I was moved to see these images of dogs minutes before they died, photographed with such dignity and compassion. Many of us dont realise that animal shelters are by far the leading cause of animal death. All over the world young and healthy animals are killed in organisations like the SPCA. This is thought of as regrettable but necessary, as these animals have not been able to be adopted, and the shelter cannot afford to keep housing and feeding them. A friend of mine used to be an animal welfare officer, and at one point her job was to accompany dogs, many of them tails wagging hopefully, down a long corridor to the room where they were killed. She told me she used to make such a fuss of them during her short time with them at the end of their lives, giving them treats, cuddling them, holding them and loving them as they went to their final sleep. Of course it took a toll on her. (Many cats, too, even more than dogs, are killed on a daily basis.) When I was in India I wrote an article about stray dogs. You see them everywhere in Indian cities; nameless, homeless, mange-ridden, hungry, thirsty, they roam around looking for scraps of food and morsels of affection. But the good news is that more and more shelters around the world are adopting a no kill policy for healthy animals, following guidelines first set out by animal advocate Nathan Winograd. This guideline has 11 points, including neutering stray dogs and cats and returning them to the streets. This programme has been adopted by some animal shelters in Goa, including the one I wrote about, with great success. Because of the neutering policy there are now fewer stray dogs in Goa than there were 20 years ago when the policy was to catch them and kill them. The dogs in these series of portraits were all stray dogs, but in most shelters it is domestic animals, who had possibly once been our loved pets, who are being put down. I am not sure what the exact procedure is in the SPCA, but know that they try their best to adopt animals. I will try to find out this week at what point animals are put down. I would like to see a No Kill policy for all healthy animals in shelters; if it works for some shelters it can work for all. And dont forget, if you are thinking of sharing your life with an animal, please adopt. Dont buy from pet shops or breeders.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 19:53:46 +0000
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