This year, 5 million to 7 million cats and dogs will enter U.S. shelters and never leave. People who abandon pets or take them to shelters needlessly exacerbate this problem. Humane Societies’ lack of resources force them to euthanize these pets. It’s our responsibility to help solve these problems at underfunded facilities. We created a situation in which there are too many animals. These animals end up in shelters where they most likely will be euthanized.
These animals need our help. Perhaps euthanizing does prevent these animals from living miserably but the sheer number of animals killed in shelters is shocking — around 50 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats taken to shelters are euthanized each year.
One action you can take to prevent euthanization is fostering pets. Fostering animals gives them a home while they wait to be adopted. To find out more about fostering, visit http://almosthomeanimals.org or http://reachoutrescue.org.
Another action you could take to prevent animals from becoming homeless or being taken to a shelter is to always spay or neuter your own pet. This will prevent unwanted offspring.
