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

[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.

[e-mail]

This is in or around NC

[DS1]

1. wow

[adigal]

115. I get these euthanasia lists every day...at least these shelters

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

[amdezurik]

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.

[rubberducky]

3. O.M.G.

[Sabriel]

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.

[adigal]

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.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

211. you need a sponsor, and you need a draft of a bill

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.

[a la izquierda]

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.

[elocs]

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.

[dipsydoodle]

6. Fuck

Just fuck. The mere thought of that upsets me.

[adigal]

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?

[dipsydoodle]

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.

[adigal]

18. Well, put on an American accent, don't tell them you are

English. I am with you on animals.

[MonteLukast]

94. Have you got friends or family in NC?

Try them first.

[Auggie]

8. Recommended

[dweller]

9. ...

dp

[crispini]

10. Damn. I couldn't finish reading that.

[smokey nj]

118. I couldn't either, crying too hard.

[hobbit709]

12. I don't cry easily

but I'm trying to type this by feel because I can't see.

[adigal]

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.

[AndyA]

13. I'm speechless. n/m

[Oregone]

15. I really don't buy this at all

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.

[adigal]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[adigal]

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.

[Oregone]

51. Why are you confusing my denial of the letter's authenticity with a denial these things happen?

Do you not understand the difference?

[motocicleta]

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.

[Sequoia]

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.

[frogcycle]

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.

[LynzM]

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?

[bitchkitty]

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...

[gollygee]

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.

[adigal]

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.

[gollygee]

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.

[adigal]

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.

[gollygee]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[adigal]

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

[Oregone]

56. Yes, but by the person who penned this letter?

Probably not. That was what I am suggesting. Who is being ridiculous here?

[Pithlet]

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.

[MadHound]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[MadHound]

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.

[Name removed]

193. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TaranAlvein]

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.

[Oregone]

42. You are correct, the cats were a major red flag...

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.

[RichardRay]

57. Do you know why cats purr?

Do you think it's always because of pleasure?

Hint - It isn't.

[gollygee]

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.

[RichardRay]

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.

[gollygee]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[Jamastiene]

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.

[schnitzie]

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.

[TrogL]

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.

[CraftyGal]

267. TrogL you also fall asleep on the couch when...

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

[HopeFor2006]

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?

[Critters2]

111. The thing that struck me was the description of gassing as "tortuous and slow"

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.

[Oregone]

117. Why are you denying that animals are killed every day...

Are you an animal Hitler?

[wolfgangmo]

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.

[Xithras]

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.

[MadHound]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[MadHound]

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

[Oregone]

141. You are talking about a box full of unfamiliar cats?!?

Come on now.

[MadHound]

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.

[Oregone]

147. Like Kevin Kostner in Dancing With Wolves

Magical. Your wife should become a lion tamer

[MadHound]

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.

[Oregone]

175. Good for her...but...

She doesn't spend her Friday's gassing her beloved creatures, right?

[gollygee]

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.

[MadHound]

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

[gollygee]

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.

[MadHound]

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.

[gollygee]

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.

[Oregone]

170. Gravitate?

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.

[LisaL]

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?

[LisaL]

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?

[Art_from_Ark]

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."

[uppityperson]

26. "Spay" they are spayed, not spade. Spade is a type of shovel

[greguganus]

158. ...and a card suit. n/t

[uppityperson]

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=?

[adigal]

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.

[Oregone]

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

[AlbertCat]

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!

[JanMichael]

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.

[Oregone]

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.

[JanMichael]

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.

[Oregone]

113. I should congratulate myself?

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.

[JanMichael]

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!

[LanternWaste]

256. Edit: Forget it

Edit: Forget it, not worth the response, but worth the edit...

[dawgmom]

262. Well said n/t

[MadHound]

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.

[rvablue]

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.

[Blue Diadem]

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.

[rvablue]

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!

[Oregone]

181. You are wrong to assume that I think the euthanasia is fake...

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.

[yardwork]

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.

[alphafemale]

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.

[Leftist Agitator]

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...

[bitchkitty]

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.

[gorfle]

252. I agree.

I also don't see a minimum-wage dog gasser spending $100 a month on fast food for dogs.

[gollygee]

254. $200 a month

$50 a week = $200 most months, $250 occasionally.

At least I spend $25 a week for my daughter's piano lessons and it generally ends up being $100 a month. I am bad at math but I have that part down. LOL.

[rug]

280. I don't care if the letter is true or not. I'm renaming my dog Oregone. He shits all over the place.

[mike_c]

17. oh shit I'm sitting at my desk crying like a baby....

[wroberts189]

19. Jeebus.. you are not a monster your are a hero ..ending a life humanly as possible

When there are no other options.


I could not do what you do... we need people like you. Strong enough to handle it.

I seriously doubt anyone hates you here.

[adigal]

22. No, I don't do this...I live in NY and rescue southern dogs,

this is a letter from someone who lives in NC and does this.

[Reeta77]

21. How awful!

Didn't want to finish reading it, but felt compelled to. Wow...

[leftchick]

23. is there a link for the actual legislation?

so we can support it in our districts? Thank you so much for what you do. When my health is better I hope to rescue as many animals as I can.

[adigal]

25. I put a link in the original post...it has the main page for

the NC legislators. If we would all write, and spread this to people we know, it might help the law get changed.

[MadHound]

28. I thought that I had it bad

I know where this man comes from, for I've walked in his shoes. Twenty years ago it was I who was putting animals to death, sweet, loving dogs and cats. No, not in a gas chamber, I did it with a needle. This may seem humane, but really, in many ways it wasn't for you see, I wasn't a vet, just a guy trying to earn a bit of extra money. Dog after dog, cat after cat, day in, day out, it broke my heart. After three months I couldn't take it anymore and quit.

I've worked in shelters since, no kills, and in vet offices, and I adapt virtually any animal that shows up at my door(currently three dogs and seven cats, yes, they're all well taken care of). Most of the time I can forget what I've did, and when I do remember, I pray that I've atoned for what I've done.

Please people, spay and neuter your pets. And if you find some animal, if you can't take them in yourself, find somebody who can. If you can't find somebody who can, take them to your local no kill shelter or failing that, check with your local vets, they can help in adaption. While the Humane Society is a great institution, the fact that it's a kill shelter definitely should make it the last choice in the book.

Thanks, I'm going to give some extra love to all my animal friends tonight for this, and try to square my soul with what I've done.

[adigal]

37. An argument for the gas chamber is that it is easier on the people

who have to do it. You don't have to atone for what you did - the people who don't spay and neuter, and those who just dump their dogs and puppies at the kill shelter are the ones who have to atone. And they don't usually care.

Thank you for the excellent advice you gave in your post.

[bunnies]

31. Geezus!!!

I didnt even realize places actually used gas on animals! This is absolutely horrific!

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Duppers]

34. ### Folks, donate money to no-kill shelters ###

Don't buy pets from pet stores.

Adopt, adopt, adopt.

