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All dogs don't go to heaven
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If Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, the dog pound must be the saddest. I have made trips there recently to look for my old dog. He disappeared several weeks ago, while I was at work. Frequent bike trips to the pound have turned up nothing. Neither have the posters bearing his visage that I posted throughout the neighborhood. People remind me that old dogs wander off to die, as to not cause their owners pain. That would be like Brownie, polite and considerate to the end. Yet, because I miss him so much, I travel to these places once a week in hope of seeing his sweet, old face. The Humane Society is just that. Humane. The cages housing the dogs are painted blue, instead of the cold gray of the cement from which they are made. The dogs are clean and well groomed. Two to three dogs are housed per small cage, yet the animals have an outside run accessible from the back of the cage. Some pets are dropped off by individuals who have picked up a stray, and cannot keep the pet. Owners for whom the pet has become an inconvenience drop others off. Convenience is a funny thing. Many people find their children inconvenient at times, yet they do not seek to have them euthanized, which is what can happen at the Humane Society. Their spokesperson told me they keep pets as long as they can, yet last year they were forced to euthanize 9,000 pets due to space limitations. They offer an incredible deal. For only a $65 adoption fee, a pet can be spayed or neutered and receive shots, a leash and a vet certificate in case the pet becomes ill. I was encouraged by the amount of people I saw filtering in to look at the dogs, cats and even a pot-bellied pig, yet many of the eager faces of pets I saw that day were still there the following week. Even more disturbing were the animals I did not see, that were not adopted, but euthanized, according to staff. The dog pound is a different world. The cages are left the harsh cement-gray. Dogs shiver with cold. They are tick-dipped and left wet. There is no grooming here. No bathing and brushing in the hopes of presentability. Dogs may fight with their cage-mates. One had its nose ripped off. Another, bone showing through its leg, where flesh had been ripped away. The cages are dirty and the dogs howl with the agony of those imprisoned in hell. Some of the cages hold boxes containing a mother and new puppies, left by owners who felt letting the county put the dogs to death was favorable to spending $17 at the low-cost spay clinic. And these dogs are put to death. A kennel worker told me that puppies must be six weeks old to be adopted. These unweaned ones would be destroyed in five days. Five days in case the family has second thoughts. "How often does that happen?" I ask. "Not often enough," responds the worker. "We put tons of puppies to sleep." Truly sad, considering the Humane Society could have solved the problem for less than someone's week-end beer expenses.
Dogs are put up for adoption, if they have shown no signs of aggression and are not too old or impaired. The cost of adoption is $69, including spaying or neutering, current tags, shots and an obedience school gift certificate. They will attempt to adopt them out for seven to 10 days, after that it is the death-room. True, 1,200 dogs were adopted last year, but over 40,000 were put to death. What am I trying to say? SAVE A LIFE!! Adopt one of these poor creatures. For a small fee you end up with a great companion. There are beautiful pets at both the Humane Society and Animal Control. The pound is located at 4000 N. Silverbell Road and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and until 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The Humane Society is at 3450 N. Kelvin, between Country Club and Dodge off Ft. Lowell. They are open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. I will never stop looking for Brownie. I have dreams about him coming home. But for my own sanity I am adopting a dog this week. Maybe some of you will as well. Adopt a best friend. Do it for yourself. Do it for Brownie. Nancy A. Knox is a sociology and political science senior. Her column, Processed Cheese Food, appears every Tuesday and she can be reached via e-mail at Nancy.A.Knox@wildcat.arizona.edu.
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Another group that is automatically cast to death row is pit bulls. Due to bad press, pit bulls are not considered adoptable. If no one claims the strays, they die after the allotted five days pass. A beautiful white pit bull cried and wagged her tail as I went by. I wept knowing her fate.
