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Letter from man whose job is gassing dogs and cats in gas chamber in NC

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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:50 PM
Original message
Letter from man whose job is gassing dogs and cats in gas chamber in NC
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 01:31 PM by adigal
This happens thousands of times a day, mostly in the south and some rural areas in PA, Ohio and other states. This is what happens when people don't spay and neuter their dogs. I do Dog Rescue, and I am not making this up. We all should contact southern legislators and demand they implement strong spay/neuter laws and outlaw the gas chamber. North Carolina is considering this legislation right now.

If you would like to contact NC legislators about banning the gas chamber, AND writing strong spay and neuter laws, here is a contact page:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us /

Here is a place to find the legislation to stop use of the gas chambers:
http://ncche.com /

This page has the Governor's contact info, and lots of info on the legislators:
http://aspcacommunity.ning.com/group/helpinganimals/for...

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yes, I Gas Dogs and Cats for a Living. I'm an Animal Control officer in a very small town in central North Carolina. I'm in my mid thirties, and have been working for the town in different positions since high school.

There is not much work here, and working for the county provides good pay and benefits for a person like me without a higher education. I'm the person you all write about how horrible I am.

I'm the one that gasses the dogs and cats and makes them suffer. I'm the one that pulls their dead corpses out smelling of Carbon Monoxide and throws them into green plastic bags. But I'm also the one that hates my job and hates what I have to do.

First off, all you people out there that judge me, don't. God is judging me, and I know I'm going to Hell. Yes, I'm going to hell. I wont lie, it's despicable, cold, cruel and I feel like a serial killer. I'm not all to blame, if the law would mandate spay and neuter, lots of these dogs and cats wouldn't be here for me to gas. I'm the devil, I know it, but I want you people to see that there is another side to me the devil Gas Chamber man. The shelter usually gasses on Friday morning.

Friday's are the day that most people look forward to, this is the day that I hate, and wish that time will stand still on Thursday night. Thursday night, late, after nobody's around, my friend and I go through a fast food line, and buy 50 dollars worth of cheeseburgers and fries, and chicken. I'm not allowed to feed the dogs on Thursday, for I'm told that they will make a mess in the gas chamber, and why waste the food.

So, Thursday night, with the lights still closed, I go into the saddest room that anyone can every imagine, and let all the doomed dogs out out their cages.

I have never been bit, and in all my years doing this, the dogs have never fought over the food. My buddy and I, open each wrapper of cheeseburger and chicken sandwich, and feed them to the skinny, starving dogs.

They swallow the food so fast, that I don't believe they even taste it. There tails are wagging, and some don't even go for the food, they roll on their backs wanting a scratch on their bellys. They start running, jumping and kissing me and my buddy. They go back to their food, and come back to us. All their eyes are on us with such trust and hope, and their tails wag so fast, that I have come out with black and blues on my thighs.. They devour the food, then it's time for them to devour some love and peace. My buddy and I sit down on the dirty, pee stained concrete floor, and we let the dogs jump on us. They lick us, they put their butts in the air to play, and they play with each other. Some lick each other, but most are glued on me and my buddy.

I look into the eyes of each dog. I give each dog a name.

They will not die without a name.

I give each dog 5 minutes of unconditional love and touch.

I talk to them, and tell them that I'm so sorry that tomorrow they will die a gruesome, long, torturous death at the hands of me in the gas chamber.

Some tilt their heads to try to understand.

I tell them, that they will be in a better place, and I beg them not to hate me.

I tell them that I know I'm going to hell, but they will all be playing with all the dogs and cats in heaven.

After about 30 minutes, I take each dog individually, into their feces filled concrete jail cell, and pet them and scratch them under their chins. Some give me their paw, and I just want to die. I just want to die. I close the jail cell on each dog, and ask them to forgive me. As my buddy and I are walking out, we watch as every dog is smiling at us and them don't even move their heads. They will sleep, with a full belly, and a false sense of security.

As we walk out of the doomed dog room, my buddy and I go to the cat room.

We take our box, and put the very friendly kittens and pregnant cats in our box. The shelter doesn't keep tabs on the cats, like they do the dogs.

As I hand pick which cats are going to make it out, I feel like I'm playing God, deciding whose going to live and die.

We take the cats into my truck, and put them on blankets in the back.

Usually, as soon as we start to drive away, there are purring cats sitting on our necks or rubbing against us.

My buddy and I take our one way two hour trip to a county that is very wealthy and they use injection to kill animals.

We go to exclusive neighborhoods, and let one or two cats out at a time.

They don't want to run, they want to stay with us. We shoo them away, which makes me feel sad.

I tell them that these rich people will adopt them, and if worse comes to worse and they do get put down, they will be put down with a painless needle being cradled by a loving veterinarian. After the last cat is free, we drive back to our town.

It's about 5 in the morning now, about two hours until I have to gas my best friends.

I go home, take a shower, take my 4 anti-anxiety pills and drive to work.. I don't eat, I can't eat. It's now time, to put these animals in the gas chamber. I put my ear plugs in, and when I go to the collect the dogs, the dogs are so excited to see me, that they jump up to kiss me and think they are going to play.

I put them in the rolling cage and take them to the gas chamber. They know. They just know. They can smell the death.. They can smell the fear. They start whimpering, the second I put them in the box. The boss tells me to squeeze in as many as I can to save on gas. He watches. He knows I hate him, he knows I hate my job. I do as I'm told. He watches until all the dogs, and cats (thrown in together) are fighting and screaming. The sounds is very muffled to me because of my ear plugs. He walks out, I turn the gas on, and walk out.

I walk out as fast as I can. I walk into the bathroom, and I take a pin and draw blood from my hand. Why? The pain and blood takes my brain off of what I just did. In 40 minutes, I have to go back and unload the dead animals. I pray that none survived, which happens when I overstuff the chamber. I pull them out with thick gloves, and the smell of carbon monoxide makes me sick. So does the vomit and blood, and all the bowel movements. I pull them out, put them in plastic bags.

They are in heaven now, I tell myself. I then start cleaning up the mess, the mess, that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not spay or neutering your animals. The mess that YOU PEOPLE are creating by not demanding that a vet come in and do this humanely. You ARE THE TAXPAYERS, DEMAND that this practice STOP!

So, don't call me the monster, the devil, the gasser, call the politicians, the shelter directors, and the county people the devil. Heck, call the governor, tell him to make it stop.

As usual, I will take sleeping pills tonight to drown out the screams I heard in the past, before I discovered the ear plugs. I will jump and twitch in my sleep, and I believe I'm starting to hallucinate.

This is my life. Don't judge me. Believe me, I judge myself enough.

