Shelter Dogs - The Book

So, there I was in Super Humongous Chain Bookstore, perusing the pet section (duh) when I came across this book.

And as I flipped through it tears began to well in my eyes. Tears.  In Super Humongous Chain Bookstore.  How embarrassing, right?  So I did what any self respecting person would do, I faked a coughing fit. 

Shelter Dogs was so beautifully photographed, how could I not shed a tear?  Every picture captured the inner spirit of each dog that had found him or herself locked up in some kennel, awaiting their fate.  It showed the beauty in each creature that one would see if they could look beyond the barking, digging, chewing, and other "bad" behaviors that helped land them in that particular shelter. 

As the owner of a rescued dog (though, truthfully, my dog never saw the inside of a county shelter) this book hit me particularly hard.  According to the HSUS 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters every year.  Did you catch that number?  Three to Four MILLION.  The good news is that 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are adopted each year from shelters.  But that still leaves roughly 50% of the population of adoptable cats and dogs unadopted and, eventually, killed because of over-population or behavioral and medical problems.

Shelter Dogs is filled with beautiful photographs of wonderful, misunderstood animals.  Animals that want only a comfortable place to sleep, a full food bowl and a kind hand.

Do you have a rescued dog?  Are you considering getting a dog from a shelter?  I urge you to buy Shelter Dogs by Traer Scott.  You won't be disappointed.

Comments

[Suebob]

I saw a piece a newspaper did where they went into the back room of the shelter and photographed bins of euthanized (I prefer the word "destroyed" myself) animals ready to be taken to the rendering plant. They printed it on A1 on Sunday, big.

They got a lot of complaints but I think they did the right thing. In fact, I think they should have a photo of all the county's destroyed animals, every single week, until people get the idea.

[Liberal Banana]

Suebob's right - people turn a blind eye to this HUGE problem. The word needs to get out there to people in all communities: you MUST spay and neuter your pets.

The paper did a story on our shelter this past weekend. Everyone who reads this comment should take a moment and check this out. Our shelter rocks!

As the site won't allow me to add hyperlinks, here's the link in full (it's cut off but it still works):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/20/AR2006102001399.html?referrer=emailarticle

[Binky]

Thanks for the rec! I am going to ask Roxie if she'd like to add it to her Christmas list. She'd probably prefer a year's supply of Beggin' Strips, but perhaps she can be convinced.

[Susan Gets Native]

Our latest dog came from our county shelter, and boy am I glad I went in.
I passed through the two rooms with a huge lump in my throat and as I was about to leave, decided to go through again. And there was a dog I hadn't seen before. (the staff was moving cages, etc, around)
A male Boston Terrier, with the weight of the world on his skinny shoulders, and the soul of a saint/clown in his eyes.
And I scooped him up and so begins a beautiful relationship.
I won't be getting that book, though. At least not for myself. I know all too well the fate of shelter dogs and cats.

[Jeane]

I once thumbed through this book myself, in a public library and it nearly made me cry. The pictures were so sad, their faces were so hopeful, weary and lonely. I couldn't bring myself to take that book home, it was too depressing. Beautiful photos, though.