Published: April 23, 2008 01:19 pm            

Dumped Dogs

Dear Editor,

This past week we saw the best and worst kind of animal stories in the Tyler Morning Telegraph from the horror of the seizure near Lindale to the Animal Shelter in Athens. I wish people who "dump" dogs would look at those two stories and decide where they would like for their "disposable animals" to be placed.

All across East Texas, owners "dump" their dogs to avoid surrender fees of $10-$20 dollars at shelters. Claiming that "they don't want their dog put to sleep", and believing the fantasy that their dog will find a good home on its own, they "dump" their dog on others rather than insuring its safety at an animal shelter.

The truth is that the cruelest thing one can do is "dump" the animals they do not want. These pitiful creatures are easily spotted along the highways with "that lost look" on their face, or their bodies dodged as one drives on to their destination.

"Dumped" animals starve, are injured or killed by landowners who do not want them after their cattle, killed by coyotes, or "rescued" by those with a soft heart and the inability to take care of the animals leading to horrible lives as animals horded in large numbers.

Worst of all, puppies and kittens are often killed by fire ants, if they do not starve first. Many will reply...."they were strays".......there is NO SUCH THING as a "STRAY". Every tame dog and cat that wanders up to be labeled a "stray" has an owner somewhere who decided to dispose of their unwanted animals, and their responsibility for that animal, on someone else.

It is time for the city, county, and community to stop the explosion of unwanted animals by requiring permits to breed or fees for owning animals that are not spayed and neutered. It is unfair for the taxpayer to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to take care of the problem of irresponsible pet owners.

Brenda House,

President of the

Board of the

Henderson County

Humane Society

        

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