acwgz1966@yahoo.com

This is in or around NC







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   Replies to this thread
   wow  DS1   Nov-13-08 12:53 PM   #1 
   I get these euthanasia lists every day...at least these shelters  adigal   Nov-13-08 02:13 PM   #115 
   god damn  amdezurik   Nov-13-08 12:54 PM   #2 
   O.M.G.  rubberducky   Nov-13-08 12:54 PM   #3 
   Well, that was incredibly sad  Sabriel   Nov-13-08 12:54 PM   #4 
   I call and write the NC legislators, found their numbers on Google  adigal   Nov-13-08 12:55 PM   #7 
   you need a sponsor, and you need a draft of a bill  WillYourVoteBCounted   Nov-14-08 12:29 AM   #211 
   THat's why my husband won't do it...  michele77   Nov-13-08 03:02 PM   #159 
   This deserves a Rec. The world needs many, many more people like this man.  elocs   Nov-13-08 12:55 PM   #5 
   Fuck  edwardlindy   Nov-13-08 12:55 PM   #6 
   I agree...would you consider calling the NC legislators  adigal   Nov-13-08 12:56 PM   #11 
      I've tried such things in the past  edwardlindy   Nov-13-08 01:00 PM   #16 
         Well, put on an American accent, don't tell them you are  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:01 PM   #18 
         Have you got friends or family in NC?  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 01:56 PM   #94 
   Recommended  Winebrat   Nov-13-08 12:55 PM   #8 
   ...  dweller   Nov-13-08 12:55 PM   #9 
   Damn. I couldn't finish reading that.  crispini   Nov-13-08 12:56 PM   #10 
   I couldn't either, crying too hard.  smokey nj   Nov-13-08 02:16 PM   #118 
   I don't cry easily  hobbit709   Nov-13-08 12:56 PM   #12 
   Please, I put a link to the NC legislators in the post  adigal   Nov-13-08 12:59 PM   #14 
   I'm speechless. n/m  AndyA   Nov-13-08 12:57 PM   #13 
   I really don't buy this at all  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:00 PM   #15 
   Why not? I know a woman who used to have to euthanize  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:03 PM   #20 
   You don't have proof it isn't BS...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:14 PM   #32 
      And your problem with this is??? If you don't want to believe it, don't  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:19 PM   #39 
      Why are you confusing my denial of the letter's authenticity with a denial these things happen?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:26 PM   #51 
      I'm with you, Oregone.  motocicleta   Nov-14-08 02:00 AM   #227 
      People didn't believe 6 million Jews and others were gassed either.  Sequoia   Nov-13-08 07:54 PM   #188 
         Oh the gassing part is true  frogcycle   Nov-14-08 06:23 AM   #233 
      I believe that it certainly could be true.  LynzM   Nov-14-08 11:28 AM   #249 
      You're quite the cynic.  bitchkitty   Nov-15-08 01:14 AM   #276 
   I'm afraid to say I don't buy it either  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:06 PM   #24 
   You are free to believe whatever you want if it makes you feel better  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:09 PM   #27 
   Whoever wrote this is an animal lover and I'm sure he does feel badly for animals who are destroyed  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:11 PM   #30 
      I think the pain and details, like the 4 anti-anxiety pills, sound genuine  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:21 PM   #43 
         Oh I'm sure there are terrible conditions for animals and it is painful for the people who do this  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:23 PM   #46 
         "this happens every day"  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:24 PM   #47 
            These dogs will be gassed tomorrow morning  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:26 PM   #49 
            Yes, but by the person who penned this letter?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:27 PM   #56 
            I'll try...  Pithlet   Nov-13-08 01:47 PM   #85 
            Just because you can't have a special touch with animals  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:25 PM   #130 
            When did this become about ME?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:29 PM   #134 
               You seem to be discounting that this guy has a special touch with animals  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:39 PM   #142 
            Deleted message  Name removed   Nov-13-08 08:15 PM   #193 
            My dollar-roll of two cents...  TaranAlvein   Nov-14-08 02:27 AM   #229 
   You are correct, the cats were a major red flag...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:21 PM   #42 
   Do you know why cats purr?  RichardRay   Nov-13-08 01:28 PM   #57 
   The cats don't know what's in store for them  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:31 PM   #60 
      Cats purr to announce their presence...  RichardRay   Nov-13-08 01:41 PM   #77 
      That many cats are not purring and being nice every week  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:43 PM   #81 
      I feel sorry for the next shelter worker who recreates the Great Escape for their cats...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:49 PM   #87 
      "even if the writer is making it up, he's still telling the truth"  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:47 PM   #84 
      EXACTLY!  Jamastiene   Nov-13-08 04:35 PM   #178 
      Shelter Shock may make the cats tamer than usual  schnitzie   Nov-14-08 01:36 AM   #224 
      Cat purring has a healing effect  TrogL   Nov-14-08 02:42 PM   #265 
         TrogL you also fall asleep on the couch when...  CraftyGal   Nov-14-08 04:48 PM   #267 
      I have two cats...  HopeFor2006   Nov-13-08 11:25 PM   #204 
   The thing that struck me was the description of gassing as "tortuous and slow"  mycritters2   Nov-13-08 02:08 PM   #111 
   Why are you denying that animals are killed every day...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:14 PM   #117 
   Carbon monoxide is not always quick and painless.  wolfgangmo   Nov-13-08 08:49 PM   #200 
      Those symptoms typically only occur in low concentrations.  Xithras   Nov-14-08 09:12 PM   #274 
   I've spent more than that on animals that weren't mine  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:22 PM   #125 
   My two passive chill ragdolls freaked out from Southern Oregon to Canada on a road trip  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:25 PM   #131 
      All cats are different, as are all owners  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:35 PM   #139 
         You are talking about a box full of unfamiliar cats?!?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:38 PM   #141 
         You may not be able to do it, I may not be able to do it  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:42 PM   #145 
            Like Kevin Kostner in Dancing With Wolves  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:43 PM   #147 
               No, that would be my friend Charlie down in Springfield  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:49 PM   #152 
                  Good for her...but...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 04:23 PM   #175 
         I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that this guy happens to be so good with animals  gollygee   Nov-13-08 02:41 PM   #144 
            Possibly, but don't discount the possibility  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:46 PM   #148 
            I don't think Dr. Doolittle is working at a shelter in NC  gollygee   Nov-13-08 02:49 PM   #151 
               Generally people who do well with animals gravitate to jobs where they're around animals  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:52 PM   #154 
                  Also, people who are that good with animals generally know how to treat them  gollygee   Nov-13-08 02:53 PM   #155 
                  Gravitate?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 04:07 PM   #170 
            He is describing the situation where the cats which are pregnant  lizzy   Nov-13-08 08:22 PM   #196 
   I have to say my cats are not feral, but they for sure would not  lizzy   Nov-13-08 08:17 PM   #195 
      Apparently he shares the expense with his friend  Art_from_Ark   Nov-14-08 03:35 AM   #231 
   "Spay" they are spayed, not spade. Spade is a type of shovel  uppityperson   Nov-13-08 01:08 PM   #26 
   ...and a card suit. n/t  greguganus   Nov-13-08 03:00 PM   #158 
      I just had a thought. Make a deck of cards with pet things on it.  uppityperson   Nov-13-08 03:08 PM   #161 
   This happens every single day, it is not considered animal cruelty  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:11 PM   #29 
   LOL. Not believing a letter's authenticity doesn't mean I don't believe animals are gassed  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:17 PM   #35 
      Give it up Oregone!  AlbertCat   Nov-14-08 02:38 PM   #264 
   So what if you don't? Who cares? The point is that the practice  JanMichael   Nov-13-08 01:43 PM   #82 
   "If you don't care, then don't write or call."  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:56 PM   #93 
      some people do need to be reminded  JanMichael   Nov-13-08 02:01 PM   #105 
         I should congratulate myself?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:10 PM   #113 
            that would be preferable.  JanMichael   Nov-13-08 02:24 PM   #129 
            Edit: Forget it  LanternWaste   Nov-14-08 12:23 PM   #256 
            Well said n/t  dawgmom   Nov-14-08 01:27 PM   #262 
   Having been there, done that, I can easily believe it  MadHound   Nov-13-08 02:19 PM   #121 
   You are wrong in your assumption this is fake:  rvablue   Nov-13-08 02:55 PM   #156 
   Thank you rvablue. I know of a young woman who had a story  OurVotesCount-Ohio   Nov-13-08 03:17 PM   #162 
   Thanks.....your experience too, gives credence to this post...it makes me sad so many "dont' buy it"  rvablue   Nov-13-08 03:21 PM   #164 
   You are wrong to assume that I think the euthanasia is fake...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 05:00 PM   #181 
   I've seen this exact same letter many times before on the internet.  yardwork   Nov-14-08 12:39 AM   #214 
   Yeah. There were lots of implausibles in that story. The Biggie?...Carbon Monoxide is odorless.  alphafemale   Nov-14-08 07:10 AM   #236 
   It is DEFINITELY a spay/neuter advocate.  skypuddle   Nov-14-08 11:12 AM   #246 
   Carbon Monoxide is odorless, but  bitchkitty   Nov-15-08 01:40 AM   #277 
   I agree.  gorfle   Nov-14-08 12:05 PM   #252 
   $200 a month  gollygee   Nov-14-08 12:19 PM   #254 
   I don't care if the letter is true or not. I'm renaming my dog Oregone. He shits all over the place.  rug   Nov-15-08 05:11 PM   #280 
   oh shit I'm sitting at my desk crying like a baby....  mike_c   Nov-13-08 01:00 PM   #17 
   Jeebus.. you are not a monster your are a hero ..ending a life humanly as possible  wroberts189   Nov-13-08 01:03 PM   #19 
   No, I don't do this...I live in NY and rescue southern dogs,  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:04 PM   #22 
   How awful!  Reeta77   Nov-13-08 01:04 PM   #21 
   is there a link for the actual legislation?  leftchick   Nov-13-08 01:05 PM   #23 
   I put a link in the original post...it has the main page for  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:07 PM   #25 
   I thought that I had it bad  MadHound   Nov-13-08 01:10 PM   #28 
   An argument for the gas chamber is that it is easier on the people  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:18 PM   #37 
   Geezus!!!  bunnies   Nov-13-08 01:13 PM   #31 
   ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##  DU GrovelBot   Nov-13-08 01:14 PM   #33 
   ### Folks, donate money to no-kill shelters ###  Duppers   Nov-13-08 01:14 PM   #34 
   God bless that man  RT Atlanta   Nov-13-08 01:17 PM   #36 
   What?! They don't inject them first?  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 01:19 PM   #38 
   They don't give them lethal injection, they throw them in the gas chambers  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:22 PM   #45 
   So that's another instance of "two Americas", then...  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 01:34 PM   #63 
   Many pounds...  jeepnstein   Nov-13-08 01:26 PM   #52 
      And how long do the animals spend in there...  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 01:50 PM   #88 
      People forget that this cruelty not only affects the animals but also the poor human  truedelphi   Nov-14-08 12:15 AM   #209 
   That's a sad story. But if you hate it, don't do it.  obiwan   Nov-13-08 01:20 PM   #40 
   I'm from a small town in central NC, just like the man in the OP.  racaulk   Nov-13-08 01:26 PM   #50 
      Another person would just do the job, you are right  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:27 PM   #53 
      It's a very poor area, and yet the author claims  lizzy   Nov-13-08 08:26 PM   #197 
   This man must live a sad and tortured life that is beyond my worst nightmares.  racaulk   Nov-13-08 01:21 PM   #41 
   I'm a tough hateful old man of the world and I have to confess...  Hubert Flottz   Nov-13-08 01:22 PM   #44 
   These dogs are due to be gassed tomorrow in the Coweta, GA area  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:24 PM   #48 
   Wow.  TuxedoKat   Nov-13-08 01:27 PM   #54 
   This is from a man in NC, I run a NY rescue group  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:34 PM   #62 
      Ok.  TuxedoKat   Nov-13-08 01:39 PM   #72 
         I am up about an hour past Albany, NY  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:40 PM   #75 
   i'm not sure this is real either  mimitabby   Nov-13-08 01:27 PM   #55 
   Mine would die in no time...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:30 PM   #59 
      Why the 2nd paragraph? You have constantly let us know you don't believe the letter. Geesh. n/t  greguganus   Nov-13-08 03:07 PM   #160 
