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You know what will make your day? Wholesome and adorable pet pictures. They will completely make you fall in love with them, with their cuteness and their silliness. You will definitely be in awe of all these pictures and how they are presented. What makes it even more adorable is the fact that they were all rescued, and their happiness will make you go crazy. These animals were given a second chance at life, for which they were really happy for and made them feel loved and wanted.
However, the sad reality is that around 6.3 million animals are entered into shelters every year, and about 810,000 out if 6.3 million are returned back to their owners, while 4.1 million are adopted and the rest 920,000 are euthanised. However, the sum of the animals that were euthanised annually dropped in american shelters gradually. In 2011, it was 2.6 million. National Geographic published an article that said, ‘Why animal shelters are facing a new crisis’. The most notable thing in the entire article was these lines, “many shelters helping dogs, cats, rabbits, and other pets in need have been hurt by staffing shortages—resulting in reduced operations.”
It is important to recognise the need that these animals deserve love and care, hence we should also play our part and role in it. The number can be decreased if we all put in mutual effort and take care of these dogs and cats, because trust me, they really do not need anything more than your love and support. A simple act of love can go so far, you might not even realise the impact!
It is important to understand that animal shelter and its care is not an individual task, but should be a top priority for everyone in the community involved. It should not be catered to as a task but more like a responsibility. However, certain problems do arise. “Staffing shortages have been a challenge for [us] as well,” Sarah Bhimani, Internal Communications and Content Producer at Animal Humane Society told. “We’re still able to provide care and services for animals and our community; our staffing challenges have placed additional stress on our existing teams.” Moreover, to address the issue of the fewer staff, Sarah Bhimani said, “They’ve had to decrease the number of veterinary appointments and surrender appointments we can offer the community each day, and we’ve had to decrease the number of animals we’re transporting from partners in other parts of the country to our shelters in Minnesota. We’re prioritizing the needs of local animals first. Right now, the current wait time for non-emergency surrender appointments may be as long as eight weeks.” This becomes extremely problematic and difficult.
However, this is not the only issue. There are several other problems that were brought forward such as, “Another issue is the lack of low-cost vet care options for our communities. Animal Humane Society vet centres are currently booking out three to four weeks in advance and when released, available appointments are booked within minutes.” Furthermore, more problems were discussed and brought to light. “Another issue is a lack of foster families willing to take large dogs,” Bhimani added. “At AHS, we have lots of families who regularly foster cats, small dogs, and critters (rabbits, guinea pigs, etc), but it’s a lot harder to find people who are able to open their homes to a large dog foster that’s recovering from surgery, requires medication, etc.”
Sarah Bhimani in her interview kept pushing and encouraging people to not only adopt the pets for the sake of the cause but also to, “Help your local animal shelter promote their open positions, whether that’s by sharing employment opportunities with your friends and family, or using your social media to amplify posts from your local shelter,”. Moreover, she added, “Animal shelters are also always in need of donations, whether they’re financial or in supplies. If you have a pet, be sure to plan ahead for preventative vet care and schedule your appointment months in advance. And always be kind to veterinary and animal shelter staff — their work is physically and emotionally difficult! Being patient and saying thank you goes a long way.” She kept telling the people to make their contribution because it really is everyone’s responsibility and not a one man’s job!
They are literally the cutest animals ever. Imagine the hope and joy they felt after getting adopted by these amazing people. You can even see the happiness on their faces. It’s unmatchable. That is all that it takes to become a part of this, a little help goes a long way, especially for these animals who are only searching for love and their only option is you guys accepting them in your homes. It does not take a lot of effort, trust me. That is exactly what Sarah has been encouraging for the longest time and in this entire interview, she kept pressing on the issue of how this is not an individuals task, but as a nation, as a whole needs to be present and make conscious efforts to provide the animals with safety, shelter, food and love.
I honestly loved seeing all these animals genuinely beaming with happiness after they were adopted, their peaceful faces made me content. I hope you felt the same way as well. Let us know what you thought in the comment section.
