Post by Brooke on Feb 26, 2004 16:12:21 GMT -5
Shelters import prospective adoptees
By BETH QUIMBY, Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
A message of responsible dog ownership trumpeted by animal welfare groups has taken root. So much so that southern Maine's animal shelters are scrambling for more pups.
Dog owners have been listening to the spay and neuter mantra, effectively shrinking the number of unwanted dogs, and straining dog pound supplies.
Deborah Clark, director of the Animal Refuge League of Westbrook, says the shortage is a sign that animal welfare groups are doing their job of spreading the message that owners should neuter or spay their dogs. "This is exciting and something to be really proud of," she said.
The shortage is so acute that several animal shelters in southern Maine have been importing puppies from other parts of the country to satisfy the demand. It is a phenomenon that is happening across the Northeast, animal welfare experts say.
The success of spaying and neutering has not had a completely positive effect. Importing dogs is causing a rift between veterinarians and animal shelters in some states and has led to a raging debate among animal welfare groups.
It is a subject some animal welfare advocates are reluctant to talk about. They say they are worried that if word gets out there are sometimes not enough dogs to go around at shelters, people will stop supporting their efforts.
"It is very controversial. When you have fixed your problem locally, where do you look next?" said Becky Brimley, director of animal welfare at the Bangor Humane Society.
Gone are the days when litters of puppies languished in animal shelters. An unaccompanied dog on the street today draws second looks. Animal welfare experts attribute the phenomenon to a variety of factors.
Steven Jacobsen, director of the Animal Welfare Society Inc. shelter in Kennebunk, says there has been a widespread shift in attitudes toward dog ownership during the past 20 years. Not only are dog owners neutering their pets, they also are taking better care of their canines in general.
Former city dwellers moving into more rural areas often arrive with strong expectations about leash law enforcement. Clark says the rabies epidemic of the 1990s and fear of having a pet exposed led to a big increase in leashed dogs.
Jerilee Zezula, a veterinarian and professor of applied animal science at the University of New Hampshire, says electronic fences, which confine dogs to their own yards, have contributed to fewer roaming dogs.
Animal advocates say that the strong tradition and long history of the humane movement in the Northeast has also fueled the trend.
"A lot of the humane societies were formed in the Northeast," Jacobsen said.
The Animal Refuge League in Westbrook was founded in 1911. The Bangor Humane Society, the largest animal welfare group in the state, is a venerable 135 years old.
Jacobsen says that although his shelter is filled in the fall months, in the late winter there is usually space. He says there are simply fewer dogs being born. "It has been fairly pronounced in the past few years," he said.
So for the last several years, the Kennebunk shelter, which has contracts to take in pets from 17 communities, has been importing puppies and dogs from out of state. The shelter is expecting a shipment of puppies from Tennessee at the end of the month.
The puppies along with some adult dogs, will be taken north in a rental van by volunteers. The animals will be quarantined before being put up for adoption. The shelter has also taken in puppies from rural Ohio and South Carolina. Roxanne Brann, executive director of the Kennebec Valley Humane Society in Augusta, says her shelter gets only three or four litters of puppies out of the roughly 700 to 800 dogs turned over each year. "We have people fighting over puppies," she said.
The most recent litter was spoken for well before it was born to a pregnant dog turned in to the shelter. There were 20 people on a waiting list and another 30 unprocessed applications from people hoping to adopt.
The adoption process is quite rigorous, Brann says. Prospective owners must go through a screening process. A positive recommendation by a veterinarian is required and applicants must meet with an adoption counselor.
Brann says her shelter has not imported dogs or puppies from out of state - but that could change.
"It is not something we had considered doing until recently because we had not been in a situation where we were low enough in population," she said.
The practice of importing dogs has led to a rift between veterinarians and humane societies in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture has introduced a bill that would ban imported dogs from a state program that subsidizes neutering costs for dogs and cats adopted from shelters. Violators would face a $1,000 fine.
"It is a funny can of worms and I honestly do not know where I sit on it because so many people who want to get a puppy from a shelter can't find any," Zezula said.