See a deserted animal along side of the road, take it in, find it a permanent home if you cannot keep it.

Send the OP letter out to friends and family.

[RT Atlanta]

36. God bless that man

for trying to bring some warmth into the dark places of the shelter animals' lives. This job is going to kill this person and I hope he can find a way out.

[MonteLukast]

38. What?! They don't inject them first?

They don't even sedate them before the gas chamber?



It wasn't that way at ALL when I volunteered at the Aurora Animal Shelter in high school. I remember being in the "treatment room", at the instructions to give each animal a dose of acepromazine to sedate them before giving them the lethal injection-- the "Fatal Plus", the same thing they give when they're putting your dying pet to sleep. They never put any animal that wasn't already dead into the crematorium... and they NEVER euthanized in any other matter!



If this shelter does nothing else, at least make sure the animals go without suffering and without consciousness. Why doesn't this shelter in NC use lethal injection (with prior sedation) instead of gassing? Not enough money?

[adigal]

45. They don't give them lethal injection, they throw them in the gas chambers

Lethal injection is too expensive.

[MonteLukast]

63. So that's another instance of "two Americas", then...

The rich counties and cities get the painless death. The poor places suffer.

Any Denver metro shelter would have the good stuff-- I guess the rural areas still gas?

Barbiturate is among the cheapest drugs on the market, for humans at least. (Hell, even if you still gas, acepromazine and related phenothiazines have been around for decades and are dirt cheap.) Is this a pharmaceutical brand issue? How about generic euthanasia solution?

On the other end, how about a law mandating painless death for shelter animals? Coupled, of course, with affordable injection production?

[jeepnstein]

52. Many pounds...

still use carbon monoxide instead of a far more humane injection. The box he's referring to is the kill box that's pumped full of carbon monoxide. Any pound that is using CO is definitely not going to spend the money to cremate the remains. It's far more likely that they just stuff them in garbage bags and toss them in a dumpster.

I know a guy who had to work in such a pound. It made him a real wreck. He'd call me all the time begging me to take this or that dog so he didn't have to put them down. He got fired for putting the dogs down with a single gunshot to the head rather than torturing them in the CO box. Until you hear the racket that happens when you stuff a bunch of dogs in a box and suffocate them with CO, well, you just have no idea. That pound now uses lethal injection and it's every bit as emotionally draining as the letter describes.

[MonteLukast]

88. And how long do the animals spend in there...

... suffering until they die?

God, even the Nazis decided that carbon monoxide gassing took too long, so they moved on to... faster-acting substances.

Sorry for the loaded example there, but my point is you also have to think of length of time before death.

I think the main reason people fear plane crashes more than car crashes, even though statistically you're far more likely to die in a car accident, is the minute or so left in the air when you know you're going to die. If you die (or get seriously hurt) in a car accident, it usually happens too suddenly for you to be conscious of it. It's the consciousness that's the torture.

I'm so glad that shelter went to lethal injections. Even so, do they sedate before the kill? How much more expensive were the injections?

[truedelphi]

209. People forget that this cruelty not only affects the animals but also the poor human

Souls who are in need of work and end up with this as their "career"

It makes me weep for all involved.

[obiwan]

40. That's a sad story. But if you hate it, don't do it.

To the author:

There are other jobs where you don't have to be responsible for killing things. But although I empathize with you, good pay is no reason to compromise your moral standards. Sure, I feel sorry for you, but you are doing what you do by choice, for the money. You are right, you are going to hell, and I don't sympathize with you on that. But remember, it's YOUR CHOICE.

BTW, I have a cat and I take good care of him. And he's neutered.

[racaulk]

50. I'm from a small town in central NC, just like the man in the OP.

Saying you can find another job, and actually doing it, are two totally different things. The area is VERY poor, and the jobs just aren't there to be had, especially if all you have is a high school diploma. I wish this man could find another job too, but I doubt he has many options, especially if he is supporting a family.

And that is indicative of the larger economic problems we face.

Besides, if he refused to do the job and quit, I'm sure 10 others would like up to take his place. So the larger problem of animal overpopulation would still be there.

[adigal]

53. Another person would just do the job, you are right

The problem is in the spay/neuter laws, or lack of them in many southern states.

[LisaL]

197. It's a very poor area, and yet the author claims

he spends 50 $ on Thursdays (which would make it 200 $ a month) to buy hamburgers for dogs.

[racaulk]

41. This man must live a sad and tortured life that is beyond my worst nightmares.

And the worst part is that every bit of this is very easily preventable.

Spay and neuter your pets.

My partner and I have two dogs and three cats (all spayed and neutered), and I'm going to give them all some extra love tonight.

[Hubert Flottz]

44. I'm a tough hateful old man of the world and I have to confess...

That brought the tears.

I love my pound pup and if I could afford to and I had room for them, I'd bring them all home.

[adigal]

48. These dogs are due to be gassed tomorrow in the Coweta, GA area

http://www.shelterrescue.org/id1.html

I am trying to get them out with a Yahoo group called the Coweta Kids, who try to save the cats and dogs from this "shelter."

[TuxedoKat]

54. Wow.

This is among the saddest posts I've ever read here at DU. I'm just speechless. I'm sorry you are living this nightmare. I knew this kind of thing went on which is why I donate to alot of animal organizations. I always spay the stray cats that show up around my house and find homes for them. Is there a local group in your area that is fighting for no-kill and spay and neuter laws that we could help?

[adigal]

62. This is from a man in NC, I run a NY rescue group

but I put a link to the dogs in Coweta, GA who will die in the morning without rescue.

[TuxedoKat]

72. Ok.

Sorry, was a little confused. What part of NY? I'm in NY state too and support a local group.

[adigal]

75. I am up about an hour past Albany, NY

I bring up dogs and pups from SC, NC, GA and TEnnessee.

[mimitabby]

55. i'm not sure this is real either

he lets cats GO? For some, this is less humane than being PTS! Not all cats have ever had to eke out a life on the street. They starve to death, etc, etc.

[Oregone]

59. Mine would die in no time...

They have no defense instincts. My adoption contract from the shelter states I can never, ever let them outside.

I think its more unbelievable that you can drive around with a box full of cats (who aren't good buddies) without utter chaos and bloodshed breaking out.

[greguganus]

160. Why the 2nd paragraph? You have constantly let us know you don't believe the letter. Geesh. n/t

[AuntPatsy]

58. So very sad, so horrific but if I could talk to this young man, I would let him know

there is no way that he would ever be going to hell, if such exists I have come to the conclusion that hell is right here on earth and it is while you live that you experience it....I not only feel for those poor cats and dogs but I also feel for that young man...

[eowyn_of_rohan]

61. Horrifying, and something the rest of us never allow ourselves to think about

I'll never forget this one...

