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Overcrowded animal shelter is killing lost pets
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Carah was lucky enough to be rescued by a no
kill shelter, but for some overcrowded conditions
are costing lost pets - their lives.
Across the country newspaper headlines are all the same,” Pets suffer in economic crunch” or “Animal shelters feeling pinch as pets are abandoned”, but in Las Vegas, Nevada cats and dogs that venture too far from home are losing their lives because of the economy.
Las Vegas ranked as the number two city for home foreclosures in 2008 and 100,000 people lost their jobs. This has forced many residents to move into apartments that do not accept large pets or multiple animals. People have been turning their cats and dogs over to animal shelters at an alarming rate.
Have you ever considered what happens when animal shelters become overcrowded? Animals that were once given their own cage, must now share it with multiple pets. This creates a high risk for disease, injuries due to fighting and struggles over food.
The new policy will help stop some of these problems, but it is creating a lot of worry for pet owners who have lost their four-legged companions. Barbara Marques was caught in the middle of the new policy when her indoor-outdoor cat Puddles did not return home.
After waiting a couple of days, Marques and her husband drove to Lied to look for their cat. When Puddles saw the couple, he ran to the front of the cage with a relieved look that he had been found and would soon be going home. But Marques was denied access to the cat until she brought proof that Puddles was hers. She quickly returned home to pull records of Puddles vaccinations and family photos.
The round trip to and from the shelter took about an hour and when she returned to claim Puddles, Marques was told that he had been euthanized. This happened only five minutes before she returned. Marques and her husband were devastated.
They had asked for a tag to be put on Puddles’ cage explaining that his owners were returning, but with a combination of new staff, lack of communication and extreme overcrowding; Puddles was gone.
The new policy has led to angry owners and several outbursts at the shelter where employees have called the police for help. Lied is trying to educate the public about the type of identification and fees needed to retrieve lost pets so people can get their animals returned quickly. But with more people losing their homes and jobs the new 72 hour policy will likely remain in effect for many more months.
If you like this story you may want to read: Economic help for your pets.
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