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Îêîëî 70 ÷åëîâåê ïðîâåëè äåìîíñòðàöèþ âîçëå ïðèþòà äëÿ æèâîòíûõ ãîðîäà Øåëáè Òàóíøèï øò. Ìè÷èãàí.
macombdaily.com, 11.04.2015
Ïðîòåñòóþùèå áûëè íåäîâîëüíû òåì, ÷òî æèâîòíûå â ïðèþòå óñûïëÿþòñÿ ñëèøêîì áûñòðî, äàæå íåñìîòðÿ íà òî, ÷òî åñòü æåëàþùèå èõ çàáðàòü. Îíè æàëóþòñÿ, ÷òî äâóõ èç êàæäûõ òðåõ ñîáàê èëè êîøåê óñûïëÿþò.
Îäíà ïàðà ãîòîâà áûëà óñûíîâèòü çîëîòèñòîãî ðîòðèâåðà, íî èì áûëî çàÿâëåíî ÷òî äëÿ òàêîé êðóïíîé ñîáàêè ó íèõ ñëèøêîì ìàëî ïëîùàäè. Õîòÿò óñûïèòü òàêæå ñïàíèåëÿ, íå îòäàâàÿ åãî æåëàþùèì, èç-çà òîãî ÷òî ó ñîáàêè êàòàðàêòà è ñèëüíî ñïóòàíà øåðñòü.
 íàñòîÿùèé ìîìåíò äëÿ óñûíîâëåíèÿ æåëàþùèì ïðåäîñòàâëåíû âñåãî 18 êîøåê, â òî âðåìÿ, êàê 55 íàõîäÿòñÿ â èçîëÿöèè.
Ïî äàííûì Ìè÷èãàíñêîãî Äåïàðòàìåíòà ñåëüñêîãî õîçÿéñòâà çà 2013 ãîä 82 ïðîöåíòà æèâîòíûõ ïîäâåðãíóòî ýâòàíàçèè â ïðèþòå è 18 ïðîöåíòîâ îòäàíû âëàäåëüöàì.
 ñðåäíåì 60 ïðîöåíòîâ âñåõ æèâîòíûõ ïîñòóïàþùèõ â ïðèþò óñûïëÿþòñÿ, 12 âîçâðàùàþòñÿ ñâîèì ñòàðûì âëàäåëüöàì è 22 ïðîöåíòà ïåðåäàþòñÿ íîâûì âëàäåëüöàì. Ñóäüáà 6 ïðîöåíòîâ íå îïðåäåëåíà.
Îòâå÷àÿ íà îáâèíåíèÿ, ÷èíîâíèêè ñîîáùèëè, ÷òî â ïðèþòå èäóò ðåìîíòíûå ðàáîòû è ïîñòåïåííî âåäåòñÿ ñòðîèòåëüñòâî áîëåå êðóïíûõ ïðèþòîâ.
Ñàéò î ïðîòåñòàõ è äåìîíñòðàöèÿõ:
http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20150411/doze..
Dozens protest euthanasia rate at Shelby Township animal shelter
Katie Wenzel stepped Saturday toward the entrance of the Humane Society of Macomb Animal Shelter with her golden retriever-Rottweiler mix when shouts of “They’ll kill him!” and “We’ll take him!” from protesters convinced her to turn around.
Wenzel and her boyfriend had just adopted 2-year-old the dog, named Val John, from a different shelter two days earlier. She was ready to surrender him.
“He’s too big. He’s not potty trained. He needs more room than what we had,” said Wenzel of Clinton Township, still teary-eyed moments after she turned the dog over to a handful of the pickets who spent hours protesting the facility on 22 Mile Road in Shelby Township.
“I just wanted him to find another family.”
Approximately 70 people, including a few who brought their own pets, carried placards with slogans like, “Shelter of Death,” “Stop the killing” and “Stop hoarding money, start saving lives,” claim too many dogs and cats have unnecessarily been euthanized there for years.
“There’s no good reason for killing, than adopting to a suitable home,” said Laurie Stephens, a spokeswoman for the protesters.
Stephens and other critics claim that two out of every three dogs or cats brought to the shelter are euthanized. They charge some of the animals could be treated and saved with better veterinary care; that shelter officials have refused to turn over any animals to various animal rescue groups and foster homes willing to help, and have made adoption of suitable pets difficult. Some dogs with poor temperament could benefit from behavioral training instead of being put down, protestors said.
“It doesn’t make sense. Why kill when you can adopt them out?” Stephens said.
“If they don’t change significantly, we would rather have it shut down than stay the way it is.”
