An Open Letter To The Person Who Left This Sweet Dog At A Kill Shelter

[Tazar]

Lots of people who can relate to this story, both sides. I am on the side of the writer as I am sure most DOLers are.

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/09/an-open-letter-to-the-person-who-left-this-sweet-dog-at-the-kill-shelter/

Edited September 24, 2013 by Tazar

[lynst]

What a wonderful person to do this for a dog. I hope that the lady who left the dog feels like a heap of s..t for what she did to her four legged friend. This bought me to tears as I read it. Thank you for sharing.

[Flashsmum]

Now I'm crying at work! How someone could dump a dog like this, I'll never understand.

Jamie is a hero

[_PL_]

Does anyone kind of feel bad for the author of this letter? She is very angry and hurt.

You do see some disgusting, mindboggling, tragic things in rescue, it upsets me but personally I refuse to carry the baggage that comes along with hating former owners.

Good bad or indifferent pet owners. They are in the past. And some are even unable to manage their own welfare let alone their dog's.

[Dame Aussie]

This is why I stopped working where I did. Unfortunately people like this dogs owner are a dime a dozen.

[Sandra777]

I will never understand people who think a pound or shelter is a place to leave a dog (or cat) like putting your unwanted stuff in a Vinnie's dump bin.

Last resort to me would be to have my dogs PTS - never ever "drop them off at the pound".

[Little Gifts]

Does anyone kind of feel bad for the author of this letter? She is very angry and hurt.

You do see some disgusting, mindboggling, tragic things in rescue, it upsets me but personally I refuse to carry the baggage that comes along with hating former owners.

Good bad or indifferent pet owners. They are in the past. And some are even unable to manage their own welfare let alone their dog's.

This. Saw it all the time when I was working in the child protection system. If parents aren't paying their rent, feeding their kids and sending them to school then you can hardly expect the dog is faring any better. It's ok to be angry at the time, but there is no point carrying anger; that wont change anything.

[Plan B]

You do see some disgusting, mindboggling, tragic things in rescue, it upsets me but personally I refuse to carry the baggage that comes along with hating former owners.

Good bad or indifferent pet owners. They are in the past. And some are even unable to manage their own welfare let alone their dog's.

This.

I'm always a bit saddened by rescuers/adopters who focus so much on hating former owners (who, most of the time, they have no idea about and are only guessing about a dog's background), instead of focusing on making the dog's present and future more positive. All of my dogs were adopted and I couldn't thank their former owners enough - even though some were traumatised when they came to me - because through their apathy, neglect, or cruelty, they set it in motion so the best parts of my life actually ended up in my life.

[Tara8430]

So shouldn't have read that at work, that is terribly sad.

[melzawelza]

I hate this blog post. I feel sorry for the author and the pain she is feeling but it's just awful and should never have gone viral.

Nancy at ColoRADogs in the USA wrote a response which I much prefer (I was lucky enough to meet Nancy in May and the work they do for the underprivileged dog owners in their area is amazing).

Facebook link

There is a response from the author there too.

[Odin-Genie]

I hate this blog post. I feel sorry for the author and the pain she is feeling but it's just awful and should never have gone viral.

Nancy at ColoRADogs in the USA wrote a response which I much prefer (I was lucky enough to meet Nancy in May and the work they do for the underprivileged dog owners in their area is amazing).

Facebook link

There is a response from the author there too.

I don't agree with Nancy. I don't have much sympathy for people who dump their dogs. Those who put in the effort to rehome or hand over to rescue because of dire personal situations, or if they are too old, PTS, I can sympathise with. But to dump at a kill shelter is unthinkable.

[melzawelza]

I hate this blog post. I feel sorry for the author and the pain she is feeling but it's just awful and should never have gone viral.

Nancy at ColoRADogs in the USA wrote a response which I much prefer (I was lucky enough to meet Nancy in May and the work they do for the underprivileged dog owners in their area is amazing).

Facebook link

There is a response from the author there too.

I don't agree with Nancy. I don't have much sympathy for people who dump their dogs. Those who put in the effort to rehome or hand over to rescue because of dire personal situations, or if they are too old, PTS, I can sympathise with. But to dump at a kill shelter is unthinkable.

