Ariz. Humane Society changes policies after cat killed

[moriah]

8. Surrender is the LAST and FINAL option, and he signed the paperwork.

So are you suggesting that shelters call everyone before they euthanize?

For those who surrendered RESPONSIBLY, all that would do is add more grief and guilt -- they already have tried every other option and know that euthanasia is a possibility. If there is ANY other option, an animal should not be surrendered. People don't realize just how heart-breakng animal welfare can be -- the need well outstrips the supply for services. If there was a checkbox for "Please notify me before putting my cat down", it would encourage people to see surrendering an animal to a shelter as something other than the LAST option -- and making it harder for animals who really DO have no other place to go.

For the HS in my area, this never would have happened for two reasons. First, they are committed to never euthanizing any treatable animal. Second, if you have EVER surrendered an animal from them, you cannot adopt it or any other animal... EVER. Their belief is that if someone has gotten to the point of not being able to care for their animals and not being able to find another option, they are not a Forever Home. So they would have been straight-up with the man that he would NEVER get his cat back. EVER.

Yes, I feel passionately about this issue. And it irritates the hell out of me that I have friends who are threatening to withhold money from GOOD shelters that happen to use the name "Humane Society" over this. All that does is make a bad situation worse, and does NOTHING to send a message to the Arizona Humane Society.