antonymworld
New member
I came across the post about the german shepherd in Fort Worth this morning, and I was a little shocked to see how many people were shocked at euthanasia being a possible outcome for this pup.
Texas, and the south in general, is absolutely overflowing with german shepherds and dogs. I believe I’ve seen it floating around that, after pit bull-types, GSDs are the most euthanized breed—at least in my area in DFW.
“Kill shelters” are typically the ones that cannot refuse any pet on the basis of reason for surrender/breed/temperament. These are your shelters run by local governmental organizations. They must treat every dog that comes into their care in the way the law prescribes. They absolutely do NOT want to euthanize good, healthy, friendly, adoptable pets.
Shelters that are “no-kill” shelters are typically run by non profits- these shelters can turn down dogs & refuse dogs for any reason they see fit.
My local “kill shelter” has over 350 kennels, and every single one is full. Many are doubled-up, with puts the animals in those kennels more at risk for poor outcomes due to the chance for fighting, etc. Remember….there are worse fates than death, and many of these pups were saved from those fates (slowly starving on the streets, stuck on a chain in a backyard with no shelter on a 120 degree heat index day).
To quote one of my favorite shelter advocates, we cannot adopt or foster our way out of this. Change must happen at the societal level.
What can you do?
-Spay or neuter your German shepherd. Right now. You do not need to breed your dog. There are hundreds or responsible, and irresponsible GSD breeders. You are not contributing to maintenance or betterment of the breed. Tell everyone you know!
-If you want a puppy from a breeder, do your research on what a responsible breeder looks like- I can link resources, if anyone wants.
-Adopt! If adoption is right for your family, come take a road trip to Texas. I could send you ten GSDs on the EU list at my local shelter.
-If you do adopt, educate yourself on how to successful integrate your shelter pup into your home and lifestyle- it is NOT easy, and NOT for everyone.
To give you an idea, here are SOME pets JUST in the DFW metroplex (and I mean literally just a handful of shelters in our massive metroplex):
*Dallas Animal Services - note, the city recently suffered a ransomware attack so this list could be incomplete/outdated.
*Forth Worth Animal Care & Control
*Garland Animal Services
*Irving Animal Services
*Collin County Animal Services
Texas, and the south in general, is absolutely overflowing with german shepherds and dogs. I believe I’ve seen it floating around that, after pit bull-types, GSDs are the most euthanized breed—at least in my area in DFW.
“Kill shelters” are typically the ones that cannot refuse any pet on the basis of reason for surrender/breed/temperament. These are your shelters run by local governmental organizations. They must treat every dog that comes into their care in the way the law prescribes. They absolutely do NOT want to euthanize good, healthy, friendly, adoptable pets.
Shelters that are “no-kill” shelters are typically run by non profits- these shelters can turn down dogs & refuse dogs for any reason they see fit.
My local “kill shelter” has over 350 kennels, and every single one is full. Many are doubled-up, with puts the animals in those kennels more at risk for poor outcomes due to the chance for fighting, etc. Remember….there are worse fates than death, and many of these pups were saved from those fates (slowly starving on the streets, stuck on a chain in a backyard with no shelter on a 120 degree heat index day).
To quote one of my favorite shelter advocates, we cannot adopt or foster our way out of this. Change must happen at the societal level.
What can you do?
-Spay or neuter your German shepherd. Right now. You do not need to breed your dog. There are hundreds or responsible, and irresponsible GSD breeders. You are not contributing to maintenance or betterment of the breed. Tell everyone you know!
-If you want a puppy from a breeder, do your research on what a responsible breeder looks like- I can link resources, if anyone wants.
-Adopt! If adoption is right for your family, come take a road trip to Texas. I could send you ten GSDs on the EU list at my local shelter.
-If you do adopt, educate yourself on how to successful integrate your shelter pup into your home and lifestyle- it is NOT easy, and NOT for everyone.
To give you an idea, here are SOME pets JUST in the DFW metroplex (and I mean literally just a handful of shelters in our massive metroplex):
*Dallas Animal Services - note, the city recently suffered a ransomware attack so this list could be incomplete/outdated.
*Forth Worth Animal Care & Control
*Garland Animal Services
*Irving Animal Services
*Collin County Animal Services