The Truth About Animal Shelters

Animal shelters are not what I imagined they’d be like. I found this out last month when I took in a homeless black Persian cat.  This cat was very friendly, but wasn’t getting along with my other two cats. I had no choice but to take it to the largest shelter in my part of Colorado. I was turned away, just because I lived in the next city over. I wasn’t even a ten minute drive away.    I ended up calling animal control, and they came to my front door. The police lady was very friendly, and told me the only animal shelter she could take it to was a kill shelter. They only give their animals a week to be adopted. If it is sick or not friendly, they will put it asleep on arrival.    I also heard animal control has kidnapped a few of my neighbors outdoor cats that were only in front of their yard.

They take them to the shelters so the shelter can readopt the best looking animals. Some of these poor local pets have been readopted through this process several times, I bet? This is wrong, as it takes up room for the real homeless animals.   

With all these facts, I decided then to keep the cat. What I did was put his picture up on the animal shelter’s website. It’s a smart move to look for the website to the location nearest you, and keep the animal safe in your home. Most lost pets don’t stray far from home. Also, if animal control catches them, the animal goes to the closest shelter.  

  The next day the owner emailed me. Apparently, the cat was missing for a month. She had to come in person to her nearby shelter to keep up her search. They have no problem adopting a pet before the owner has time to claim it. At least they were honest about that.   

I did the Samaritan thing and returned the cat, “Barnabe,” to the owner. Her little girl was so happy. All I asked was that she re inverse me for the small vet bill I payed.  He was checked for feline Aids, Leukemia, fleas, and ear mites. The vet also scanned him for a microchip. Speaking of that, I was told many shelters do not check for microchips if the animal doesn’t have a collar.  The owner payed me back the following week, and it all turned out well.