Steve Taylor, New Hampshire agriculture commissioner, says imported dogs have bankrupted the state's pet overpopulation control program, which has run out of money for the year.
In its eight years, the program has led to the neutering of nearly 39,000 dogs and cats at a cost of about $1.7 million. The program is partly funded by veterinarians who waive 20 percent of their neutering fee for those who qualify for the program. But they are balking at waiving fees for out-of-state dogs, says Dr. Clifford McGinnis, New Hampshire's state veterinarian. He says he was infuriated when he learned that shelters in his state were bringing in dogs not only from Southern states, but also from Puerto Rico and other countries.
"We did not pass this bill to solve the puppy overpopulation problem for all these other states," McGinnis said.
Animal welfare advocates are quick to say that while southern Maine sometimes faces a shortage of adoptable dogs, the problem does not exist in northern and eastern parts of the state, where there are few animal shelters and more low-income dog owners who cannot afford the $80 to $160 fee to neuter their pets. During the fall, when people tend to abandon their pets at shelters because of a move, animal shelters everywhere can be overwhelmed.
Advocates say the drop in dog populations at animal shelters has been matched by an explosion in the cat population across the state. Proposed legislation calls for a voluntary check-off on the Maine income-tax form to allow taxpayers to contribute to a program that will assist low-income Mainers in getting their pets spayed or neutered, and they say this is vital for continuing efforts to make every pet a wanted pet.
The success of spaying and neutering programs also could raise issues of canine genetics.
Zezula says the increase in dog neutering has led to a drop in the numbers of mixed-breed dogs. She says that could be good and bad for dogs in the long run. Purebred dogs can be subject to genetic defects; mixed-breed dogs have fewer of these flaws.
"So, from a dog's perspective, it is probably not such a good idea," she said.
But Brimley, who is British, says she does not expect mixed-breed dogs to go away soon. Even if everyone neutered their dogs, she says, there will continue to be the occasional accident. And in Britain, where dog ownership may be even more highly evolved than in the United States, there are plenty of mutts to go around, she says.
Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 324-4888 or at: bquimby@pressherald.com
By BETH QUIMBY, Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
A message of responsible dog ownership trumpeted by animal welfare groups has taken root. So much so that southern Maine's animal shelters are scrambling for more pups.
Dog owners have been listening to the spay and neuter mantra, effectively shrinking the number of unwanted dogs, and straining dog pound supplies.
Deborah Clark, director of the Animal Refuge League of Westbrook, says the shortage is a sign that animal welfare groups are doing their job of spreading the message that owners should neuter or spay their dogs. "This is exciting and something to be really proud of," she said.
The shortage is so acute that several animal shelters in southern Maine have been importing puppies from other parts of the country to satisfy the demand. It is a phenomenon that is happening across the Northeast, animal welfare experts say.
The success of spaying and neutering has not had a completely positive effect. Importing dogs is causing a rift between veterinarians and animal shelters in some states and has led to a raging debate among animal welfare groups.
It is a subject some animal welfare advocates are reluctant to talk about. They say they are worried that if word gets out there are sometimes not enough dogs to go around at shelters, people will stop supporting their efforts.
"It is very controversial. When you have fixed your problem locally, where do you look next?" said Becky Brimley, director of animal welfare at the Bangor Humane Society.
Gone are the days when litters of puppies languished in animal shelters. An unaccompanied dog on the street today draws second looks. Animal welfare experts attribute the phenomenon to a variety of factors.
Steven Jacobsen, director of the Animal Welfare Society Inc. shelter in Kennebunk, says there has been a widespread shift in attitudes toward dog ownership during the past 20 years. Not only are dog owners neutering their pets, they also are taking better care of their canines in general.
Former city dwellers moving into more rural areas often arrive with strong expectations about leash law enforcement. Clark says the rabies epidemic of the 1990s and fear of having a pet exposed led to a big increase in leashed dogs.
Jerilee Zezula, a veterinarian and professor of applied animal science at the University of New Hampshire, says electronic fences, which confine dogs to their own yards, have contributed to fewer roaming dogs.
