We cannot adopt our way out of this.
We are facing a shelter crisis all over the US. The single most important truth we need to come to terms with is:
This is not a "shelter problem”.
This is a community problem.
They are being surrendered and abandoned faster than we can save them.
They are being bred faster than we can save them.
They are being given up on faster than we can save them.
If 20 dogs are pulled to rescue, 40 more take their place that same week. There is a point where we can no longer keep up with the demand from the public. We have far exceeded that.
These dogs all had families. They had homes. And in so many cases, whatever that was, whatever that looked like, was so much better than the life they endure at an animal shelter. And it may be easy to forget, to go about our days because there are so many things we struggle with in our own lives every day. But today I ask you…
I beg you.
Please think about their lives. Please think about their faces as they watch another dog go by behind a kennel door with hope.
Please think about the confusion of losing their home and the life they had, everything they knew, not knowing the odds stacked against them.
Please think about their final walk to a euthanasia room. Their final breath. Please think about their bodies being dumped on the floor when they are dead and tossed on a pile with all the others. And how quickly they are forgotten.
Over 390,000 dogs every year. Every one had a name. Every one deserves at least a chance.
Shelters are not dumping grounds. They are not redemption for impulsive decisions or a lack of effort. They exist to support their communities.
But communities need to support their local shelters too.
We can all do our part, and it starts at home.