Senior Project: "Here No More"

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

— Mahatma Ghandi

Each and every day thousands of animals are brought into shelters across the country. A total of around 8 million are brought in per year. Many are strays and many others are simply dumped off by their families — on the side of the road, under a bridge, or tied outside of shelters to fend for themselves until workers arrive the next morning. One of the main reasons shelters are so full is pet overpopulation. Thirty-five percent of pet owners still refuse to spay and neuter their pets. When a beloved family pet becomes pregnant, they simply give it away. Maybe they decide to keep a puppy until it reaches the point when it’s no longer “cute,” and then let it go unaltered. That dog gets pregnant and so on and so on. When these dogs arrive at the shelter they are usually greeted by the raucous din of all the other residents who are eagerly awaiting their owners, whom they are sure will be walking through the door any minute. Sadly, this only happens for about 1 in 10 who come through the door. This kind of neglect is common in both rural and urban areas and also crosses socio-economic boundaries. The most common victims in dog cruelty cases are pit bull terriers. They represent thirty-three percent of dogs taken in at shelters. In some regions, that number climbs to sixty-five percent. Tragically, the end of the road for many of these dogs is euthanasia. This is an homage to those we’ve recently lost.

About 2.7 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs—about one every 11 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year.

(the humane society)

The newest form of abuse is called hog-dog fighting or “catch dog trials”. Dogs chase trapped hogs in front of spectators. Players rank the dogs by how quickly they bite into a hog’s face and pull the screaming animal down. Dogs often injure the hogs horribly during the match, and the hogs may gore the dogs with their tusks.

Hog-dog fighting is most popular in the rural South. Ironically, it may be billed as family entertainment, but it is as violent as dogfighting and can similarly teach children to enjoy cruelty.

Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes average about 33% of shelter intakes nationally, but in large cities the numbers are as high as 40%-65%. About 75% of municipal shelters euthanize Pit Bulls immediately upon intake, without them ever having any chance at adoption. Those that are offered for adoption are usually the first chosen for euthanasia when overcrowding forces the shelter's hand and decisions have to be made.

Studies estimate that up to 1 million Pits are euthanized per year, or 2,800 per day. Some estimates are up to double that number. In the Los Angeles area alone, 200 per day are put to sleep. A study by the organization Animal People reports a 93% euthanasia rate for Pit Bulls and only 1 in 600 Pits finding a forever home.

Further, euthanasia estimates don't include the misery and death Pit Bulls face as the #1 dog-fighting breed. Fought dogs that don't die in the ring often suffer excruciating abuse, neglect, abandonment, and eventually death even worse than humane euthanasia.

Until we can educate the public and move them to spay and neuter, we're just putting a band-aid on a gushing wound. One female dog can produce two litters of 6-10 pups per year. In 6 years that female and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs!

Shelters are overwhelmed with dogs who demand space and funds for their care and medical treatment and something's got to give. It's the animals, very often Pit Bulls, and what they give is their very lives.