[123infinity]

64. That's hard to think about but it's the same story everywhere.

Just 12 hours ago, I was awakened by some dog-fighting noises. Not our dogs but a stray (correction: a former pet that someone brought out here to the country to dump assuming somebody would adopt it - almost everyone around here has as many as we can afford to keep and there is no animal control department in this county) this stray had gotten into our neighbor's yard and was apparently attempting to mate with one of his 5 dogs. He shot it. That's what happens to most of the ones who don't starve or become roadkill out here. We have spayed and neutered all of our (four) doggies and one cat but a lot of people cannot or will not spend the money to have that done. I think we (taxpayers) would come out way ahead if we would just mandate the procedure and provide it for free. Killing hundreds of thousands of innocent animals every month is not only horrific, it's damnably expensive.

[adigal]

What state are you in? In NY, VT, Mass., NH, there are

free or low cost spay/neuter clinics. Upstate Animal Rescue in Anderson, South Carolina is trying to raise money for a low cost mobile spay and neuter clinic.

[pop goes the weasel]

206. pet dumping is so cruel

Asshats from the city, congratulating themselves on what nice people they are to give the pet they can no longer care for a second chance, dump them in rural areas where they will be eaten by coyotes and cougars, killed by stockowners, or rounded up by underfunded animal control to be killed exactly like this guy describes. And the city people have the nerve to look down their noses at the cruelty of rural people.

[LisaL]

208. Exactly.

This person is describing how he supposedly takes pregnant cats and kittens (presumably non spayed or neutered) and then dumps these cats and kittens. So, if this person actually doing it, he is contributing to the same problem he claims to be against-over population of animals because they are not spayed or neutered. Seriously, people here think that's a good thing to do? Jeez.

[pop goes the weasel]

218. Actually

Not that I agree with dumping the cats, but I think it's a different thing to know that you will be personally responsible for killing dozens of animals, thousands in just a year, and try to surreptiously spring a boxful of them once a week in a desperate attempt to save your own sanity, and taking your one animal down some dirt road because you are too fucking irresponsible and/or cowardly to take it to a humane-kill or no-kill shelter or pay your vet to do it. So, I feel sorry for the guy, and understand his behavior. But the original pet owners whose negligence has led to the horrific destruction of their pets and this man's psyche? They need to grow up and take responsibility.

[LisaL]

222. Oh right. So this person supposedly dumps

pregnant cats or kittens outside, and that is somehow a good thing? Animal control officer who supposedly dumps pregnant cats (hello, pregnant= non-spayed), thus contributing to the same problem he is fighting against.

[Greyhound]

65. Kicking for exposure.

That's all I can do right now.

Whether this letter is authentic or not is irrelevant and those trying to deny it are simply diverting attention away from the reality.

Support and vote for mandatory spay/neuter laws.

Boycott AKC and it's sponsors.

Get your pets from rescue agencies and pounds.

[adigal]

69. Amen!! You can get purebred dogs and young pups from rescues

Right now, I have some pure labs, just brought up a pure chocolate lab boy, around 2 years old. He was dumped at the kill shelter. A pure lab is on the list right now for death in Coweta, GA tomorrow morning.

[Catherine Vincent]

66. So sad. :(

[Midlodemocrat]

67. My God, this is so sad. I'm weeping over here.

Is that his email address? The yahoo one?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

68. I think the ones here who don't "buy it"

just don't want to believe it's true. Too much pain involved. The ostrich syndrome.

[gollygee]

70. Honestly no

I do believe that animals are gassed like that, and it's horrific, and that animals are kept in terrible conditions. I believe that 100%. I also believe it's terribly hard on the people who work at shelters.

I just don't believe this particular guy's story, and I'm surprised so many other people do.

[Greyhound]

80. What possible difference does that make? n/t

[gollygee]

83. What possible difference does what make?

[Greyhound]

128. Whether or not the letter is authentic. n/t

[gollygee]

136. I like things to be truthful

I like to know when I'm reading something in the first person, that it really was written by that person and that what is in it is true. And then I'm sometimes surprised, as in this case, that other people believe that the letter is authentic.

But if it accomplishes it's goal and gets more attention, then it's worth it. I just posted here because I was amazed that so many people believed it is authentic. And I hope there aren't any people who don't spay and neuter on DU. Though I suppose there probably are.

If you are reading, people at DU who don't spay and neuter your pets, it doesn't cost that much, it makes your animal happier and healthier, it helps control the problem of overpopulation, and there are places that will help with the cost anyway. Please tell me you don't need a phony letter to spay or neuter your pet.

[hfojvt]

143. things can be made up and I am fine with that

but they should be accurate. The problem is that the inaccuracies (such as how painful it is to die by CO poisoning) cast doubt on the parts that are more truthful - of abandoned animals being put to death. To those who can see that part of it is B.S. it makes the whole thing look like B.S.

[gollygee]

146. Exactly

For some reason it feels even more frustrating to agree with the cause and see something so phony than when I see some phony letter or story and I don't agree with the cause.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

174. I also ask - what difference does it make?

Whether this is a non-fictional account of one individual's feelings and experiences, or a fictional account - it is undoubtedly a composite of multiple people's feelings and experiences, who have to carry out the dreadful task of euthanizing unwanted animals.

Instead of finding fault with it, why not learn from it?

[Oregone]

177. Oh, you can definately learn from it

But being dishonest makes you start off on the wrong foot. If it was labeled dramatization or a short story based on experiences, etc, hell, I would of never bitched in the first place. It is, despite being a tad melodramatic, effectively written.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

179. You don't even know it IS dishonest

you are only assuming it is.

[Oregone]

91. Well, if this were a novel, it wouldn't be in the Non-fiction isle...

And probably the fiction one, next to the werewolf novels.

Ok, some people may appreciate the emotion link this letter manufactures and ties to animal shelters. But some may find it to be a non-genuine and a silly attempt to raise awareness (but I guess if it raises any, then it is a positive attempt).

Look, most people who are against what happens at shelters are already emotional about it. They don't necessarily need a fake letter to make them shed more tears about this process. If people don't already cry about animals being gassed, I got to wonder if this type of approach will work in the first place.

[KoKo]

189. Just remember Charles Dickens did wonders in his stories for Child Labor Laws

and bringing attention to the poor who were victimized by the very wealthy. So whether the person is "real" or not. He is a character that is bringing attention to a problem that needs to be addressed.

Without Dickens hyperbole over disastrous conditions many more children and others would have suffered longer under horrible working conditions and dying in squalid conditions in the "Poor Houses."

Sometimes it takes a clever way with a pen to describe the "true agonies" from the perspective of the "victim" to get through to the average person.

That's what I take out of this. Something needs to be done, immediately! And how does one get attention to the enormous problem?

[Oregone]

79. How do you figure?

Because the pain/experience I am questioning is the author's (not the animals'). Why would I care too much about the gas guy's pain? That wouldn't lead me to deny the letters authenticity.

No one is denying the pain and suffering animals endure in this process in general. But this letter isn't about general education. It is supposed to be a first hand account of specific experiences.

[Evoman]

89. No, it's not that....many of the details are not congruent with reality.

Besides, many of us have seen worse than this anyways....and have heard worse REAL life stories.