   So very sad, so horrific but if I could talk to this young man, I would let him know  AuntPatsy   Nov-13-08 01:30 PM   #58 
   Horrifying, and something the rest of us never allow ourselves to think about  eowyn_of_rohan   Nov-13-08 01:34 PM   #61 
   That's hard to think about but it's the same story everywhere.  123infinity   Nov-13-08 01:34 PM   #64 
   What state are you in? In NY, VT, Mass., NH, there are  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:36 PM   # 
   pet dumping is so cruel  pop goes the weasel   Nov-13-08 11:48 PM   #206 
      Exactly.  lizzy   Nov-14-08 12:13 AM   #208 
         Actually  pop goes the weasel   Nov-14-08 12:50 AM   #218 
            Oh right. So this person supposedly dumps  lizzy   Nov-14-08 01:23 AM   #222 
   Kicking for exposure.  greyhound1966   Nov-13-08 01:36 PM   #65 
   Amen!! You can get purebred dogs and young pups from rescues  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:38 PM   #69 
   So sad. :(  cat_girl25   Nov-13-08 01:36 PM   #66 
   My God, this is so sad. I'm weeping over here.  Midlodemocrat   Nov-13-08 01:36 PM   #67 
   I think the ones here who don't "buy it"  eowyn_of_rohan   Nov-13-08 01:36 PM   #68 
   Honestly no  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:38 PM   #70 
   What possible difference does that make? n/t  greyhound1966   Nov-13-08 01:42 PM   #80 
      What possible difference does what make?  gollygee   Nov-13-08 01:43 PM   #83 
      Whether or not the letter is authentic. n/t  greyhound1966   Nov-13-08 02:24 PM   #128 
         I like things to be truthful  gollygee   Nov-13-08 02:31 PM   #136 
            things can be made up and I am fine with that  hfojvt   Nov-13-08 02:40 PM   #143 
               Exactly  gollygee   Nov-13-08 02:42 PM   #146 
                  I also ask - what difference does it make?  eowyn_of_rohan   Nov-13-08 04:22 PM   #174 
                     Oh, you can definately learn from it  Oregone   Nov-13-08 04:25 PM   #177 
                        You don't even know it IS dishonest  eowyn_of_rohan   Nov-13-08 04:38 PM   #179 
      Well, if this were a novel, it wouldn't be in the Non-fiction isle...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:54 PM   #91 
         Just remember Charles Dickens did wonders in his stories for Child Labor Laws  KoKo01   Nov-13-08 07:59 PM   #189 
   How do you figure?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 01:42 PM   #79 
   No, it's not that....many of the details are not congruent with reality.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 01:51 PM   #89 
   I don't buy it.  Dark   Nov-14-08 12:32 AM   #212 
   The only thing odd about this story is the repeated mention of how  kestrel91316   Nov-13-08 01:39 PM   #71 
   I thought that too, but they may put an odor into it, like they do  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:41 PM   #78 
   Maybe they add an odorant  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 02:00 PM   #102 
   Please adopt...a pure lab is on the gas chamber list for tomorrow  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:39 PM   #73 
   I know several irresponsible assholes that won't spay or neuter their pets. I've got 3 rescued dogs  greguganus   Nov-13-08 01:40 PM   #74 
   well that was a tough read...  Blue_Tires   Nov-13-08 01:40 PM   #76 
   Although sad, this letter was not really written by an Animal Control officer.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 01:48 PM   #86 
   Actually, the dogs who don't get along with the others get put down  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:53 PM   #90 
   They don't do that with *all* owner surrenders, do they?  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 01:56 PM   #92 
   I know it is hard to believe, but most southern shelters  adigal   Nov-13-08 01:59 PM   #98 
   Another effect of "right to work" laws, maybe?  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 02:02 PM   #107 
   At the shelters I volunteered, the surrenders were kept in another part of the shelter  Evoman   Nov-13-08 01:59 PM   #99 
   The problem is lack of "no kill" shelters in the south  lukasahero   Nov-14-08 01:41 PM   #263 
   Not all the shelters I volunteered at.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 01:58 PM   #95 
      What state did you work in? In NY, the northeast, it is  adigal   Nov-13-08 02:00 PM   #100 
      Canadian shelters. I'm Canadian.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:01 PM   #104 
         Yes, well, Canada is more humane...you even have health insurance,  adigal   Nov-13-08 02:08 PM   #110 
         And we are supposed to trust you now?  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:17 PM   #119 
            Someday, I will have to write a some-what true story about our American-Citizen shelters.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:23 PM   #126 
               LOL. I can back that up.  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:34 PM   #138 
                  This is why I am for spaying and neutering american-citizens.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:38 PM   #140 
                     Oh, why don't you just go pin prick yourself already  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:46 PM   #149 
      What state did you work in? In NY, the northeast, it is  adigal   Nov-13-08 02:00 PM   #101 
   By mentioning cats purring and dogs getting along...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:05 PM   #108 
      I don't like being emotionally manipulated....unless I do so willingly.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:12 PM   #114 
         You are assuming you are being manipulated - you don't know that  adigal   Nov-13-08 02:20 PM   #123 
         I'm bored and I feel like talking to people.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:24 PM   #127 
         Exactly...  Oregone   Nov-13-08 02:21 PM   #124 
            I'm just suprised by the amount of people with broken Skeptic Meters.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:56 PM   #157 
               Well, people also value being emotionally move  Oregone   Nov-13-08 04:16 PM   #172 
   authentic or not, this story is heartbreaking. nt.  IndianaJones   Nov-13-08 01:58 PM   #96 
   True dat.  Evoman   Nov-13-08 02:00 PM   #103 
   YES I AM CRYING  benld74   Nov-13-08 01:59 PM   #97 
   I'm glad somebody finally wrote that which must be told in graphic detail.  temperancedissent   Nov-13-08 02:01 PM   #106 
   My current kitty was a stray who adopted me...  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 02:07 PM   #109 
   Personally I think spaying a neutering all pets ought to be the law  Lorien   Nov-14-08 01:43 AM   #225 
   Sorry, but the alternative is... what?  Aya Reiko   Nov-13-08 02:09 PM   #112 
   He probably thought they were being killed more humanely  MonteLukast   Nov-13-08 02:13 PM   #116 
   And you don't believe in spay or neutering? You don't believe  adigal   Nov-13-08 02:17 PM   #120 
   Im not sure where they implied those things  Oregone   Nov-13-08 04:05 PM   #168 
   The alternatives are  varelse   Nov-13-08 07:32 PM   #183 
   If only we could get the states to make spay/neuter the law. There should be a limited number of  sinkingfeeling   Nov-13-08 02:20 PM   #122 
   I'd take it even further than that.  superduperfarleft   Nov-13-08 03:52 PM   #167 
      Sorry, I don't want to see the purebreds become extinct. Those, like the gentle Nordic breeds, help  sinkingfeeling   Nov-13-08 04:53 PM   #180 
      Oh shhhheeeyit, don't tell me there's a puppy mill thread  schnitzie   Nov-14-08 01:23 AM   #223 
   I read every word and I cried. nt  Pooka Fey   Nov-13-08 02:26 PM   #132 
   Honestly, I had to stop reading.  KarmicTwist   Nov-13-08 02:27 PM   #133 
   Ok, I had to stop reading several times to wipe away the tears.  Texas Explorer   Nov-13-08 02:30 PM   #135 
   This makes me so horribly sad  sweetroxie   Nov-13-08 02:33 PM   #137 
   e-mailing this to everyone I know! Damn, brought tears to my old eyes!  B Calm   Nov-13-08 02:48 PM   #150 
   oh god, this is horrible.  alyce douglas   Nov-13-08 02:50 PM   #153 
   I knew a guy that did this job in Chicago  new_beawr   Nov-13-08 03:20 PM   #163 
   I've been there  sherbear   Nov-13-08 03:24 PM   #165 
   I can relate.  Withywindle   Nov-14-08 08:20 PM   #271 
   Whoever wrote this is good...damn good...  fla nocount   Nov-13-08 03:29 PM   #166 
   I donate to the SPCA every yr. I haven't in the last 2 but I will be again when I can...  AgadorSparticus   Nov-13-08 04:07 PM   #169 
   horrible.  Liberal_in_LA   Nov-13-08 04:09 PM   #171 
   Oh.My.God  Jamastiene   Nov-13-08 04:19 PM   #173 
   Damn.  tylerdee   Nov-13-08 04:24 PM   #176 
   Can't read it all, but thanks be to this man for his humanity. nt  siligut   Nov-13-08 05:06 PM   #182 
   What a powerful letter.  dbonds   Nov-13-08 07:43 PM   #184 
   I couldn't even finish.  Seldona   Nov-13-08 07:48 PM   #185 
   Way to give food to unwanted animals - without costing you anything! Click here:  eowyn_of_rohan   Nov-13-08 07:50 PM   #186 
   I cannot finish reading this. We call ourselves civilized and  yy4me   Nov-13-08 07:52 PM   # 
   That's so awful. Poor guy, poor animals.  Sequoia   Nov-13-08 07:52 PM   #187 
   What a tear-jerking piece of fiction.  Poll_Blind   Nov-13-08 08:08 PM   #190 
   Aren't you clever??? Able to tell that this is fiction without any  adigal   Nov-13-08 08:11 PM   #191 
      Adigal, you read the entire thing and you believe this is a true account from an individual?  Poll_Blind   Nov-13-08 08:16 PM   #194 
      For example.  MNBrewer   Nov-15-08 09:00 AM   #278 
      Note to you: Several aspects of it don't check out.  WritingIsMyReligion   Nov-15-08 05:49 PM   #282 
   God awful...I couldn't read the whole thing  ramapo   Nov-13-08 08:15 PM   #192 
   I may live in one of those neighborhoods...  JBear   Nov-13-08 08:35 PM   #198 
   That's awful. What's more awful is that, given the current circumstance, it is a necessity.  tom_paine   Nov-13-08 08:37 PM   #199 
   And I thought how dogs and cats are treated where I live was bad.....  vietnam_war_vet   Nov-13-08 09:23 PM   #201 
   I couldn't finish reading. I don't even know why I started.  Vektor   Nov-13-08 09:54 PM   #202 
   That's a common response, I think.  Withywindle   Nov-14-08 08:53 PM   #273 
   I feel for this person  fortyfeetunder   Nov-13-08 10:05 PM   #203 
   Carbon Monoxide is odorless  MNBrewer   Nov-13-08 11:42 PM   #205 
   No shit.  lizzy   Nov-14-08 12:02 AM   #207 
   The author of the letter said he smelled like carbon monoxide  GreenFiles   Nov-14-08 01:11 AM   #220 
   You saw that too?  mainegreen   Nov-14-08 08:59 AM   #242 
   I would be happy to help with this quest, legislature begins end of Jan  WillYourVoteBCounted   Nov-14-08 12:24 AM   #210 
   Where to start? How about with my ex-wife who now "owns" over 50 dogs, gawd only  bertman   Nov-14-08 12:38 AM   #213 
   How sad.  nathan hale   Nov-14-08 12:40 AM   #215 
   Well written story of true things, but letter is clearly fake  pending   Nov-14-08 12:42 AM   #216 
   The NC AG Dept has the power to change - see this:  WillYourVoteBCounted   Nov-14-08 12:50 AM   #217 
   k&r  Swamp Rat   Nov-14-08 01:01 AM   #219 
   Wow... you fell for it - Snopes:  GreenFiles   Nov-14-08 01:15 AM   #221 
   What a total crock of shit  Farmall   Nov-14-08 01:50 AM   #226 
   This is an internet hoax debunked a year ago.  provis99   Nov-14-08 02:26 AM   #228 
   In this case...  rucky   Nov-14-08 07:43 AM   #239 
      Truth does not need lies to bolster it.  skypuddle   Nov-14-08 11:44 AM   #251 
         Judging from the reactions on this thread  rucky   Nov-14-08 01:23 PM   #260 
   This is the first post...  snake in the grass   Nov-14-08 02:38 AM   #230 
   Why do you have cheeseburgers? What's your agenda?  Orrex   Nov-14-08 08:34 AM   #240 
      Actually,  snake in the grass   Nov-14-08 12:22 PM   #255 
         "I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground"  1Hippiechick   Nov-15-08 03:58 PM   #279 
   We need to send this guy condolence emails, this is too sad.  Faux pas   Nov-14-08 04:13 AM   #232 
   I couldn't finish reading this  malaise   Nov-14-08 06:35 AM   #234 
   I think this story was embellished .. a little too perfect in  cboy4   Nov-14-08 06:54 AM   #235 
   Embellished? No. Fabricated? Absolutely.  skypuddle   Nov-14-08 11:14 AM   #247 
   there are no words.  FLDem5   Nov-14-08 07:31 AM   #237 
   If people would just spay/neuter/adopt  rucky   Nov-14-08 07:41 AM   #238 
   I heard that the hook was on his left hand  Orrex   Nov-14-08 08:36 AM   #241 
   Ha!  dawgmom   Nov-14-08 01:26 PM   #261 
   Son of a bitch this makes me angry!  lonestarnot   Nov-14-08 09:07 AM   #243 
   I know what you mean  southernyankeebelle   Nov-14-08 09:30 AM   #244 
   "I'm the one that pulls their dead corpses out smelling of Carbon Monoxide"  skypuddle   Nov-14-08 11:09 AM   #245 
   You're right- the story is wildly fabricated on a framework of facts.  Poll_Blind   Nov-14-08 11:24 AM   #248 
      Yes, the fact that NC gasses their excess animals magically makes Carbon Monoxide have an odor...  skypuddle   Nov-14-08 11:38 AM   #250 
      I don't think anyone doubts that these kills happen in some fashion  kick-ass-bob   Nov-14-08 12:16 PM   #253 
         Exactly.  Poll_Blind   Nov-14-08 12:35 PM   #258 
   Needed to be posted  Gilligan   Nov-14-08 12:27 PM   #257 
   The facts of euthenasia are horrific enough; no need to create a work of fiction like this  dawgmom   Nov-14-08 12:49 PM   #259 
   Animal lover, but also a skeptic.  Ladyhawk   Nov-15-08 05:11 PM   #281 
   Sure, it's moving...  Unca Jim   Nov-14-08 04:04 PM   #266 
   I believe it  peace frog   Nov-14-08 06:09 PM   #268 
   Tragic story....  flying_wahini   Nov-14-08 06:25 PM   #269 
   I didn't want to return to this thread  northernlights   Nov-14-08 07:57 PM   #270 
   That has got to be the worst thing I've ever read.....  im1013   Nov-14-08 08:24 PM   #272 
   not to beat a dead horse...  frogcycle   Nov-14-08 10:01 PM   #275 
 
