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Amnesty adoptions-a great idea! But some take advantage of free spay & neuter days.
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The Sangamon County, IL Animal Control Center did something last week-end I found to be very innovative, and as it turned out, very successful.
They took about 100 animals that were hard to place and coming close to the time that they would have to be euthanized due to lack of space. All healthy, but some were very shy, some were very large, and some were black. It appears that the black animals go last because when people visit the shelter, any shelter, the human eye sees the lighter colored animals first. I did not know this! It would seem to be money well spent to put darker colored animals in some type of special lighting so that they stand out better. Something to think about.
At any rate, they dropped the adoption fee down to below the cost of euthanizing them. And guess what….it worked! They ended up with only about 13 animals left, and an anonymous donor paid (over $400) for their adoption fees so they will not be euthanized and are just waiting for a home! Really nice. Most of these animals were adopted for $30-$39 compared to the $108-$147 usual fee. This was a successful program.
Now some information about a good attempt that didn't work quite so well. I spoke with a local veterinarian not long ago asking why they have stopped the free spay and neuter programs they ran about 3 week-ends a year. It was a type of drive up, drop off, then pick up later type of thing that some dedicated vets did to help those that couldn't afford to pay for having their pet spayed or neutered. And the response was always great. Hundreds of pets were involved. The reason these dedicated professionals gave up doing this had nothing to do with their giving up a day off, or not receiving money for their services. The reason was more human than that. It became discouraging. Discouraged not by the number of pets; no the discouraging part was how many of these pets were delivered by people driving BMW’s, Corvettes etc. These same pets were later picked up by someone in designer clothing. Obviously not in need of reduced rates. And the dogs that came in with the expensive cars weren’t mixed breed dogs but often pedigree dogs that had cost the owner quite a bit. But free is free, right?
Those that didn't need reduced rates took advantage. Does that surprise anyone? So those that could have afforded to have the procedures done anyway, took the time and opportunity away from those that couldn't afford it. A lot of low income people benefited, but not nearly as many as could have, if common sense was used. Talk about low. I haven’t seen one of these free programs for some time. Now you know why.
I would love to see more shelters offer the amnesty adoptions periodically like that offered by the Sangamon County animal shelter last week-end. God bless the anonymous donor that donated money to save those that weren’t adopted that day. And I would love to see the free spay and neuter programs offered again. Unfortunately, they will have to try to qualify people and weed out the ones that shouldn't participate. It was a good idea that some people just had to take advantage of, and save even more of their money. Now restrictions will have to be written and enforced; even if any vets attempt to try one of these events again. More time, more paperwork. All because of greed. How sad that there are people that shallow and short-sighted.
Thanks for reading.
(AP photo-Humane Society of Missouri) Photo of rescued dog and her pup from a puppy mill.
For more information: http://www.sj-r.com/news/x1802688876/Public-health-announces-discounts-of-pet-adoptions
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