Animal advocates say that the strong tradition and long history of the humane movement in the Northeast has also fueled the trend.
"A lot of the humane societies were formed in the Northeast," Jacobsen said.
The Animal Refuge League in Westbrook was founded in 1911. The Bangor Humane Society, the largest animal welfare group in the state, is a venerable 135 years old.
Jacobsen says that although his shelter is filled in the fall months, in the late winter there is usually space. He says there are simply fewer dogs being born. "It has been fairly pronounced in the past few years," he said.
So for the last several years, the Kennebunk shelter, which has contracts to take in pets from 17 communities, has been importing puppies and dogs from out of state. The shelter is expecting a shipment of puppies from Tennessee at the end of the month.
The puppies along with some adult dogs, will be taken north in a rental van by volunteers. The animals will be quarantined before being put up for adoption. The shelter has also taken in puppies from rural Ohio and South Carolina. Roxanne Brann, executive director of the Kennebec Valley Humane Society in Augusta, says her shelter gets only three or four litters of puppies out of the roughly 700 to 800 dogs turned over each year. "We have people fighting over puppies," she said.
The most recent litter was spoken for well before it was born to a pregnant dog turned in to the shelter. There were 20 people on a waiting list and another 30 unprocessed applications from people hoping to adopt.
The adoption process is quite rigorous, Brann says. Prospective owners must go through a screening process. A positive recommendation by a veterinarian is required and applicants must meet with an adoption counselor.
Brann says her shelter has not imported dogs or puppies from out of state - but that could change.
"It is not something we had considered doing until recently because we had not been in a situation where we were low enough in population," she said.
The practice of importing dogs has led to a rift between veterinarians and humane societies in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture has introduced a bill that would ban imported dogs from a state program that subsidizes neutering costs for dogs and cats adopted from shelters. Violators would face a $1,000 fine.
"It is a funny can of worms and I honestly do not know where I sit on it because so many people who want to get a puppy from a shelter can't find any," Zezula said.
Steve Taylor, New Hampshire agriculture commissioner, says imported dogs have bankrupted the state's pet overpopulation control program, which has run out of money for the year.
In its eight years, the program has led to the neutering of nearly 39,000 dogs and cats at a cost of about $1.7 million. The program is partly funded by veterinarians who waive 20 percent of their neutering fee for those who qualify for the program. But they are balking at waiving fees for out-of-state dogs, says Dr. Clifford McGinnis, New Hampshire's state veterinarian. He says he was infuriated when he learned that shelters in his state were bringing in dogs not only from Southern states, but also from Puerto Rico and other countries.
"We did not pass this bill to solve the puppy overpopulation problem for all these other states," McGinnis said.
Animal welfare advocates are quick to say that while southern Maine sometimes faces a shortage of adoptable dogs, the problem does not exist in northern and eastern parts of the state, where there are few animal shelters and more low-income dog owners who cannot afford the $80 to $160 fee to neuter their pets. During the fall, when people tend to abandon their pets at shelters because of a move, animal shelters everywhere can be overwhelmed.
Advocates say the drop in dog populations at animal shelters has been matched by an explosion in the cat population across the state. Proposed legislation calls for a voluntary check-off on the Maine income-tax form to allow taxpayers to contribute to a program that will assist low-income Mainers in getting their pets spayed or neutered, and they say this is vital for continuing efforts to make every pet a wanted pet.
The success of spaying and neutering programs also could raise issues of canine genetics.
Zezula says the increase in dog neutering has led to a drop in the numbers of mixed-breed dogs. She says that could be good and bad for dogs in the long run. Purebred dogs can be subject to genetic defects; mixed-breed dogs have fewer of these flaws.
"So, from a dog's perspective, it is probably not such a good idea," she said.
But Brimley, who is British, says she does not expect mixed-breed dogs to go away soon. Even if everyone neutered their dogs, she says, there will continue to be the occasional accident. And in Britain, where dog ownership may be even more highly evolved than in the United States, there are plenty of mutts to go around, she says.
Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 324-4888 or at: bquimby@pressherald.com