I'm Back

I've resigned from the Board of Directors of this animal shelter, not in total agreement with their current operations or plans for the future, but that is the nature of things. Despite change, they still have hard, important jobs to do. I wish them the best. My only goal with this blog was to open a window into the real world of a typical animal shelter so that readers would understand how important the work of an animal shelter was, how hard the the employees work, how emotionally draining the work was, and why animal shelters weren't the real solution to pet over population. I had hoped to put a face and name on the animals that came through the doors and to not candy coat the realities of their fate. I hoped to educate readers about how they could help their local shelters and maybe even get a few adoptions or donations for the shelter. At the request of the shelter Board I have stopped this blog. Local animal shelter politics can be very divisive and troublesome. People of good hearts and strong opinions often disagree on the best way to communicate the realities of pet overpopulation. But I'm not giving up on the cause. Why? Because of a turning point in my life. I had been volunteering at this shelter for over a year with the cats. I knew the realities. One Saturday I opened our medical room door by accident because the "in use " sign wasn't in place. The vison, which took two seconds, is burned on my mind. On the metal table were 3 six to seven week old kittens, lined up, side by side, dead on on towel. Standing in the room was our wonderful staff person holding another kitten wrapped in a towel to her chest - listening to a stethascope waiting for the tiny heart to stop - and in a carrier the last kitten, with wide eyes, pressed frightened against the back awaiting it's turn with death. There simply wasn't room for them. So I will still dedicate myself to the betterment of animals in the Helena area community - especially the unwanted.