Your Letters- Harbour City Star September 24 2003

City Pound Rant unsubstantiated

Dear Editor,

Having been employed by the City Pound (a.k.a. Nanaimo Animal Shelter) for seven years, I take exception to your paper printing unsubstantiated rants in the Saturday Soapbox column (Walk a mile in my shoes Sept. 13/03) If people so choose, they are certainly welcome to take their “unwanted” pets to the SPCA.

However, when the SPCA is full, people are put on a waiting list, are referred to us or must explore other alternatives.

Animal shelters are usually the last resort for many pets after their owners have already tried to place their pet through other means.

Some of the dogs we receive are in poor physical condition, are not house-trained or leash broken, have not been taught any manners, exhibit vicious tendencies or have destructive behaviours. In short, all the same reasons the original owner can no longer cope with the pet do not exactly make it highly adoptable to someone else.

At our shelter, we are honest about an animal’s chance of adoption. Pet owners have the option of asking to be phoned if their pet is not adopted and can return to pick up their pet.

The staff at our shelter often go to great lengths to find good homes for pets. We spend our time grooming them, socializing them, calling breed rescue groups, etc. Some truly adoptable pets have stayed with us for extended periods of time (i.e. MONTHS) before the right home came along. There are many people in the community who have adopted wonderful pets from us.

Keep your pets healthy and clean, spay or neuter, train and exercise them properly and their chances for adoption are good should they ever need to enter a shelter.

Indeed, walk a mile in MY shoes. It is no pleasant task to have to euthanise an animal. Next time, before you criticize, take a hard, long look in the mirror at hard reality.

Carol Pilkonis
Nanaimo