Her husband, John, held a sign depicting a cocker spaniel that was going to be put to sleep because it had a cataract in one eye and its hair was very matted. Treatment of the pets housed there could be better, he said.
“They have nothing to lay on. No toys,” he said.
Relying on insiders and eyewitness accounts, protesters claim practices have been poor for years. Pat DiMaggio Siergiej of Sterling Heights said she got a bad feeling when she entered the shelter years ago. She said she adopted a blind dog from Nebraska two years ago and a blind cat approximately 18 months ago. Both pets, she said, would have not been offered a chance by the Humane Society of Macomb.
“They would have immediately assessed them as unadoptable,” DiMaggio Siergiej said. “There are healthy animals here that are murdered.”
The shelter -- which is not part of county or township government and not affiliated with the Macomb County Animal Shelter in Mount Clemens -- also operates a veterinary clinic. Critics said the non-profit has $7.6 million in assets and a foundation with $1.5 million. They say some of that money should be put into services that could save animal lives.
Shirley Burgess has been employed at the Humane Society of Macomb for 46 years, including the last nine as director.
She called accusations by the pickets misleading or false.
“We don’t make it a point to put an animal down just because. We put them down because they’re not adoptable, because they’re aggressive or have illness,” Burgess told The Macomb Daily.
“I’m not the only one who makes these decisions,” she said, adding that veterinarians provide vital information.
Before any dogs are adopted, they are spayed or neutered, receive a rabies and distemper vaccination and heartworm medication, and checked for worms and fleas.
Stray animals found by Shelby Township police officers, and those turned over to the police animal control division, are turned over to the 22 Mile facility. Tags or microchips are checked and owners contacted by telephone or certified mail, if necessary, Burgess said. Most stray dogs are returned to their owners, and the rest that are healthy enough to be adopted are placed with new owners, she said.
Some pet owners go to the shelter to give up their pets because they no longer can – or want – to care for them. Some request that the animals be euthanized. Overall, cats are euthanized far more often than dogs. Feral cats, even when healthy, are put down because they have not been domesticated.
According to the Humane Society of Macomb’s 2013 report to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, of the cats not returned to their owners, 82 percent are euthanized and 18 percent are adopted.
When combining figures for all animals, 60 percent of those entering the shelter were killed, 12 percent were retrieved by owners and 22 percent were adopted. The disposition of 6 percent was undetermined.
Data compiled by the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance shows that among 53 “open admission” shelters that provided statistics for 2013, the Humane Society of Macomb was 45th with a “save rate” of 33.8 percent.
On Saturday, approximately 55 cats were kept in isolation cages lined with newspaper, and about another 14 were available for adoption.
Some animal shelters – like the Macomb County Animal Shelter -- have implemented a policy of trap/neuter/release – or TNR – for feral cats as a method to control the cat population.
Responding to accusations that more money needs to be spent on the shelter, Burgess said officials in January approved $70,000 in renovations. A new drop ceiling has been installed in a hallway and in the separate dogs and cat isolation areas where pets brought in during the past several days are held for behavioral observation.
New, larger kennels will be ordered, and wall and floor tiles will be replaced soon in some areas.
After being approached recently by Macomb County Chief Animal Control Officer Jeff Randazzo, Burgess said she is willing to work with animal rescue groups.
Among the pickets Saturday, Sabreena Lachlainn said she spent three weeks with a pregnant Rottweiler while employed for three months at the Humane Society of Macomb about five years ago. When Lachlainn arrived at work one day and didn’t see the Rottweiler, she learned the dog and its unborn puppies had been euthanized. Lachlainn disputed the explanation the dog was too aggressive to be adopted.
“She was perfectly fine. There was no aggression on her part,” said Lachlainn, of Warren.
“If they will not replace the management, I want to see it locked up and done,” she said.
Former employee Tina Bowlsby of Romeo said animals are underfed, not given blankets, sleep on stainless steel cages or tile floors and are not allowed to have treats.
According to non-profit corporation records filed with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Burgess also holds the title of secretary on the shelter’s board of directors. For overseeing the shelter’s daily operations, she receives annual pay totaling $58,000 a year. Burgess said Saturday she has declined pay raises for 10 years.
She said the shelter has between seven and 10 paid workers but also relies on volunteers.
Burgess said the public is largely to blame for pet overpopulation.
“Basically what people need to do is become responsible pet owners; they need to have their pets spayed or neutered,” she said.
“We don’t want to be the final solution. We try to do the best we can for animals that are healthy and adoptable.”
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