DS1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:53 PM
Response to Original message
1. wow
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:13 PM
Response to Reply #1
115. I get these euthanasia lists every day...at least these shelters
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 02:14 PM by adigal
are trying to get the animals out.

http://www.noahs-arks.net/RESCUE/Noahs_Arks_Main_Page.h...

These dogs and puppies are going to be killed by tomorrow if they don't get rescued, this is in Greenville, South Carolina, just voted the 4th best town in America to live in. Unless you are a dog:

http://www.noahs-arks.net/RESCUE/Greenville.html
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amdezurik (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:54 PM
Response to Original message
2. god damn
I really did not need to feel this bad today and this just pisses me off knowing it all could be prevented.
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rubberducky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:54 PM
Response to Original message
3. O.M.G.
:cry:
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Sabriel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:54 PM
Response to Original message
4. Well, that was incredibly sad
When was the last time you read such a heart-felt piece like this?

I admire his stamina and humanity, but he has got to get out of that job, if at all possible. It's killing him.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:55 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. I call and write the NC legislators, found their numbers on Google
and I push them to outlaw this. Also, strong spay and neuter laws would prevent this.
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WillYourVoteBCounted Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Fri Nov-14-08 12:29 AM
Response to Reply #7
211. you need a sponsor, and you need a draft of a billUpdated at 9:46 PM
I believe you could get a sponsor for a bill, maybe even your own lawmaker.

But they need proof that this is going on, and they need to know what kind of legislation you want,
and what you propose instead of gassing.

If you want stricter spay and neuter laws, they will need to know how much this will cost.

It could be argued that good spay and neuter laws would result in savings in a short time.

