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A subject that has been very high on my priority list is the inhumane treatment animals receive in High Kill Shelters.  North Carolina still gasses in a lot of counties.  I can not believe that gassing is still legal.  I am not even going to go into the horrors of gassing, but I am sure you can find plenty of information online.

As you well know, the market is flooded with foreclosures.  This is a reality.  A side effect of this phenomenon is that the homeless pet population has skyrocketed.  Pets that had been part of families for years are now dropped off at shelters because, in many cases, they have to go somewhere that does not allow pets.  The people think that the shelter is going to find their pet a nice home and everything will be alright.  The reality is very far from this.  Shelters can kill owner surrenders immediately.  Strays have to be there 3 days before they are killed because time is given in case their owners show up to claim them.  I know of a very prominent case where the 3 days were not given.  A golden retriever was spooked by a violent thunder storm and was caught by the local animal control.  The owners, upon coming home discovered the dog missing and called the shelter.  They told the owners that he was there but were getting ready to close and they could pick him up first thing in the morning.  The owner showed up first thing the next morning with her kids only to find that they had killed the dog the night before.  This is a GOLDEN RETREIVER.  Known for being a very good, adoptable pet. 

Another shelter buried puppies alive and used the kittens for target practice.  Another shelter did not use enough gas and put the suffering animals in garbage bags to suffocate.  I can go on and on but the real problem lies in the education of the public.  How do we get this out? 

If you have a place where you can foster, please do.  If you have a couple of hours on the weekends, there are transports all the time trying to get animals to safety.  Please volunteer.   The rewards are so great.  These animals only want love and they give so much more back.  There are also so many places you can help by donating money or supplies.  We need to get involved.  We are their voice and they need to be heard!

Senator Obama and his family have said that, win or lose, they’re going to add a dog to their family after the election this November.

That’s a great idea. But I hope they decide to adopt one from their local shelter. Why? Because as long as people still buy their pets from pet stores and commercial breeders, millions of abandoned pets are killed in shelters across the country every year.

So here’s one issue that’s truly bi-partisan – one that we can all agree on. Let’s ask our national leaders always to adopt their pets from shelters, rather than buying them from pet stores.

Members of Best Friends Animal Society have started a petition to invite the Obama family to do just that. Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, left-wing, right-wing or any other wing, you can make a bipartisan difference by signing our petition at ObamaFamilyDog.com, and encouraging all your friends and family to sign it, too.

Thanks for thinking about the nation’s homeless pets!

Sincerely,