[Dark]

212. I don't buy it.

What other posters pointed out (the cat thing, etc.) and the skill of writing. Someone with that talented writing who's working at probably the worst level of jobs (he even admits its condemned him to hell)? He can't get a job ANYWHERE else?

Also, why hasn't he told the local media. An anonymous tip (and in this day and age you can be anonymous i.e. gmail them) to a local reporter would instantly gurantee that even if they don't get the story, the place will be shaken up and bettered.

The writer's smart enough to be that eloquent in writing an email but can't work a gmail account?

Sorry, it's not real.

At least not the letter. I bet those people have trouble sleeping at night.

[kestrel91316]

71. The only thing odd about this story is the repeated mention of how

bad carbon monoxide smells, when in fact it is odorless (which is why CO leaks are so dangerous).

Whether it's true or not, it's a good story with a good point.

One of the many reasons we are opposed to Schwarzenegger's plan to tax veterinary medical services in CA is that it will result in many more euthanasias, and much more overcrowding in pounds. The psychological impact ot euthanizing animals en masse every day on pound employees is often overlooked, but it's a very real problem. It's hard enough to do them individually in my office.

[adigal]

78. I thought that too, but they may put an odor into it, like they do

with natural gas, so you can smell when it is leaking. Natural gas is odorless in its natural state, also.

[MonteLukast]

102. Maybe they add an odorant

Like they do with natural gas, to warn people of a toxic gas in the area.

It would make sense to add odorant to CO specifically intended for euthanasia. It might even be the law.

[adigal]

73. Please adopt...a pure lab is on the gas chamber list for tomorrow

morning in Coweta Georgia. He is beautiful, and dogs like this get gassed every day.

http://www.shelterrescue.org/id1.html

[greguganus]

74. I know several irresponsible assholes that won't spay or neuter their pets. I've got 3 rescued dogs

and I had all 3 neutered not long after I got them, even though I only take them out on leads. Spaying and neutering should be a law if you are not a registered breeder. I live in a small town in central North Carolina also. I may be in the county this guy works in. I will never complain about my job again.
I believe animals have souls and they do go to heaven. How could such loyal loving creatures not have a soul? This story brings tears to my eyes.
I donate to local private rescue groups and donate monthly to the NSPCA in honor of Buddy, Shadow, and Jake, and in memory of Charlie, Buttons, Spot, and Oreo, who I hope to see again some day.

On Edit: Thank you for the links. I'm going to get busy using them right now.

[Blue_Tires]

76. well that was a tough read...

[Evoman]

86. Although sad, this letter was not really written by an Animal Control officer.

However, that being said, the circumstances are real enough and it addresses a real issue. It's like a play or novel...the message is what's important.

It's just a tad too melodramatic though.

I've volunteered at animal shelters before, and you have to be really careful when you take more than 1 or two dogs out of their kennels at a time. Some dogs (read: many shelter dogs) do not play well with others.

[adigal]

90. Actually, the dogs who don't get along with the others get put down

right away, deemed as unadoptable, if they are owner surrenders.

[MonteLukast]

92. They don't do that with *all* owner surrenders, do they?

What about the better-tempered ones who are turned in because a new baby's in the house, or because they're not cute puppies any more?

[adigal]

98. I know it is hard to believe, but most southern shelters

kill those puppies, even when they are cute puppies. The adults have almost no chance to get out. Really, it is unbelievable, but it is the reality in the south. Too many dogs/puppies, no adopters.

[MonteLukast]

107. Another effect of "right to work" laws, maybe?

So many things can be tied together. "Right to work" states, like most in the South, tend to be stingy all over.

To think that this could've been a possible effect in Colorado if Amendment 47 had passed-- no more humane euthanasia, to contain costs.

[Evoman]

99. At the shelters I volunteered, the surrenders were kept in another part of the shelter

until is was ascertained whether or not the dogs were adoptable. They need to be kept isolated until their health was checked, and to see how they responded to new people and other dogs.

[lukasahero]

263. The problem is lack of "no kill" shelters in the south

Many dogs get rescued from southern shelters because they don't have a no-kill policy. Those dogs get sent up north for adoption. We get them here in MA in droves.

[Evoman]

95. Not all the shelters I volunteered at.

They are still adoptable....the shelter would just make sure that the owner didn't have other pets before adopting the dog. Or else they would bring their dogs from home to "test" how the dogs got along.

[adigal]

100. What state did you work in? In NY, the northeast, it is

a different story than the southern shelters. 90% of them are high kill, no matter what.

[Evoman]

104. Canadian shelters. I'm Canadian.

[adigal]

110. Yes, well, Canada is more humane...you even have health insurance,

you know???

[Oregone]

119. And we are supposed to trust you now?

You guys are so sneaky. You even look just like us!

[Evoman]

126. Someday, I will have to write a some-what true story about our American-Citizen shelters.

The conditions in which we keep our American Citizens before we adopt them or eat them are heinous. Apparently, Canadians don't even care that many americans show signs of being self-aware and concious. When I take them cheeseburgers and they thank me by trying to shake my hand, people accuse me of anthropormorphizing them.

[Oregone]

138. LOL. I can back that up.

Im being tortured in Victoria right now, with few cheeseburgers to show for it. We are hoping that a nice Canadian couple will feel sorry for us (preferably someone living in Rockland or the Uplands) and take us in. In the meantime, Im doomed to a life of begging for treats on the street with a guitar in hand.

[Evoman]

140. This is why I am for spaying and neutering american-citizens.

We wouldn't have cases like yours if people controlled their american-citizens. You should be in a happy, loving home...not out on the streets, having litters of other american-citizens that will be unsocialized and unadoptable by the time we get them in the shelters.

[Oregone]

149. Oh, why don't you just go pin prick yourself already

If only we were spayed and neutered. Soon we will burden Canadian society with another small American on their dime. I can only hope for more cheeseburgers and frolicking

Only God and the Canadian Carbon Monoxide guy knows our pain.

[adigal]

101. What state did you work in? In NY, the northeast, it is

a different story than the southern shelters. 90% of them are high kill, no matter what.

[Oregone]

108. By mentioning cats purring and dogs getting along...

As well as dogs trying to understand (anthropomorphism), the author is attempting to convey an idea of an innocent, pure soul being tragically killed (whereas his boss, the human, is a terrible impure soul ordering the killing). Its a decent technique, though I agree that the tone is incredibly melodramatic.

I would believe that the dogs could get along before the cats (though its all tough to swallow).

[Evoman]

114. I don't like being emotionally manipulated....unless I do so willingly.

When I read a story, I subject myself to some emotional manipulation. However, I don't really like stuff that isn't true that pretends it's true. I can appreciate the message, and I can understand why it was written, but I nevertheless find myself a little peeved by the attempt to manipulate me.

It's just the way I am, I guess. It's why I love snopes so damn much.