I know its the animals's lives and suffering that matter, but to get legislation passed,
you have to explain the details.
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a la izquierda Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 03:02 PM
Response to Reply #4
159. THat's why my husband won't do it...
anymore. He said he'd rather be homeless or unemployed. It literally sucked the life out of him.
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elocs (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:55 PM
Response to Original message
5. This deserves a Rec. The world needs many, many more people like this man.
I salute his compassion. He is a far, far greater man than I could ever hope to be.
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dipsydoodle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 12:55 PM
Response to Original message
6. Fuck
Just fuck. The mere thought of that upsets me.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:56 PM
Response to Reply #6
11. I agree...would you consider calling the NC legislators
and demanding a stop to the gas chamber? That is what the dog rescues have been doing?
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dipsydoodle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 01:00 PM
Response to Reply #11
16. I've tried such things in the past
but being english in the UK creates an issue whenever I've tried

You may have gathered I'm really touchy about anything which advsersly affects animals. :hi:
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:01 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. Well, put on an American accent, don't tell them you are
English. I am with you on animals.
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MonteLukast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:56 PM
Response to Reply #16
94. Have you got friends or family in NC?
Try them first.
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Auggie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 12:55 PM
Response to Original message
8. Recommended
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dweller (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:55 PM
Response to Original message
9. ...
:cry:


dp
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:56 PM
Response to Original message
10. Damn. I couldn't finish reading that.
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smokey nj Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 02:16 PM
Response to Reply #10
118. I couldn't either, crying too hard.
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hobbit709 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:56 PM
Response to Original message
12. I don't cry easily
but I'm trying to type this by feel because I can't see.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:59 PM
Response to Reply #12
14. Please, I put a link to the NC legislators in the post
Would you just pick a name from the list and call them, demand they stop the gas chambers.
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AndyA Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 12:57 PM
Response to Original message
13. I'm speechless. n/m
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:00 PM
Response to Original message
15. I really don't buy this at all
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 01:03 PM by Oregone
Sorry, I just don't. I don't think an animal gas guy would stay up all night, each Thursday, frollicking with soon to be dead animals. Its normal to seek apathy in these situations, rather the melodramatic behavior. I think, instead, this is a spade/neuter advocate.

Not to mention, this would essentially be a whistleblower letter on animal cruelty if true. I just don't buy it.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #15
20. Why not? I know a woman who used to have to euthanize
and now she is a mess, on serious anti-depressants and Xanax, cannot sleep at night, cannot function. Sometimes people have to do this.

And if you don't believe the gas chamber aspect, I have about 50 southern rescues I can put you in contact with, who see the animals going on and being pulled out dead. I know it is easier to pretend this is BS, but it is not.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:14 PM
Response to Reply #20
32. You don't have proof it isn't BS...
We all have an option to believe this is genuine or not. I opt to err on the side of caution.

"Belief is a more dangerous enemy to truth that lies" - Nietzche.

Yes, animals are gassed and this type of thing happens. BUT, I don't think the person writing this is involved in it. You are talking about someone so cash-strapped they have to kill dogs that they love to make a living, yet weekly they can afford to blow money on 50 bucks of cheeseburgers? They have time to stay up and pet each dog and give them love and then drive around for hours dropping off cats? Are they going to have time for this? Who is his self-loathing buddy who comes along for the ride? Pricks himself with a pin all day after overloading a chamber? Willingly and cruelly overpacking the gas chamber, causing some not to die in the 40 minute span, yet continuing to do this? Come on now.....

Clearly this person has an agenda. They want responsible owners to spayed and neuter their animals and the government involved. They are trying to motivate you by making you cry.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:19 PM
Response to Reply #32
39. And your problem with this is??? If you don't want to believe it, don't
but it happens every day. And you can pretend that they don't overpack the chambers if it makes you feel better, but I speak to rescues every day who see this happening.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #39
51. Why are you confusing my denial of the letter's authenticity with a denial these things happen?
Do you not understand the difference?
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motocicleta (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 02:00 AM
Response to Reply #51
227. I'm with you, Oregone.
I am fully supportive of spay/neuter campaigns, adopted both of my dogs from the humane society, know damn well that too many animals are euthanized because not enough people can find their asses with both hands and a goddamn map - but that story's obviously full of dookie and we would be foolish to lap it up.
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Sequoia Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 07:54 PM
Response to Reply #39
188. People didn't believe 6 million Jews and others were gassed either.
Denial, denial, denial. God help us. I think animals are closer to God than we are. His eye is on the Sparrow you know.
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frogcycle (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 06:23 AM
Response to Reply #188
233. Oh the gassing part is true
10,000/day in this fine country


I too am skeptical of the Thursday-night story though. Maybe something like it occurred with a new-hire, who wrote it up immediately. But no human being could go on like this as implied.

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LynzM Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 11:28 AM
Response to Reply #32
249. I believe that it certainly could be true.
My upstairs neighbors rescue dogs. They sometimes don't have money to keep their phone turned on, or gas to get to work, but they love those dogs to death, feed them great food, get them spayed and neutered, put their money into taking care of these animals who really, really need it. Sometimes when your own life sucks, and you know that an animal's life is going to suck, or going to end so horribly, doing the best you can by those animals is what you do. Maybe it brings you stress, maybe it's not the easiest choice in some ways, but you do it. Seems to me this man would prefer to continue to suffer, himself, so that he can bring some small amount of joy to these dogs, and to see some of these cats be rescued, or euthanized in a humane way.

Just because it doesn't make sense to you, doesn't mean that it's not true. Lots of things don't make sense to me, and yet people continue to do them. Yes, he has an agenda, to stop this cruel practice. Is that so wrong?
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bitchkitty (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sat Nov-15-08 01:14 AM
Response to Reply #32
276. You're quite the cynic.
I find it very believable that he would spend $50/week on treats for dogs.

Clearly this person does have an agenda, but I don't think that "making us cry" is the aim of this letter. There are people crying over it, but that's because it's sad, sad and true.

Apparently you don't think there's anything to cry about...
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #15
24. I'm afraid to say I don't buy it either
A guy in a low paying job like that spends $50 on fast food to feed animals? And there are cats purring as they're driving. My cat would take somebody out if she weren't in a carrier in the car.

It's a story that hopefully will make more people aware of the problem of animals not being spayed and neutered, but I don't believe it's a true story.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:09 PM
Response to Reply #24
27. You are free to believe whatever you want if it makes you feel better
but this happens all of the time. The people in these jobs don't all hate animals. And listen to his pain - it sounds so real to me.
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #27
30. Whoever wrote this is an animal lover and I'm sure he does feel badly for animals who are destroyed
But it has nothing to do with making myself feel better. I feel badly for animals who are destroyed too and contribute to the SPCA and a local no-kill shelter. And the two cats I've owned have come from the SPCA. I just don't believe this story is true at all. It sounds completely made up. I'm not convinced it's even from someone in that line of work.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:21 PM
Response to Reply #30
43. I think the pain and details, like the 4 anti-anxiety pills, sound genuine
You can disagree, of course, but this happens every day, and I have contacts who can tell you stories that will make your hair stand up.

One out of two animals born in this country make it to their second birthday.

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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:23 PM
Response to Reply #43
46. Oh I'm sure there are terrible conditions for animals and it is painful for the people who do this
I just don't believe this particular story. He has a bunch of cats running around a car while he's driving purring? On a regular basis? That was the biggest red flag. Really, the whole thing just sounds made up.

I hope that the letter does what it's intended to do. I'm just surprised so many people believe it.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:24 PM
Response to Reply #43
47. "this happens every day"
Are you referring to the animal gassing, or the altruistic animal lover who is cashed strapped but blows $50 bucks a week on cheeseburgers and has a Zen like way of making animals get along by frolicking with them before their deaths?

With the amount he would save on cheeseburgers and extra anti-anxiety pills (as well as food he has to eat to make up for his pin pricking blood loss), the guy could probably break even with a lower paying job.
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #47
49. These dogs will be gassed tomorrow morning
And I am now done with trying to speak to you about this. You are being ridiculous.

http://www.shelterrescue.org/id1.html
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:27 PM
Response to Reply #49
56. Yes, but by the person who penned this letter?
Probably not. That was what I am suggesting. Who is being ridiculous here?
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Pithlet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:47 PM
Response to Reply #49
85. I'll try...
The DUers responding to you aren't denying that these horrible conditions exist. They're denying that the letter itself is authentic. I have to say, I'm not sure it is, either. It doesn't make the cause any less real. We aren't arguing with you that it isn't a real issue. It is. People need to spay and neuter their pets. Governments need to pay more attention to this issue. Gas chambers need to be outlawed. Absolutely. The letter is a plea to draw attention to the matter, but it just doesn't ring authentic. If it gets anyone's attention, that's not a bad thing, of course. But, please don't think the DUers responding to you, myself included, are denying that there's a problem by questioning the authenticity of the letter.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:25 PM
Response to Reply #47
130. Just because you can't have a special touch with animals
Doesn't mean that nobody can have a special touch with animals. And many times, these people gravitate to jobs involving animals.

I can make friends with the most vicious of dogs, and do a pretty good job with cats, though my wife is truly the cat lady.

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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:29 PM
Response to Reply #130
134. When did this become about ME?
I don't have a special touch? Damn...attack the messenger, why don't you.

And yes, I am attacking this messenger here but they are sort of opening themselves up to that with this letter (which is the problem with a fictional approach, that undermines credibility). By no means am I dismissing that animals are gassed.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:39 PM
Response to Reply #134
142. You seem to be discounting that this guy has a special touch with animals
Being sarcastic with your quote about Zen like way. I'm just informing you that yes, there are people out there who have a special way with animals, who can befriend them easily and get them to do the most amazing things. I've got this gift with dogs, and to a lesser extent with cats. Apparently you don't have it, that's OK, I'm not judging you on that. I'm just asking you to not discount that there are people who do have a special way with animals.
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Name removed (0 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 08:15 PM
Response to Reply #47
193. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
TaranAlvein (22 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 02:27 AM
Response to Reply #47
229. My dollar-roll of two cents...
Might I remind you that he specifically states in the letter that he only took cats that were either pregnant or the nicest of the bunch? He's not picking random cats out here. He's picking the ones that are least likely to fight each other or claw him up. You, however, seem to have either forgotten, not read, or simply ignored this fact in an attempt to attack this part of the letter.

