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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They will not die without a name.

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

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

Some tilt their heads to try to understand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

acwgz1966@yahoo.com

This is in or around NC

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

I really did not need to feel this bad today and this just pisses me off knowing it all could be prevented.

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.

and I push them to outlaw this. Also, strong spay and neuter laws would prevent this.

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.

anymore. He said he'd rather be homeless or unemployed. It literally sucked the life out of him.

I salute his compassion. He is a far, far greater man than I could ever hope to be.

Just fuck. The mere thought of that upsets me.

and demanding a stop to the gas chamber? That is what the dog rescues have been doing?

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.

English. I am with you on animals.

Try them first.

dp

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

Would you just pick a name from the list and call them, demand they stop the gas chambers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Do you not understand the difference?

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.

Denial, denial, denial. God help us. I think animals are closer to God than we are. His eye is on the Sparrow you know.

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.

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?

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And I am now done with trying to speak to you about this. You are being ridiculous.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Being sarcastic with your quote about Zen like way. I'm just informing you that yes, there are people out there who have a special way with animals, who can befriend them easily and get them to do the most amazing things. I've got this gift with dogs, and to a lesser extent with cats. Apparently you don't have it, that's OK, I'm not judging you on that. I'm just asking you to not discount that there are people who do have a special way with animals.

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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.

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.

Do you think it's always because of pleasure?

Hint - It isn't.

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.

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.

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.

He may sue the author or at least request help cleaning the blood out of his car and tending his deep flesh wounds.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

Are you an animal Hitler?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some have a better way with animals than others. That's not a judgment, that's just the way things are

Come on now.

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.

Magical. Your wife should become a lion tamer

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

"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."

Spades=spayed
Hearts=wagging tails/purring cats?
Diamonds=?
Clubs=?

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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