[adigal]

123. You are assuming you are being manipulated - you don't know that

So why do you continue on this thread, since you don't like the so-called manipulation?

[Evoman]

127. I'm bored and I feel like talking to people.

And this thread interests me.

[Oregone]

124. Exactly...

Now I love fiction in most all its forms, but most of it (except for occasional Oprah's Book Club picks) doesn't masquerade on the non-fiction shelves. This is doing that, while trying to poach on my delicate emotional feeling, of which, I have none left.

[Evoman]

157. I'm just suprised by the amount of people with broken Skeptic Meters.

I mean, people will believe ANYTHING that is written. That's why there is so much bs and glurge floating around on the internets.

[Oregone]

172. Well, people also value being emotionally move

And probably wouldn't give a damn if it were true or fake. Look at the silly season of politics. One thing after another, based on crap stories. People want their heartstrings pulled I think. But for every approach like this that promotes a good cause, there are a handful that promote hatred. I abhor the entire practice.

[IndianaJones]

96. authentic or not, this story is heartbreaking. nt.

[Evoman]

103. True dat.

[benld74]

97. YES I AM CRYING

[underseasurveyor]

106. I'm glad somebody finally wrote that which must be told in graphic detail.

[MonteLukast]

109. My current kitty was a stray who adopted me...

... and when I took her to the vet, I found she'd already been spayed!

It's growing more common to automatically spay and neuter animals that come to shelters. They always did automatically do so upon adoption, but the "pre-emptive sterilization" is growing in popularity.

So maybe she could've been a shelter denizen who'd been "rescued" by someone like the OP?

[Lorien]

225. Personally I think spaying a neutering all pets ought to be the law

let certified, inspected breeders be the only ones who are exempt. There will STILL be millions of unwanted feral pets born, but maybe not tens of millions. We've got to start somewhere. As someone who has done pet rescue I can tell you; the situation is out of control. Irresponsible pet owners seem to outnumber the rest of us by a significant amount.

[Yukari Yakumo]

112. Sorry, but the alternative is... what?

If he didn't realize this was a part of the job description, just what did he think he was getting into?

Clearly a case of "hidden agenda". The evidence is in this paragraph:

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!

Emphasis mine.

This is the real goal of this "letter".

[MonteLukast]

116. He probably thought they were being killed more humanely

How many people end up doing unethical things that they didn't realize were part of the job description? In this job market, you've got to show wholehearted support for what the company does, or be called a "poor fit"-- even asking what the job entails could show the interviewer you don't have the right stuff! And like all economically desperate people, we shut up and live with it instead of questioning it and changing it.

[adigal]

120. And you don't believe in spay or neutering? You don't believe

dogs are killed?

CHeck out this list - there is a gorgeous 4 month old lab mix on it for death tomorrow:

http://www.noahs-arks.net/RESCUE/Greenville.html

[Oregone]

168. Im not sure where they implied those things

They said "that was part of the job description". Why are you bringing up irrelevant points in response and implying this person believes this or that?

[varelse]

183. The alternatives are

1) Prevention - by spaying/neutering pets, therefore reducing the number of animals which must be killed humanely

2) Legal standards for humane treatment and humane methods of euthanasia, and public funding of said humane standards (which, with a heavy application of prevention, becomes less of a drain the public coffers)

3) Responsible behaviour on the part of pet owners - if they can't afford to keep a pet and can't find a home for it, taking it to the vet themselves to be put down is a much kinder alternative to mass gassing which is taking place at the shelter due to lack of $$ to do it in a more humane fashion

The author's agenda is hardly hidden. It's right out there for all of us to see, and as agendas go, it's not a bad one.

[sinkingfeeling]

122. If only we could get the states to make spay/neuter the law. There should be a limited number of

licensed and inspected breeders to continue the many breeds of dogs and a very limited number to produce 'mutts' (not designer dogs). Everybody else should be required to spay/neuter under penalty of law. I have 3 purebred dogs... all were spayed or neutered before 3 months of age.

My heart breaks for this poor man and all the thousands of animals killed needlessly by humans who aren't humane.

[superduperfarleft]

167. I'd take it even further than that.

Anyone who continues to breed "purebred" animals while there are still perfectly adoptable animals out there is complicit in this. Treating animals like a collectible item (by breeders, pet stores, and those who patronize them) is why we have so many animals in shelters in the first place.

I notice that some of those defending breeders in the "puppy mill" thread are strangely absent from this thread.

No one should be exempt from spaying and neutering. Maybe when there aren't millions of homeless animals, we could talk.

[sinkingfeeling]

180. Sorry, I don't want to see the purebreds become extinct. Those, like the gentle Nordic breeds, help

to produce the traits that should be in dogs. We have too many killed because of the lack of spay/neuter for dogs and allow anybody to breed dogs either deliberately or not. License and restrict breeding.

[schnitzie]

223. Oh shhhheeeyit, don't tell me there's a puppy mill thread

I'm active in rescue...have a shaded silver Persian I pulled out of the NYCACC (the New York City pound), and I also support rescues in other states. I've sponsored several dogs for North Carolina Saint Bernard Rescue.

Whether the shelter worker's letter above is authentic is immaterial to me. I know there are shelter animals killed by the bushel in gas chambers in NC, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and other states. It is a horrible death, agony for the dogs and for the shelter workers who have to do the killing.
And that is what it is: Killing, not Euthanasia.

I'll be happy to write the NC legislators for compulsory spay-neuter laws, funding of low-cost spay-neuter, and licensing requirements for breeding, with violations enforced with BIG FINES -- police it by reviewing animal-sale sites. It's not that hard to take the profit motive out of breeding.

One can only hope that the shelter workers charged with the gruesome task of gassing unwanted dogs and cats will have some compassion for the animals...and not make their killing worse, with rough handling, abuse and brutality.

[Pooka Fey]

132. I read every word and I cried. nt

[KarmicTwist]

133. Honestly, I had to stop reading.

I'm at work, on my lunch break, and upon reading that you name every animal the night before they.... It has tears rolling down my cheeks. Thank you for making sure they felt a loving hand.

[Subdivisions]

135. Ok, I had to stop reading several times to wipe away the tears.

It was difficult to get all the way through that without becoming a complete mess.

[sweetroxie]

137. This makes me so horribly sad

What an absolutely tragic situation. I fee so much for the dogs, the cats, and this man.

[B Calm]

150. e-mailing this to everyone I know! Damn, brought tears to my old eyes!

[bdamomma]

153. oh god, this is horrible.

haven't we tortured enough souls. As an animal lover, this is horrible.

[Burma Jones]

163. I knew a guy that did this job in Chicago

He used a Decompression Chamber. He would describe very similar feelings to those described by the author. He did this for about a year. He quit and moved out to Galesburg, IL, where I met him while I was in College. He adopted as many dogs as his lease and budget would allow....

He and I appeared in a play together and I was a part of his campaign for Mayor of Galesburg, this campaign was a fine piece of performance art by the way. He started up an alternative newspaper called the Zephyr. He's an Artist for real.......