And also, regarding your doubt that he could have the money to buy $50 of food every week for those animals, not once in the entire letter does he say he's strapped for cash. What he said was that the job he's in is one of the best in the area for somebody without a college degree. Now, he doesn't say what his financial situation is, nor does he say what his bills are. He doesn't even say how much he makes, and since it's government job, I think we can assume he gets government benefits. That said, I find almost no room whatsoever to assume that he's somehow poor. What you are doing with this is making assumptions to try and hold up your end of the argument, but that angle fails badly as well.

Now, since he hates his job so much and feels so terribly about it, I find his reactions to the job to be entirely within reason. As for the things he does the night before the animal are to be gassed, perhaps he does it out of guilty conscience for what he has to do? People do the strangest things to appease their consciences. If feeding and loving some doomed dogs and rescuing a few cats every week is his thing, what's so suspicious about that?

Your statement that he could save money by getting a different, lower-paying job and still come out ahead, and especially the comment that he could spend the money for extra food for his blood-drained self, was extremely ignorant, in my opinion. The first point would be that he is in, as he said, one of the best paying jobs for a person of his educational background. Secondly, one does not simply quit a secure, well-paying GOVERNMENT position in a job market like this. The beginning of his letter made it quite clear that he is not there by choice, but rather, by necessity. The third point is that I find it extremely unlikely that he is suffering any degree of blood-loss. He said he takes a pin and draws blood from his hand. He's not cutting up his arms here. He doesn't specify how much blood he draws, but that neither works for nor against him, and at any rate, if he were drawing enough blood once per week to cause serious blood-loss, I'm pretty sure that would be noticed and he would surely be receiving employer-mandated therapy right now. So no, I'm sure it's not that much blood.

The statement he makes about releasing the dogs and them all being friendly together is the only remotely suspect point in the entire story. However, even then, one can consider the fact that these dogs have essentially been locked in their cages for at least a month. And even if they were being fed every day up until the day before their executions, it's possible that they aren't fed enough. And I can believe that they might now focus on each other so much as on the food or on the affection of a human being. I also can believe that, provided there was enough food for them all, they wouldn't be fighting over it. They'd each have something they could go for, and dogs, being such social animals, might just choose to ignore one another. And by the way, your view of the situation, regarding the animals, is only one that considers animals under your normal circumstances, not animals that have been penned up for several weeks. It is entirely possible that they would react differently from your average family dog or cat would in the same circumstances. That's not the say that the dog scenario is perfectly plausible, but I'm willing to lend the writer of this letter the benefit of the doubt on the matter, for three reasons.

The first reason is that I am not willing to put this letter down as a hoax just because there is doubt cast upon a single aspect of it. I saw no "red flags" as some of you seem to have, but rather, a heartrending tale of the general cruelty of our animal containment system, a plea to the general public to spay and neuter their animals, and an attempt to get people to bear his soul to the world and try to get people to stop glaring daggers in his direction and assuming he's a horrible, evil, cruel person, simply because killing animals is his job.

The second reason is a matter of personal philosophy. If the letter's moving story of a guilt-stricken executioner is a lie, why rain on the parade of those who believe in it? If I was sure it was a lie, I would feel no reason to do anything more than to brush off the details and take the story's general thoughts into account, and let those who would allow themselves to be fooled by it accept the little deception. Now of course, a harmful lie would be a different story. I would be all over a lie that attempted to take us into another war, or smear the good name of another, or to cause some harm to somebody, but I feel it does not warrant public accusation, even if there is a detail here or there that could be thought of as suspect.

The third reason is also a question I feel the need to ask of you. If the letter itself is a lie, so what? Who cares? It's a harmless and very well-planned lie if it is. If it is a lie, it is one that is not an obvious lie, and so, being that it would be both harmless and not obvious, I ask again: Who cares? You know that the practices this guy describes in his letter are true, and I'm sure you must have known your pronouncement would be ill-received here, so I really must ask what you felt was to be gained by declaring it a lie? What were you contributing to the discussion? You've stirred up nothing but annoyance and controversy in a thread that did not need them, especially when you yourself acknowledge that the practices this person is so horrified of are most certainly true.

With this in mind, I can only assume that you are either a rather callous and socially-inept individual, or you are a very careful troll. Either way, I find myself looking down upon your view of the world, the one that apparently dictates that you must, in any and all circumstances and without regard for the feelings of those around you, declare something a lie simply because you yourself did not find it sufficiently credible to pass your own personal opinion on what is and is not possible. I take it that you have a degree in animal behavioral science, and have studied animals in all different scenarios to gauge how they act, and that you are not simply acting the part of the armchair philosopher?

Of course, if you are a trial-lawyer, and particularly a prosecutor, I guess that would explain your decision as well. Either way, I feel that you, and any others who have so callously thrown out their beliefs that the letter is a hoax, should really consider the feelings of others, as well as whether or not a perceived lie could be entirely harmless, before jumping out there and attacking statements that might be a lie.

Also, as an afterthought, because I am sure that it will happen sooner or later (not necessarily by you, just in general), I just wish to preempt the suggestion that I am being overly emotional and getting all weepy over these animals. Frankly, I found the story horrifying and rather sad, but I am cold enough and sufficiently emotionally-detatched to not be one of those who actually cried over it, or couldn't finish it. And I'm not angry that you who think it is a lie feel that way. I simply felt that it was wholly unnecessary to decry the story as a lie, and believed that I should point out why it might not be a lie, to give you sufficient and well-argued reason to reconsider your position.


TL;DR version: I don't think sufficient reason exists to call it a lie, and if it is a lie, letting people believe in it is harmless, and so I see no reason to have so callously declared it so.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:21 PM
Response to Reply #24
42. You are correct, the cats were a major red flag...
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 01:21 PM by Oregone
Cats, well, they aren't so friendly to one another. Hell, my cats (an incredibly passive breed, Ragdolls, that I got from a rescue shelter) have lived together for over a year now and still don't get along (hissing occasionally). The two guys wouldn't leave that car with skin on their bones, driving around with a bunch of cats unfamiliar with each other. Purring? My ass. Those cats would flip out.
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RichardRay Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:28 PM
Response to Reply #24
57. Do you know why cats purr?
Do you think it's always because of pleasure?

Hint - It isn't.
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:31 PM
Response to Reply #57
60. The cats don't know what's in store for them
They're riding in a car, snuggling behind his neck, and purring. No way. I know a few cats who ride in cars without flipping out but that is not common and he certainly doesn't have bunches of cats regularly running around the car purring and being nice.

Do you think they're aware they were saved from being gassed? Or that they're afraid they will be gassed? Or uncertain of their future? No, cats in cars have motion sickness and want the cars to stop. At least most of them. And they aren't purring.

It's well written and I hope it makes people protest that method of killing and support no-kill shelters and spay or neuter their pets. But I don't believe this letter is authentic. It sounds ridiculous.
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RichardRay Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #60
77. Cats purr to announce their presence...
a cat can purr out of fear, boredom or for a variety of other reasons.

Certainly they purr when they're happy, but to say that every purring cat is happy is wrong on the face of it. I moved from St. Louis to Boston many years ago with a cat in the van full of furniture, his name was White Cat (yes, he was white). He purred the whole way from a position deep in the stuff piled in the back of the van. He was not telling us he was happy. My cat Cosmos arrived at my beside early one morning with a bone end sticking out of his back leg. He crawled up on the bed and purred like a buzz saw - he was certainly not happy.

I, too, have some doubts on this one, but that's not the part that raises them. And, even if the writer is making it up, he's still telling the truth.

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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #77
81. That many cats are not purring and being nice every week
that is what I don't buy.

I agree that even though I think this specific story is made up, it tells the truth in a bigger way- the overall truth of how animals are treated, how they are killed, and the need to spay/neuter.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:49 PM
Response to Reply #81
87. I feel sorry for the next shelter worker who recreates the Great Escape for their cats...
He may sue the author or at least request help cleaning the blood out of his car and tending his deep flesh wounds. :)
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:47 PM
Response to Reply #77
84. "even if the writer is making it up, he's still telling the truth"
Not really...they are lying about a lot of specific things they are asserting that they do...which undermines credibility.

But what they are doing is trying to create an emotionally moving experience (animal pre-death frolicking) and tie it to a fact (animal gassing). I think it is well written and a good technique at moving people. I just think though that it is a technique and the letter isn't authentic. That is all. They are clearly using the entire thing to promote an agenda (spay and neuter), which is not at all a bad thing.
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Jamastiene Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 04:35 PM
Response to Reply #77
178. EXACTLY!
Cats purr right before they die too. They purr when they are extremely sick.

