[IttyBittyFem]

Originally Posted by violaine

I have a couple of questions.

What was her answer when asked about "counseling" owners who called to surrender their pets? Is there any type of "counsel" given into other options verses total surrender?

She said that when a person wants to surrender an animal, they are asked to fill out a card with any info that they have on the pet. She said that they receive both strays and family pets as surrenders CHACO assistant- said that they will try to "work with" the owner if they are surrendering a pet, such as giving the owner a bag of dog food (if surrender is for a financial reason). It was clear that there is no direct or written procedure for "counseling" owners who are surrendering an animal, so I'm guessing the person at the front desk can chose to counsel an owner if he/she wants. Owners are not directly told that the animal will have little chance for making it out of the shelter and into a home, but it does list in the fine print of the form the owner fills out that the animal could be euthanized.

I'd like to address just one part of your post Violaine. In our "Off List" conversation, I mentioned I've been a volunteer for NJ Boxer Rescue for over 20 years. During this period of time, I've learned so much through each individual case.

From my experience, attempting to counsel anyone into keeping their pet when they've already come to the decision to give them up. The one thing that really has a LARGE red flag, for me anyway, is the fact any owner would bring their pet to a "Kill" facility, rather than a shelter that has a "No Kill" Policy. Then you have the factor that they obviously didn't make an attempt to place their pet on their own, whether it be through word of mouth, Ad's, etc. I could go on and on with numerous signs the Owner not only wants to get rid of their pet, as well as lack of effort to do what's best for the animal. However, I personally do not want to make any attempt to convince the owner into keeping the pet. I've seen it done and in almost every single case, the pet eventually ends up back at the original (or other) Shelter within a 6 month period of time.

If the animal is a purebred, every single breed has their own Rescue Organization. If the animal is not a purebred, there are tons of Rescue Organizations that handle those type of cases.

If the owner doesn't want to make the effort to seek out any of these Rescue Groups, then at least find a facility that has a "No Kill" Policy.
So basically, what I'm saying is, any person that has already made up their minds to be rid of their burden (harsh words however, it's a harsh situation) should not be counseled into keeping their pets. Allow the animal to have a second chance in life by finding them a home where they'll be loved and cared for, rather than feeling the vibe, 'I don't want you'. Animals have the ability to sense a human's feelings. Do we really want them to stay with people that clearly have no desire to keep their pet? NOT me. I'd rather see the animal go to a Foster Home, evaluated while at the Foster and matched up with a home that will love their new addition to their family.

One last thing - this is clearly my own personal opinion, derived from years of experience with Boxer Rescue. I certainly welcome anyone that have different experiences and/or different opinions to jump right in and let us see this from a different perspective.