[GentryDixon]

165. I've been there

I have a second home outside a small town in NC that I visit only about three months our of the year. Because we live in the "country" there are frequently animals brought out and dropped off by irresponsible pet owners. I took three very young kittens (I could not trap the mother) to a no kill shelter and paid for their spay/neuter & shot fees. I could afford it, but others cannot. I guess it's easier for these people who cannot afford the care to take them out, drop them off, and let them fend for themselves. This is why we need to make it more affordable and accessible for pet owners to get their pets the veterinary care they need, which includes spay & neuter at 6 months.

[Withywindle]

271. I can relate.

I grew up in rural VA with a yard full of dogs, almost all of whom came us to as "dumpees." My parents and I were soft touches. If they were well-tempered and healthy, we'd pay to have the spaying done and keep them.

People who dump animals are the scum of the earth. The saddest sight I saw several times a week as a child was a dog by the side of the road, hungry and with huge sad eyes, running up to every car hoping it was his person coming back. At least a couple of times my Mom and I were like, well, if that dog is still there when we come back from the grocery store, we'll pick him up and take him to the vet and see if he's healthy...and then we'd find the dog dead, hit by a car. Maybe deliberately - some people do that, you know.

If these selfish bastards don't care about the animals, they should at least think about all the children who cry themselves to sleep and have nightmares seeing stuff like that all the time.

[fla nocount]

166. Whoever wrote this is good...damn good...

at emoting and drawing emotion with penned words. Being a single dad I consider myself a master at using guilt as a motivator, but I realize now that I'm nothing. I feel like Eric Clapton watching Jimi Hendricks play for the first time.

The narration, the story-build, the drawing of mental images with narrative, this is a raw gift this person has.

Unless of course it's a hired professional working for an animal group, still, it's damned good.

[AgadorSparticus]

169. I donate to the SPCA every yr. I haven't in the last 2 but I will be again when I can...

I also donate to the humane society.

[Liberal_in_LA]

171. horrible.

[Jamastiene]

173. Oh.My.God

I am speechless.

[tylerdee]

176. Damn.

[siligut]

182. Can't read it all, but thanks be to this man for his humanity. nt

[dbonds]

184. What a powerful letter.

Can't read that without crying. I could never do that job.

[Seldona]

185. I couldn't even finish.

One of the saddest things I have ever read.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

186. Way to give food to unwanted animals - without costing you anything! Click here:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.fac...

[yy4me]

I cannot finish reading this. We call ourselves civilized and

do these unspeakable things to these innocent creatures. Spay, neuter and give homes to a pet who will give you more love than you could ever return.
I feel-I don't know how I feel but I do know there should be a national law that requires pets to be neutered and when they are licensed, you must show just cause as to why the animal is not.

Our pets have all come to us as strays, abandoned by someone who did not care. I think they loved us more than we could possibly return.

[Sequoia]

187. That's so awful. Poor guy, poor animals.

[Poll_Blind]

190. What a tear-jerking piece of fiction.

  I feel for these animals but isn't the whole point of passing something like this around to convince those who don't or are on the fence? Why pass around something which gives the impression of being entirely fabricated? Doesn't that hurt, more than help?

  I think it's sad that so many DUers apparently read this and it passed their sniff test for bullshit. Critical thinking applies for both things you believe in and things you don't, you know?

PB

[adigal]

191. Aren't you clever??? Able to tell that this is fiction without any

proof of your assertion?? I wish the rest of us DUers were as smart as you are!!!

[Poll_Blind]

194. Adigal, you read the entire thing and you believe this is a true account from an individual?

Just wondering. You've read through the entire message, considered the information in it and how it was presented- and your conclusion is that this is a true an accurate account from an individual who works as the gasser for dogs as cats, as it purports to be?

PB

[MNBrewer]

278. For example.

Carbon Monoxide is ODORLESS. The assertion that the writer can smell it is a fiction.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

282. Note to you: Several aspects of it don't check out.

Beginning with the fact that CO is odorless--that's part of what makes it so deadly. So animals cannot "smell of carbon monoxide."

Nice try, though.

[ramapo]

192. God awful...I couldn't read the whole thing

I don't know how I could do the job but sometimes people are forced to do the unthinkable. At least this poor guy does what he can for these poor creatures.

I volunteer at our local NO-KILL shelter here in North Jersey. This account should be widely publicized and maybe dog and cat owners might get more conscientious about spaying and neutering their pets. Maybe people wouldn't give up their pets so easily.

My shelter sometimes takes in rescues from the south. We get some wonderful animals...all of which had been sentenced to die as so vividly described. Not that there aren't plenty of homeless animals right here in NJ but at least our kill shelters only do so as a last resort.

This will haunt me. This weekend I'll give each dog a special hug just as thanks that they've been spared.

[JBear]

198. I may live in one of those neighborhoods...

and I had a cat adopt me not long ago...Thanks! His name is Montgomery. All cats should have regal names.

[tom_paine]

199. That's awful. What's more awful is that, given the current circumstance, it is a necessity.

This guy is right. Stronger spay and neuter laws plus a budget for humane euthanasia.

Something like this isn't going to change overnight, but maybe it can change.

A fucking daily ongoing tragedy, multiplied by hundreds of guys just like this one...

[vietnam_war_vet]

201. And I thought how dogs and cats are treated where I live was bad.....

....this was totally heart wrenching to read. I salute this animal control officer for his compassion and fortitude by trying his best to make an inhumanely vile situation a bit more humane. I'm not ashamed to admit that this post made my tears flow.

I live 40 miles north of the Mexican border and -- yes, a generalization from years of personal observation -- culturally, dogs and cats are usually treated so inhumanely in this area, on both sides of the border. For example, dog fight rings are commonplace on both sides of the border. Michael Vick, former NFL quarterback and now convicted dogfighting felon, would've blended right in around here and he would probably still be running his dog fight ring. -- Michael

[Vektor]

202. I couldn't finish reading. I don't even know why I started.

I don't hate him - he's only doing his job, and clearly he doesn't like it.

I just wish people were more conscientious about spaying and neutering. I got my dog as a shelter rescue. He is the world to me. After I tried to read this, I had to go hug and kiss him.

He has no idea how lucky he is.

[Withywindle]

273. That's a common response, I think.

I had to go give my shelter-adoptee kitty extra snuggle time after I read this too.

She was at the shelter for FOUR MONTHS before I met her. She has a feisty temperament. When I met her, she yowled and didn't want to come out of her cage, so I had to stick my hand in for Her Majesty's clawing pleasure. She's still full of mischief. When she gets excited she literally climbs the walls. But it's all out of love and pleasure and it's just who she is.

When I read this, I was reminded that in the south, we wouldn't have met. She wouldn't have had a chance.

[fortyfeetunder]

203. I feel for this person

And share the anger for irresponsible pet owners who refuse to neuter their pets.

