull them out with thick gloves, and the smell of carbon monoxide makes me sick. So does the vomit and blood, and all the bowel movements. I pull them out, put them in plastic bags.

They are in heaven now, I tell myself. I then start cleaning up the mess, the mess, that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not spay or neutering your animals. The mess that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not demanding that a vet come in and do this humanely. You ARE THE TAXPAYERS, DEMAND that this practice STOP!

So, don't call me the monster, the devil, the gasser, call the politicians, the shelter directors, and the county people the devil. Heck, call the governor, tell him to make it stop.

As usual, I will take sleeping pills tonight to drown out the screams I heard in the past, before I discovered the ear plugs. I will jump and twitch in my sleep, and I believe I'm starting to hallucinate.

This is my life. Don't judge me. Believe me, I judge myself enough.

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