And what you said:
"And, even if the writer is making it up, he's still telling the truth."

is the point to the entire story. True or not, it's true. I know it's that bad where I live and my county has a lot of animal lovers who are trying our best to stop it. We now have a cheaper spay/neuter program for people who want to take care of their animals but cannot afford it.

Now, my vet offers his time to help out too. He is not exactly known for his outstanding bedside manner with humans OR animals. He gets ribbed about it. He's not cruel. He just has a dry sense of humor that most people do not understand, but he does care and he does see the importance of the spay/neuter programs. Many people would be more apt to take an already spayed or neutered pet than they would if they had to cover a high cost themselves.

I just wish there was a way to explain the compounded form of binary math involved when a pet is turned out without being spayed or neutered. I don't think people really believe it. Lots of pain and suffering could be avoided if people would quit arguing over semantics and get the point.
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schnitzie (3 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 01:36 AM
Response to Reply #77
224. Shelter Shock may make the cats tamer than usual
When I pull cats from the NYCACC (NYC Pound), I take them on an hour-long treck on the subway from upper Manhattan to my home in Brooklyn. No cat that I have ever pulled has made a peep. You'd think the moment I let them out of the carrier at home, they would head for the deepest, darkest corner under the bed STAT!

But they don't. They are so relieved to be out of the loud, smelly, terrifying public shelter...out of a cage, in a quiet, peaceful place, that they are amazingly tame. They are happy and relieved. They let me handle them. They are almost always eager for handling.

When Sweet Pea came out of her carrier, she walked up my body and licked my forehead.

I call it "shelter shock." A dog or cat comes home from the shelter, to a totally new place, and they are unusually serene. You can't really know their true personalities for about 10-14 days.

So I can believe that cats sprung from the shelter could be calm, purry and affectionate in a truck. It may be because they are in shock and terribly disoriented. Maybe the letter is a manufactured bunch of crap, but if it gets us talking about the terrible conditions for animals in shelters, the horrifying numbers gassed or needled every week, and the urgent need for spay-neuter...it's all good.
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TrogL Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #77
265. Cat purring has a healing effect
One of my cat's favourites stunts is to sit on my lap, facing away from me, purring, snarling, hissing and digging her claws into my knees. Once she thinks she's made her point, she stops purring etc., rolls on her back and wants her tummy rubbed and her chin scratched. Then she bites me and runs off.
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CraftyGal (489 posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 04:48 PM
Response to Reply #265
267. TrogL you also fall asleep on the couch when...Updated at 10:28 AM
patches climbs up and purrs. Patches is a purr monster. She purrs walking, sleeping, eating even hissing at Yoda. TrogL says she sends out sleep vibes through purring.

CraftyGal
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HopeFor2006 (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 11:25 PM
Response to Reply #60
204. I have two cats...
And they both like car rides. They climb on my daughters' laps and one likes to curl up on my shoulders while I drive. I guess my cats are the exception?
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Critters2 Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:08 PM
Response to Reply #24
111. The thing that struck me was the description of gassing as "tortuous and slow"
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 02:08 PM by mycritters2
and other references to a painful death. Death by carbon monoxide is fairly slow, but not at all painful. The victim simply falls asleep. This is why people die in their homes of carbon monoxide--they have no idea anything's wrong. They just drift off.

There are other forms of gassing that cause a suffocating sensation (because the victim is suffocating) and are really cruel. And there are the high pressure chambers sometimes used for euthanasia which cause suffering I can't even imagine. But, as forms of euthanasia go, carbon monoxide is a pretty good method.

I also question the feeding of the animals the night before. It is true that they would leave a mess in the chamber if they ate beforehand. I'm assuming he still has to clean this up. And if they've been eating until the night before, they shouldn't be as thin as he describes them.

So, let's just say I'm suspicious. Nonetheless, I am a HUGE advocate of spaying and neutering.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:14 PM
Response to Reply #111
117. Why are you denying that animals are killed every day...
Are you an animal Hitler?

:sarcasm:
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wolfgangmo (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 08:49 PM
Response to Reply #111
200. Carbon monoxide is not always quick and painless.
In fact it can be quite bad. Here are some symptoms.

Headache.
Nausea, vomiting (often seen in children).
Dizziness.
Fatigue.
More severe symptoms may include:

Confusion, drowsiness.
Rapid breathing or pulse rate.
Vision problems.
Chest pain.
Convulsions, seizures.
Loss of consciousness.

Saying that CO poisoning is pretty good is like saying that taking a bullet in the leg is a pretty good way to get shot.
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Xithras (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 09:12 PM
Response to Reply #200
274. Those symptoms typically only occur in low concentrations.
If you have a high concentration of carbon monoxide in your house, you're not going to feel a thing. You're just going to get tired and fall asleep. My town lost an entire family this way a couple of years ago...they had their gas shut off so they pulled their propane BBQ into their house to cook dinner. After they'd eaten, they left the BBQ running for warmth. As far as anyone can tell, they all sat down in front of the TV after eating, were knocked out shortly, and died within an hour or two.

Lots of people kill themselves this way because it's about the most painless and bloodless way to go. The mercy machine used by Jack Kevorkian for people who wanted to euthanize themselves used Carbon Monoxide for this very reason.

The problem with using it for mass euthanasia is clearly described in that letter. First, they crammed the animals into the gas chamber tightly, which reduced the amount of carbon monoxide available per animal. Assuming that the chamber was air tight, it's probable that the animals died of suffocation as they used up the oxygen LONG before the carbon monoxide did them in.

A single animal, or even two or three, in a properly charged gas chamber can be euthanized just as cleanly and painlessly as an injected animal. When you cram dozens in, you're essentially just suffocating them.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:22 PM
Response to Reply #24
125. I've spent more than that on animals that weren't mine
As far as the cats go, it depends on the cat, depends on the person. I can easily believe this, since shelter cats are starved for attention and will be super affectionate no matter what is going on, including driving down the road.

I can take all seven of my cats in the car without a carrier, and none freak out. They might try to mess with your driving, but after a while they simply go to sleep.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:25 PM
Response to Reply #125
131. My two passive chill ragdolls freaked out from Southern Oregon to Canada on a road trip
And they knew each other. Imagine a bunch of cats who don't have a clue who the other is, traveling in a car (some for the first time). It would be a massacre.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #131
139. All cats are different, as are all owners
Some have a better way with animals than others. That's not a judgment, that's just the way things are :shrug:
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #139
141. You are talking about a box full of unfamiliar cats?!?
Come on now.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #141
145. You may not be able to do it, I may not be able to do it
But I know my wife could do it, she has that way with cats. Other people have that way with other animals, including wild ones. Just because you don't have this talent, don't discount the fact that others do.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:43 PM
Response to Reply #145
147. Like Kevin Kostner in Dancing With Wolves
Magical. Your wife should become a lion tamer
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #147
152. No, that would be my friend Charlie down in Springfield
She's a former cop who lost her arm in the line of duty. Went into the rescue of exotic breeds, and she has a real way with them. Back when I lived in the area she had a couple of tame bears, Rusty and Dusty who would play with you, and do anything for a paw full of marshmallows. And yes, she has taken in lions and other big cats, and gets along fine with them.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 04:23 PM
Response to Reply #152
175. Good for her...but...
She doesn't spend her Friday's gassing her beloved creatures, right?
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:41 PM
Response to Reply #139
144. I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that this guy happens to be so good with animals
that he can take bunches of cats who don't know eachother out to his car and drive around with him (and most cats hate motion) while they're all peaceful. He would have to be beyond "good with animals". I think the much more likely scenario is that someone made that up.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:46 PM
Response to Reply #144
148. Possibly, but don't discount the possibility
Like I posted earlier, I regularly ride with my cats in the car, carrier free, and they get along fine. And the motion doesn't bother them at all. In fact if you take a kitten and drive with it, it will generally wind up falling asleep for the same reasons that many human babies do, the purr of the motor and the soothing vibration.

There are people out there who can do amazing things with animals, things that you wouldn't believe unless you saw them. And many of them are attracted to, and work in fields that deal with animals. Other interesting thing is that their people skills generally rank from bad to suck :shrug:
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #148
151. I don't think Dr. Doolittle is working at a shelter in NC
buying cheezburgers for the animals. It's silly.

And yes if you raise a cat from kittenhood in the car it will handle motion better, but he's taking bunches of mostly unrelated cats each week, and different cats each week, and having this experience regularly? It's just bullshit.

I know someone who is amazing with animals and takes in strays and has a kind of special touch with them. She also gets bit and scratched. There is no magic.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:52 PM
Response to Reply #151
154. Generally people who do well with animals gravitate to jobs where they're around animals
And you would be surprised at how many will put out money of their own pocket on a regular basis to do something special for animals.

And while some of the current cats I've had from kittenhood, some I haven't, yet they're all calm.

Oh, and I never said that we don't get bit or scratched. But we can still do amazing things with animals.
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:53 PM
Response to Reply #154
155. Also, people who are that good with animals generally know how to treat them
in the way that makes the animals less likely to freak out.