[MNBrewer]

205. Carbon Monoxide is odorless

[LisaL]

207. No shit.

That's why you need a detector in your home.

[GreenFiles]

220. The author of the letter said he smelled like carbon monoxide

It's odorless...

[mainegreen]

242. You saw that too?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

210. I would be happy to help with this quest, legislature begins end of Jan

we need to get a bill drafted now, and find a good sponsor.

[bertman]

213. Where to start? How about with my ex-wife who now "owns" over 50 dogs, gawd only

knows how many cats and a couple of rescue horses and a donkey. She has a farm and is well-off enough to afford to care for them. And before all you doubters start calling bullshit I'll just preemptively say that I am not making this up.

I'm a North Carolinian also. I can't say this guy's story is true because I don't know that for a fact. But I do know people--men and women--who are so compassionate toward animals that they would do precisely the things that are described in this person's letter. Some of them would be very similar to the young man who is doing the killing because they are poor folks who don't have a lot of education but have huge hearts for animals. A job with a municipal government with steady employment and a few benefits and making $10 or $12 an hour would be a decent job to them. There are people like this everywhere in our state and others too. If you haven't been exposed to this you are living a life sheltered from the reality of the world many of us live in.

As far as someone spending $50 to give a bunch of dogs a decent "last meal", well that doesn't seem too far-fetched at all to me. I guess I've been living too long with animal rehabbers who spend thousands of dollars on caring for baby squirrels and cottontails and even frickin possums that fell out of nests or were injured by cats or dogs or whose parents got run over. We're talking squirrels and possums and bunnies, folks. Not dogs and cats or kittens. And these rehabbers are completely and passionately committed to feeding them, caring for them, giving them antibiotics, then, if the critters don't die, returning them to the wild to be eaten by something higher up the food chain. There is no rhyme nor reason to the impulse to save these animals other than a deep need to do something for another living thing that is in need. At their wildlife shelter there is always someone who has to "put down" the too-far-gone or too-badly-injured animals. The ones I know are mostly women or girls who do this out of love for the creatures. Just the same way they tend them and clean their wounds and clean their shitty cages. My point here is that there are people who are beyond the pale in their empathy for suffering animals. Just because some of the posters here do not have that does not mean it does not exist.

There are also MANY people who share this empathy with animals but focus it on dogs and cats. These are the folks who work at animal shelters, vet's offices, and animal control centers, and even pet shops. They are just as "extreme" in their compassion and love for strays as any of the rehabbers I described. They also get very wrapped up in this central cause in their lives.

Another thing: there are people on this planet who are on a different plane from the rest of us. There are people here who animals know to be a kindred spirit with them and those animals respond to them differently than they respond to you and me. Yes, there are really people who are "at one" with other species. It's a gift that most of us don't have. So, please don't act like all animals act the same way with all people because they do not.

My last comment goes to those who believe that just because something doesn't square with their experience that it must be a hoax or a fiction. Here's some advice: realize that the world is bigger than your limited experience and imagination. Acknowledge the possibility that there are unbelievable and extraordinary things happening around you every day--things that you would not fathom even if you witnessed them. Nonetheless things such as those do exist.

[timtom]

215. How sad.

[yodoobo]

216. Well written story of true things, but letter is clearly fake

Very very sad, heart stirring, pat story that has it all, including blaming you and then calling you to action.

The writer of this story has certainly captured the tragic and real nature of putting animals to death, and if it encourages people to take action thats good.

But this person is a fiction writer and animal activist, not an animal control officer, nor someone who has ever done the deeds he describes.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

217. The NC AG Dept has the power to change - see this:

The NC Commissioner of Agriculture is Steve Troxler, a republican.

1001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1001
Phone: [phone]
http://www.ncagr.gov/htm/contactus.htm

From Animal Rescue Groups of NC:

08/14/08

Governor Mike Easley signed the Bill into law which clarifies the statutory authority of the Ag. Department in regard to the administration of the euthanasia rules. This was Senate Bill S485.

This means that Ag. Dept. now has the authority to establish requirements for the certification of employees seeking to be approved to perform euthanasia. This includes the authority to select certification requirements, course materials, trainers, testing, etc.

Loss of certification and re certification is also covered.

There is still a conflict of interest question with trainers like Ralph Houser. He is not a neutral party. He is biased toward gas and teaches students that gas is better than EBI. The reason is he sells gas chambers but he does not sell sodium pentobarbital. He also teaches and approves of methods that do not comply with the AVMA, HSUS, or AHA guidelines. Examples include, gassing any breathing animal and packing animals into a chamber, and not requiring them to be separated from each other.

I believe that Barry Bloch has stated that if Houser states he has a conflict of interest at the beginning of every class he teaches that will make the "conflict of interest" problem disappear. How would anyone know if he informed every class that he had a conflict of interest? I have been told that is not true. We need to get a legal opinion on that question.

The Bill Governor Easley sign into law is needed to make it possible for the Ag. Dept. to implement and enforce the provisions of the 2005 Animal Welfare Act. Hopefully, we can get the euthanasia provisions fine tuned in Jan.

Peter

Peter MacQueen III, President
The Humane Society of Eastern NC
Southport, NC 28461
910-477-0368

http://www.argnc.com/Legislation.html

[Swamp Rat]

219. k&r

[GreenFiles]

221. Wow... you fell for it - Snopes:

Will debunk this shortly.

[Farmall]

226. What a total crock of shit

Not that animals aren't put down, but that this liar actually works in animal control and has never been bit in his years of service, and dumps steaming piles of cheeseburgers on the floor and lets all the dogs out, and they never fight.

But they fight like holy hell when they're locked in the chamber?

Do you believe every spam chain email that arrives in your inbox?

[provis99]

228. This is an internet hoax debunked a year ago.

It was written by a bored teenager in Chicago who put it up on Craigslist as a prank. Carbon monoxide poisoning in a gas chamber for pets is done though. Ironically, it's done because its considered one of the most humane ways to put down an animal.

[rucky]

239. In this case...

I say the truth in the underlying message is more important than its veracity.

[Leftist Agitator]

251. Truth does not need lies to bolster it.

Whoever wrote this has done a great disservice to their cause.

[rucky]

260. Judging from the reactions on this thread

I think there's more truth to it than you give it credit for.

[snake in the grass]

230. This is the first post...

...I couldn't finish reading. I stopped at the cheeseburger part.

[Orrex]

240. Why do you have cheeseburgers? What's your agenda?

And what's your stance on the pickles-and-onions issue?

[snake in the grass]

255. Actually,

I love cheeseburgers too much for my own good. I just found his story heartbreaking. In Germany no animals are put down in shelters except when they are horribly injured or otherwise too sick to recover. I wish Americans would finally learn to take responsibilities for their pets.

Pickles are great and I love grilled onions with swiss cheese.

My agenda is to see Peter Gabriel perform the "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (entire album) with a reunited Genesis and Snickers for everybody.