So there is absolutely no circumstance, ever, in the history of dog ownership past and present, where it is acceptable to surrender a dog to a shelter?

[Plan B]

I don't agree with Nancy. I don't have much sympathy for people who dump their dogs. Those who put in the effort to rehome or hand over to rescue because of dire personal situations, or if they are too old, PTS, I can sympathise with. But to dump at a kill shelter is unthinkable.

I think the trap you fall into with this thought process is that you're assuming the previous owners haven't tried to rehome or hand over to rescue. Many, with dire situations, will go to the pound as a last resort and they don't see putting their dog to sleep an ethical alternative when there is still a chance it could find a home via the pound.

And if those who believe PTS should come before 'dumping' at a pound, then I think a lot of rehomed dogs and their subsequent families would greatly disagree.

It's a tricky subject but focusing such hate on people we don't know and no nothing of their circumstances achieves nothing. Compassion should always extend to people, as well as animals, and playing the guessing game about an animal's history and previous owners is just wasted energy.

[Leah82]

Very sad story indeed.

I agree that the author doesn't know the exact circumstances the dogs previous owners were in but there are plenty of other examples of owners giving up all too quickly and opting for the easiest option of surrendering their dogs.

It was suggested by a few people when my OH and I were finding it difficult to find rental accommodation that we look at rehoming Collie.

It was never an option for us and with a bit of extra effort we finally found the perfect place to call home for all of us.

No-one has ever said life with pets is easy but as an owner you are rewarded everyday for the effort you put in.

[mita]

It's a human response for Jamie to feel such anger at seeing an elderly doggie abandoned. The important thing is that she helped the dog in its last days. And she would've done that if she'd expressed anger or not.

It's the bottom line that counts in the end. Same for Nancy who's expressed disagreement about that anger.... to the point of tears falling down her face. Another very human response. But what counts is her sterling contribution to helping dogs....I visited her rescue's Facebook page. Shows the same care, concern & commitment as did Jamie's action.

It's not about doing social science surveys of the layers & layers of human factors involved in dogs getting into dreadful positions. It's about doing something for the dogs. And both people, Jamie & Nancy, make the world a better place for dogs.... where it counts. When they're in biggest trouble.

[juice]

My biggest gripe with people leaving sick animals in the pound is that they should say so.

Too many times poor rescuers take on old dogs, pay a fortune in vet bills only to have to pts very quickly.

Its menatally and financially draining.

If they just told the shelter what was wrong an informed descision could be made without the heartache.

I have had 2 elderly foster dogs ,both turned out to be dying, I wouldn't have missed my time with either.

[Mim]

I have taken on elderly dogs who were surrendered by their owner and in bad condition. I loved them like I'd had them their whole lives and they love you back tenfold. The two I took on were surrendered because their owner had a terminal illness and had realised that she could not look after them anymore. I imagine it took the owner a while to come to the realisation because of the condition the dogs were in, but I am sure they were still loved.

If I was not aware of the circumstances then, I would have been fuming, just like the author, that two beautiful old dogs were obese with painfully long nails and matted coats.

I think that the author of that letter was fueled by grief when she wrote it, and that had she known the circumstances of the previous owners then it might have been a different story. She makes a lot of assumptions that the previous owners knew of the dog's medical conditions, but maybe they didn't?

[Faolmor]

I'm glad she expressed her anger. And I don't think she was really writing to just that one "owner." I think she was writing to all the people who abandon their animals for less than genuine reasons. And for that, she should be angry. We should all be angry. I think it's a brilliant letter.

[Odin-Genie]

I'm glad she expressed her anger. And I don't think she was really writing to just that one "owner." I think she was writing to all the people who abandon their animals for less than genuine reasons. And for that, she should be angry. We should all be angry. I think it's a brilliant letter.

+++1

So there is absolutely no circumstance, ever, in the history of dog ownership past and present, where it is acceptable to surrender a dog to a shelter?

I can't think of a circumstance where I would find it acceptable to dump a dog at a kill shelter, not when a no kill shelter is 20 mins away. But I'm sure I can't think of all the dire situations!!!

[Missymoo]

Great letter.

Dumped oldies break my heart...

Glad she got some love at the end and passed with dignity.

(goes and gives my two oldies big hugs, Kimi 12, Missy 10)