Damned if you do, more damned if you don't...
Katie, 7/29/2010
It's easy to envision picking a new dog to save. It must be fun, right?
Sure, saving a dog is certainly rewarding. But picking which dog to save can be incredibly heartbreaking.
Recently, we traveled to a high-kill county shelter with a policy that prohibits the adoption of "pit bulls" to the general public. That county seized several adult dogs and a litter of ten puppies from a cruelty situation. The adults were immediately euthanized, including the mother of the six week old puppies. So there sat the puppies. Motherless.
This week, Game Dog Guardian was blessed with a foster home that could take a puppy. Eureka! There were the ten puppies at a high-kill shelter who needed a home. We set a date and had sweet dreams of saving a rumbling, tumbling red puppy.
When we stepped in the run, the puppies swarmed our feet – climbing, licking, and whimpering. I reached down for the rolliest-polliest male puppy and scooped him up. He immediately rolled over on his back in my arms and snuggled up. We picked up a female puppy at random and took the two outside to play.
Contrary to what people think, animal rescues don’t scour the shelters every day for dogs to take into their program. Rescues are full of dogs looking for a home. As such, it wasn’t surprising to learn that no other rescue had space for any of the puppies. And as a result, the remaining puppies would likely be euthanized.
The only open yard had the incinerator in it. The entire time we played with these two puppies, the fate of those we couldn't save stared us in the face.
So which one do we take?
More importantly, what happens to the other eight puppies who we never even held?
What happens to the other male puppies who weren’t quite as round as the one we grabbed?
What happens to the female puppies who weren’t quite as pushy as the little girl we took outside?
Are they now condemned to death because they sat back like good dogs and waited for us to come to them?
If not for the shelter’s discriminatory policy, all ten of these puppies would have a fair chance at life. And if not for the irrational and ineffective laws that discriminate against pit bull owners surrounding the area, these puppies would surely find a loving home.
The best we could do is come back with two puppies instead of one.
The rotund male is Phat Albert and the pushy princess is Mira.
UPDATE 7/31/2010: Thanks to the efforts of humane societies, animal shelters, and rescues working together, the remaining eight puppies will soon be transferred to a humane society that does not discriminate against breed. Thank you to all who helped!
- If you’re interested in fostering or adopting Phat Albert or Mira, click here.
- If you’re interested in donating for their vetting fund, click here.
- If you’re interested in fighting to repeal laws that discriminate against bully breed owners, join Best Friends Animal Society's campaign - “Pit Bulls: Saving America’s Dog.”
*Note: If the remaining eight survive until Albert and Mira find homes, we can and will help more.