[1Hippiechick]

279. "I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground"

(Reply to friends who chided him for delaying them by stopping to return a fledgling to its nest.) - Abraham Lincoln, Sixteenth President of the United States

And you don't want to know what "they" do to unwanted greyhounds! And, I will not post it here.

[Faux pas]

232. We need to send this guy condolence emails, this is too sad.

[malaise]

234. I couldn't finish reading this

Too painful

[cboy4]

235. I think this story was embellished .. a little too perfect in

the wording.

But, the point of how sad the real life situation is is not lost because it gets people to read.

[Leftist Agitator]

247. Embellished? No. Fabricated? Absolutely.

"But, the point of how sad the real life situation is is not lost because it gets people to read."

There is no substitute for truth, and no pastiche of lies can ever accomplish good.

[Coexist]

237. there are no words.

[rucky]

238. If people would just spay/neuter/adopt

instead of worrying so much about a dog's breed and testies.

Awhile back there was an animal control officer in NC who would euthanize the dogs on a Public Access TV program. Adoption at that shelter went way up, but the obvious contraversy...

[Orrex]

241. I heard that the hook was on his left hand

And that he'd recently escaped from a mattress factory.

[dawgmom]

261. Ha!

Tis glurge, indeed.
Why do people feel they have to invent stuff like this to make their point? Aren't the REAL facts and numbers of animal euthenasia enough? I guess not. Some people only respond to melodramatic junk like this.

[lonestarnot]

243. Son of a bitch this makes me angry!

[southernyankeebelle]

244. I know what you mean

I live in a small rural area in TN. I really live in the boonies. There aren't many homes out here I want you to know that alot of people that live in the city have a habit of dropping off their unwanted pets to the people that live in the country. Last year alone 2 dogs where around in my area. I collected them and called the dog pound. I didn't want to turn them in but I already have 2 dogs of my own that I take good care of. As soon as they hit 9 months I had their manhood removed (ha). Now they can't produce but are still horny little things. I love my dogs very much they are part of my family.

[Leftist Agitator]

245. "I'm the one that pulls their dead corpses out smelling of Carbon Monoxide"

What a fucking liar.

Carbon Monoxide is completely, totally, utterly odorless.

And don't give me any of that shit about "poetic license" or "expressiveness" or "setting the mood".

He's a fucking liar. I don't buy a word of this story.

And it's from three years ago. Not that that enhances its veracity one iota.

How the fuck anyone could believe this compendium of tug-at-the-heart-strings bullshit is beyond me.

"the smell of carbon monoxide makes me sick."

Sure it does, buddy. Sure it does.

[Poll_Blind]

248. You're right- the story is wildly fabricated on a framework of facts.

  The mechanics of what he describes, I mean the way they are killed, does apparently exist in North Carolina, though. North Carolina Puppies in the Kill Box. To some it could be extremely disturbing to listen to the cries of the animals as they're killed- so I'll warn you in advance.

PB

[Leftist Agitator]

250. Yes, the fact that NC gasses their excess animals magically makes Carbon Monoxide have an odor...

Right?



Anyone who believes this drivel is a fucking idiot.

[kick-ass-bob]

253. I don't think anyone doubts that these kills happen in some fashion

but the 'dramatic license' taken to further the pull on the heart strings is a bad move.

Everyone knows that when you tell a story and parts of it are not true, the entire thing becomes suspect, and you lose the effect you are looking for.

The truth is bad enough, to overload it with untruths and exaggerations is unnecessary and stupid.

[Poll_Blind]

258. Exactly.

PB

[QueenOfCalifornia]

257. Needed to be posted

I gave it rec #120.

I now feel like shooting myself in the head but things need to change.

Jesus fucking christ... how horrible.

[dawgmom]

259. The facts of euthenasia are horrific enough; no need to create a work of fiction like this

Put me in the "skeptics" column. Don't get me wrong -- I truly believe that animals are euthenized every day needlessly, and I truly believe that it's horrible for the people who have to perform the act. I believe in spaying and neutering, and I work in animal rescue.

But this? This is a piece of fiction, filled with errors (such as the "smell" of carbon monoxide) that tip one off.

[Ladyhawk]

281. Animal lover, but also a skeptic.

As I read this letter, my bullshit detector started going off even as I was emotionally affected. It's weird when that happens, but it happens to me a lot. In fact, I've learned that if I get highly emotional, it's a good idea to check in with the "Mr. Spock" part of my personality if I don't want to get pwned.

Question: Has anyone checked with Snopes on this? Right now I'm just too damn tired, but if the letter hasn't already been vindicated or debunked, the people at Snopes might be interested in it.

Ditto: I know thousands and thousands of dogs and cats are gassed and that it is heinous.

Ditto: The letter has several points that ring untrue: smell of carbon monoxide, the night before "party" with the doomed animals.

That is all.

[Unca Jim]

266. Sure, it's moving...

but it's also clearly filled with lies.

Are we in the reality-based community and using our brains or not?

Merely responding to something emotionally without thinking is too Republican for me.


And yes, I know animals are routinely killed and my cat is a rescued cat.

[peace frog]

268. I believe it

If you've ever spent more than a few minutes in the kennels of a high-kill animal shelter, you would know this man's story has the ring of truth. I have five cats, all adopted from shelters or from people who could not keep them, but I know it's not enough. There are just too many animals for too few families. It's heartbreaking.

[flying_wahini]

269. Tragic story....

I know I couldn't do it...

[northernlights]

270. I didn't want to return to this thread

The faces of those beautiful dogs on the links leaves me crying until I nearly vomit. I wanted to drive south and load them all up and bring them here, and the helpless feeling knowing that many of them are already gone makes me sick. The poor puppies, the starved stray, the dobie that can barely get up from the cement floor with not even a blanket for comfort, the frightened black lab sisters who will do anything to please you, and the surrendered yellow lab who is confused about why she was abandoned there...it all just sickens me. When my rescue doggie was sick last September I was ready to dump my house and drop out of school to care for him. I would live in my car with him before I'd take him to a shelter...

That said, I do seem to remember this email made the rounds about 15 years ago and was pretty much debunked then.

NOT that the so-called "euthanasias" don't take place every day -- aren't the official stats something like 3million/year? And that is the crucial point.

But the whole story about sneaking the burgers on Thursday night and sneaking some of the cats out, and many of the other details strain credulity and I think can end up doing more damage than good.

[im1013]

272. That has got to be the worst thing I've ever read.....

[frogcycle]

275. not to beat a dead horse...

ok, not the best choice of phrases in this context, but Carbon Monoxide is odorless. The author got information from the web and mistakenly assumed CO would have a smell, introducing one of several clear indicators that the letter was a bit of creative writing.

There are plenty of articles describing what this letter describes (except for the all-night junkfood party). Example: http://www.freewebs.com/ncche / Google euthenasia gas animal shelter

CO is evidently one of the least desireable methods, and is being phased out a lot of places.


This letter was a bit of creative writing put together in an effort to call attention to something, embellished with the kumbayah all-nighter that probably helps it go viral.