Not only is the ASPCA consistently raking in millions of dollars from across the country, but it also has an abundance of volunteers.
Considering that many dogs are busting bladders at our Animal Care and Control shelters (often coming down with Urinary Tract Infections as result) or sitting in dirty cages while the few volunteers scramble to walk and clean out cages, is too, a disgrace. (There is shortage of salaried Kennel Staff to walk or deal properly and humanely with the number of animals arriving at AC&C shelters.)
Yesterday, I spoke with a very knowledgeable woman who works at another shelter. She too, expressed dismay that considering all the monies of the ASPCA (and NSAL) there is not sufficient spay/neuter van to cover the entire city. If we make spay/neuter services easy, affordable and convenient for people, more pet owners WOULD neuter their pets (or the stray cats in their yards). Considering that 80% or more of the animals coming into the city shelters are NOT fixed, obviously, this is a huge, unaddressed problem.
Yesterday, I spoke with a very knowledgeable woman who works at another shelter. She too, expressed dismay that considering all the monies of the ASPCA (and NSAL) there is not sufficient spay/neuter van to cover the entire city. If we make spay/neuter services easy, affordable and convenient for people, more pet owners WOULD neuter their pets (or the stray cats in their yards). Considering that 80% or more of the animals coming into the city shelters are NOT fixed, obviously, this is a huge, unaddressed problem.
Until it is properly addressed, forget all the crap about NYC EVER going "no kill."
It is no small irony that we have a beautiful, state of the art "no kill" (ASPCA) shelter on East 92nd Street where cats lounge leisurely in kitty condos and dogs are walked 4 or 5 times a day and a windowless, converted warehouse on 110th Street where water pours down the sides of the building, sunlight or fresh air never enters its confines and thousands of animals become sick, "euthanized" and dismissed, due to the depressing, stressful and unhealthy conditions.
As noted, this building was never constructed as an animal shelter in the first place.
The ASPCA signed off on it years ago, (and thus, seemingly "sold out" the animals) because 110th Street in Harlem was MEANT to be the place where animals quietly go to die.
Almost 20 years later the AC&C is STILL the place where most animals go to die and the building itself is still the warehouse that a thousand "renovations" can never a shelter make.
"Put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig."
But, in the case of AC&C, the city and powers that be are not even trying to put "lipstick" on it.
The so-called "Adoption Wards" are a garage with cages in it.
And matters will only get worse once they go back to doing still more "renovations" on the first floor!
Am I the only one seeing the injustice, deception, irony, cruelty, waste of taxpayer money and most of all, misrepresentation to the public of all this?
Its seemingly like the "Wizard of Oz."
A beautiful ("no kill") Emerald City (as represented by the ASPCA). And a mighty wizard who grants all things and wishes to all people (all the false promises of perfect animals and eternal bliss). But, behind the curtain is a weathered, tiny little man with no power at all.
In the late 90's we were promised by the powers that be, "new shelters" in the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens.
That did not occur. (We, however did build two new baseball stadiums!)
We don't even have a real and whole, All Admittance animal shelter in Manhattan. (In its present form, the Manhattan AC&C is HALF a functioning building that is operating under the guise of "animal shelter.")
That needs to change.
You see, the "power" is within all of us to do what we have to in order to demand and create the real changes and the real shelters that the animals and the people of NYC need and deserve
"Emerald City" we are not. -- PCA
It is no small irony that we have a beautiful, state of the art "no kill" (ASPCA) shelter on East 92nd Street where cats lounge leisurely in kitty condos and dogs are walked 4 or 5 times a day and a windowless, converted warehouse on 110th Street where water pours down the sides of the building, sunlight or fresh air never enters its confines and thousands of animals become sick, "euthanized" and dismissed, due to the depressing, stressful and unhealthy conditions.
As noted, this building was never constructed as an animal shelter in the first place.
The ASPCA signed off on it years ago, (and thus, seemingly "sold out" the animals) because 110th Street in Harlem was MEANT to be the place where animals quietly go to die.
Almost 20 years later the AC&C is STILL the place where most animals go to die and the building itself is still the warehouse that a thousand "renovations" can never a shelter make.
"Put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig."
But, in the case of AC&C, the city and powers that be are not even trying to put "lipstick" on it.
The so-called "Adoption Wards" are a garage with cages in it.
And matters will only get worse once they go back to doing still more "renovations" on the first floor!
Am I the only one seeing the injustice, deception, irony, cruelty, waste of taxpayer money and most of all, misrepresentation to the public of all this?
Its seemingly like the "Wizard of Oz."
A beautiful ("no kill") Emerald City (as represented by the ASPCA). And a mighty wizard who grants all things and wishes to all people (all the false promises of perfect animals and eternal bliss). But, behind the curtain is a weathered, tiny little man with no power at all.
In the late 90's we were promised by the powers that be, "new shelters" in the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens.
That did not occur. (We, however did build two new baseball stadiums!)
We don't even have a real and whole, All Admittance animal shelter in Manhattan. (In its present form, the Manhattan AC&C is HALF a functioning building that is operating under the guise of "animal shelter.")
That needs to change.
You see, the "power" is within all of us to do what we have to in order to demand and create the real changes and the real shelters that the animals and the people of NYC need and deserve
"Emerald City" we are not. -- PCA
*****
1 comment:
Hi Patty, I wanted to share with your readers the happy news that the euthanasia list cat pictured alongside your August 7 posting was rescued! This was a while ago - I had just had a cat adoption, so I looked at the euthanasia list (which I normally do not do because it is too depressing). This cat resembled the cat I had just adopted out -- whom I was missing -- so I pulled him. He was very lucky, because over 50 cats went down that morning. Since I normally don't see the euthanasia list, those faces are etched in my mind. This particular cat's name is Josh, and he was an "owner surrender" for the reason "gift/ too many cats." Josh was a great cat - incredibly sweet. He would roll over and over again while you rubbed his belly. A terrific personality. In fact, he was adopted out! He went to a wonderful young couple who adore him. But until I have more cat adoptions, I am not in the position to pull and foster any more. The shelter pleas are heart breaking. Just yesterday's pleas, which you may have seen, included a 4 month old tortie kitten on the euthanasia list who had been set on fire, several cats who had fallen from high rise buildings, and numerous friendly owner-surrendered cats going down for space. These are just the pleas... which represent a small fraction of what is on the euthanasia list. I am hopeful that adoption and foster inquiries will pick up so more cats can be saved.
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