Which would not include putting bunches of mostly unrelated cats in a car together and driving around.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 04:07 PM
Response to Reply #154
170. Gravitate?
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 04:18 PM by Oregone
The article said they worked for years with the city and ended up there. There wasn't good paying jobs besides it, according to the letter. Gravitate would suggest they were seeking and attracted to working with animals. The letter rather suggests they gravitated to city jobs (good paying). I think you are stretching it a bit.

The magical Zen like animal handler approach you are taking is making this whole thing silly. This guy is magical and holier than Schindler, except he kills them in the end.
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LisaL (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 08:22 PM
Response to Reply #144
196. He is describing the situation where the cats which are pregnant
so apparently not spayed or neutered are being dumped out on the street. If that story is true, is that really a good thing to do?
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LisaL (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 08:17 PM
Response to Reply #24
195. I have to say my cats are not feral, but they for sure would not
be purring if someone was driving them somewhere. They'd be freaking out.
As for spending 50 $ each week on hamburgers for dogs-that would be 200 $ a month. How much does an animal control officer makes to be able to blow that kind of money?
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Art_from_Ark (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 03:35 AM
Response to Reply #195
231. Apparently he shares the expense with his friend
"Thursday night, late, after nobody's around, my friend and I go through a fast food line, and buy 50 dollars worth of cheeseburgers and fries, and chicken."
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uppityperson Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 01:08 PM
Response to Reply #15
26. "Spay" they are spayed, not spade. Spade is a type of shovel
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greguganus (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 03:00 PM
Response to Reply #26
158. ...and a card suit. n/t
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uppityperson Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Thu Nov-13-08 03:08 PM
Response to Reply #158
161. I just had a thought. Make a deck of cards with pet things on it.
Spades=spayed
Hearts=wagging tails/purring cats?
Diamonds=?
Clubs=?
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adigal (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #15
29. This happens every single day, it is not considered animal cruelty
Why don't you call the shelter in GAston, North Carolina, and ask them how many healthy young adoptable dogs and puppies they kill every month in their gas chamber? It is 600 to 800 each month, and they cram them in. They are defending their actions, saying it is legal.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:17 PM
Response to Reply #29
35. LOL. Not believing a letter's authenticity doesn't mean I don't believe animals are gassed
Damn, I can pen a great letter about a first-hand account of the Holocaust for you to peruse if you so desire, and it'll make you cry, but the existence of the Holocaust isn't going to lend credence to a letter someone wrote who was born in the 1970's
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AlbertCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Donate to DU! Fri Nov-14-08 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #35
264. Give it up Oregone!
Emotions have entered and thus all logic has exited. You are of course being perfectly clear in that you agree with the letter's "agenda" but that the letter ITSELF seems unconvincing. Too Hollywood.

But your detractors are not even reading what you write anymore. They're on an emotional crusade!
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JanMichael (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #15
82. So what if you don't? Who cares? The point is that the practice
is cruel and inhumane.

Your opinion on the literal truth of this email matters little, if at all. If you don't care, then don't write or call. Simple.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 01:56 PM
Response to Reply #82
93. "If you don't care, then don't write or call."
Who said I didn't care? Hell, I have animals from rescue shelters. Of course I care. I don't need a fake soppy letter to remind me I have a soul though.
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JanMichael (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:01 PM
Response to Reply #93
105. some people do need to be reminded
why are you even on this thread, seriously. All are you doing is spreading more negativity, and that is damn hard, considering the subject matter. I suppose you should congratulate yourself for that matter.
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:10 PM
Response to Reply #105
113. I should congratulate myself?
:applause: :woohoo:

Look, I just don't like people being moved and manipulated by fiction posing as fact. Religion is fiction. The Iraq war is fiction. Maybe I think when people sit around practicing a belief in one fiction, it makes another a whole lot easier to swallow. I value a society that values truth.

Sorry to rain on your pity parade. Next time Ill just pass a tissue, no matter how ridiculous the OP may be.
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JanMichael (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:24 PM
Response to Reply #113
129. that would be preferable.
this is a thread about getting people to take action. So you don't need the sob story--- great! Ducky for you! Go read another thread! or pass around hankies and stay, read replies and annoy yourself!
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LanternWaste (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 12:23 PM
Response to Reply #113
256. Edit: Forget it
Edited on Fri Nov-14-08 12:40 PM by LanternWaste
Edit: Forget it, not worth the response, but worth the edit...
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dawgmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 01:27 PM
Response to Reply #113
262. Well said n/t
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:19 PM
Response to Reply #15
121. Having been there, done that, I can easily believe it
I didn't have the space in time to get special food for the animals I put down, nor much time to pay attention to them. We didn't euth ours all on one day, not during the summer. Too many came in, we euthed as we went. However I did make sure that I gave some sort of little treat, and some personalized attention to each and every animal I put down.

As far as apathy in this situation, yes, while you're doing it. When you get off the clock though, you go to hell.

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rvablue (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #15
156. You are wrong in your assumption this is fake:
I have personal experience with an animal control officer whose job it was to euthenize dogs and cats that were unadopted.

I was a reporter at a small newspaper and part of my job was to type up listings of animals up for adoption. Included in those weekly reports were the number of animals found and the number euthenized .... a huge number every week that caught my eye.

I called up animal control, thinking I would do a story on it, so that people could see the results of not getting your pets neutured. So I called, talked to the officer whose gruesome task it was to put these animals to sleep, he answered my factual questions and that was it. I had to call back to get some more info to fill the story out and that is when this guy let all of his emotions come out.

He said, I was the first person to really ask him detailed questions about what he did. That this "dirty work" followed him everywhere and invaded his dreams. That he felt so guilty about what he did but that someone had to do and he asked me to please write about the toll this was taking on him as a young man who had not yet married or had kids and was losing faith quick about the sanctity of life.

It left me in tears afterward.....

So, this letter may not be a description of what this animal control officer does each and every Thursday, but can you imagine having to kill walking, breathing, wagging, snuggling life EVERY SINGLE WEEK b/c people are too stupid or too lazy to get their dogs fixed.

If you think this is fake, you might ask your local animal control if you can bear witness the day they euthenize the dogs they can no longer house.....and you will see, finally, what these people and poor innocent dogs go through.
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Blue Diadem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 03:17 PM
Response to Reply #156
162. Thank you rvablue. I know of a young woman who had a story
written about her in our paper too. She was the one who took the animals to their deaths as well. She spoke about how hard it was and how it bothered her but yet she wanted to be the one there to make sure that those animals got one last bit of love and tenderness before their death. The deaths were by injection, I can't imagine the horror of a gas chamber.

I often think about her and wonder how she's doing, if she's gone on to other work, ever married or had children. She was only about 20 when the story was written 10 or so years ago. She's also the younger sister of my oldest son's childhood friend from elementary school.
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rvablue (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 03:21 PM
Response to Reply #162
164. Thanks.....your experience too, gives credence to this post...it makes me sad so many "dont' buy it"
Everyone knows how many animals are put to sleep.

Do they really think that it doesn't spiritually bother those who have to do it.


And I don't know if you saw the "why don't they just change jobs?" post......oy....wouldn't think that you'd see such ignorance on DU, frankly............

One can only hope that this letter writer, the young man I knew and the young lady you knew have found peace and realized within themselves that they were angels not killers....so sad!
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Oregone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-13-08 05:00 PM
Response to Reply #156
181. You are wrong to assume that I think the euthanasia is fake...
Edited on Thu Nov-13-08 05:01 PM by Oregone
Rather, it is this letter that is fake. Your anecdotes don't make this letter authentic.

The holocaust happened, but me penning first hand accounts of them doesn't make those account real. But I could still make you cry.
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yardwork (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 12:39 AM
Response to Reply #15
214. I've seen this exact same letter many times before on the internet.
If it is a genuine letter, it was not written recently. It's been making the rounds for at least a few years.

I'm not suggesting that the events described aren't true. I'm just saying that I've seen this letter, word for word, many times before over the past several years.
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alphafemale Donating Member (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 07:10 AM
Response to Reply #15
236. Yeah. There were lots of implausibles in that story. The Biggie?...Carbon Monoxide is odorless.
The blood-letting and burger binge were a tad over the top too.

This reads like it was written by a teen girl who's heart is in the right place, but doesn't have enough life experience to make the tale believable.

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Leftist Agitator (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #15
246. It is DEFINITELY a spay/neuter advocate.
The fucking retard writes repeatedly about the smell of the "Carbon Monoxide", which is of course odorless.

That, and the touching sentimentality is a dead giveaway that this is bullshit.

No one who would pen such an apparently heartfelt missive would remain in that occupation.

No one.

How anyone could believe this drivel is beyond me...
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bitchkitty (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sat Nov-15-08 01:40 AM
Response to Reply #246
277. Carbon Monoxide is odorless, but
you don't know what has been done to generate the gas. Does car exhaust smell? Damned right it does. You don't know that they use tanks of pure carbon monoxide. It would probably be cheaper to use a generator that burns gasoline or other fuel - it would not surprise me if this is the case.
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gorfle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 12:05 PM
Response to Reply #15
252. I agree.
I also don't see a minimum-wage dog gasser spending $100 a month on fast food for dogs.
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gollygee (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Fri Nov-14-08 12:19 PM
Response to Reply #252