LETTER FROM THE MANAGER OF A DOG SHELTER IN SPAIN

First of all, all of you who are animal sellers/breeders should at least work ONE DAY in a kennel.

Perhaps if you see the sad, lost look... the confused eyes, it will make you change your mind about breeding and then selling with virtually no control.That puppy you just sold will probably end up in my kennel when it reaches adulthood, so... how would you feel if you knew there was a 90% chance that dog would never leave the kennel if it ended up there? Whether it's purebred or not.

Fifty percent of the dogs that come into my center, either abandoned or stray, are purebreds.

The most common excuses I hear are:

- "We're moving and can't take our dog/cat with us." "Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets, and why did you choose that place instead of another where you can have one?" "And how big did you think a German Shepherd would grow?!""She's destroying our yard." "Why don't you keep her inside with you?"

They always tell me:

"We don't want to insist that you find him a home, because we know he'll be adopted, he's a good dog."

The sad thing is that your pet will NOT be adopted... Do you know how stressful a kennel is? Well, let me tell you:

Your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and it manages to stay completely healthy.

If it catches a cold, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small cage, surrounded by the barking and crying of 25 other animals. It will have to manage on its own to eat and sleep. It will be depressed and cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If it is lucky, and there are enough volunteers, they may take it out for a walk occasionally.

Otherwise, your pet will receive no attention other than a bowl of food slid under the cage door and hoses of water.

If your dog is large, black, or any "bull" breed (pit bull, mastiff, etc.), you have led it to its death from the moment it walked through the door. These dogs are not usually adopted.

It doesn't matter how "sweet" or "well-trained" he is. If your dog is not adopted within 72 hours of arrival, and the shelter is full, he will be euthanized.

If the shelter is not full and your dog is good enough and of an attractive breed, it may be possible to delay its execution, but not for long.

Most dogs are put in protective cages and euthanized if they show aggression.Even the calmest dog is capable of changing in this environment. Even if your pet catches kennel cough (canine infectious tracheobronchitis) or any other respiratory infection, it will be euthanized immediately, simply because we do not have the resources to pay for treatments that can cost as much as $150.

And here is something about euthanasia for those of you who have never witnessed how a perfectly healthy animal will be euthanized:

First, they will take it out of its cage with a leash. Dogs always think they are going for a walk, so they come out happy, wagging their tails... Until they reach "the room," where they all stop dead in their tracks. They must smell or sense death or feel the sad souls that remain there. It's strange, but it happens to each and every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained by one or two veterinary technicians, depending on its size and how nervous it is.Next, a specialist in administering euthanasia or a veterinarian will begin the process: they will find a vein in its front leg and inject it with a dose of "pink substance." Hopefully, your pet will not be frightened when it feels the needle. I have seen some pull out the needles and end up covered in their own blood, deafened by howling and screaming. Not all of them "fall asleep" immediately. Sometimes they suffer spasms for a while, choke, and defecate on themselves.When it's over, your pet's corpse will be stacked like a lion in a large freezer in the back with all the other animals, waiting to be picked up like trash. What happens next? Will it be incinerated? Will it be taken to the landfill? Will it be turned into pet food? You'll never know, and you'll probably never think about it. It was just an animal, and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that if you've read this far, your eyes have filled with tears and you can't get the images out of your head that occupy my mind every day when I come home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists, and I hate knowing that it will always exist unless you, the people, change and realize that the lives you are harming are many more than just the one you leave in the kennel.

Between 9 and 11 million animals die every day in kennels, and only you can stop this. I do everything I can to save as many lives as possible, but shelters are always full, and every day more animals come in than leave.

I just want to make this clear: DO NOT BREED OR BUY WHILE THERE ARE DOGS DYING IN PUPPY MILLS. Hate me if you want. The truth hurts, and reality is what it is.

I just hope that this has changed someone's mind about breeding, abandoning their pet in a kennel, or buying a dog. I hope that one day someone will come into my workplace and say, "I've read this and I want to adopt." That would make it all worthwhile.In many comments I read at events about abandoned dogs, I notice the ignorance of people who still think that kennels are places where dogs live, are happy, and are easily adopted after a short and comfortable stay at the kennel.

Ladies and gentlemen, in Spanish kennels (and in all kennels), animals DIE, ARE EUTHANIZED, or FALL ILL and AGONIZE there alone.

To alleviate this, there are animal shelters, which do not "fall from the sky" (although they are full of angels) and which try to do everything possible to find homes for these animals. They take in and care for those they can so that they have opportunities, they take them out and try to buy time so that they are not euthanized.In return, do they receive subsidies? Premises and facilities? NOTHING. They survive on the money they contribute themselves, whatever their few members are willing to donate, and little else.And there are no facilities. When people know that you collaborate with an association or help animals, instead of collaborating, all they do is bring you more and more animals: "My dog just gave birth..." "I found these puppies in a box." "There's an abandoned dog hanging around my building."We are the best way for those who don't want to get their hands dirty to ease their conscience. No one leaves their car at the gas station anymore and speeds off to go on vacation to the beach. What they do is leave it at the shelter. From throwing it over a fence to leaving it at a residence and not picking it up. Because they know they will find good people who cannot turn their backs and abandon the animal they have abandoned.

I would like to add that in some Spanish kennels, even euthanasia is not a simple injection and that's it. Some "veterinarians" who work in kennels find other means of euthanasia that are more painful and unpleasant, but (of course!) more economical and profitable. And for the price of an injection, they are incinerated or gassed alive.

This is the country we live in, although we can't expect much more from a place where the national holiday involves torturing an animal to death while hundreds of sadists who have paid for their tickets shout and enjoy the spectacle.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO SHARE AND SPREAD THE WORD. Your action counts.