Behind glass doors: the ethics of animal shelters

Over two million animals.

That is how many entered United States shelters and rescues in 2023, according to Shelter Animals Count (SAC).

 

Yet, people still buy their pets from breeders and stores.

Ethical issues have plagued the pet industry for years. People claim pet breeders as cruel for first-hand contributing to the crisis of overpopulation in shelters, as shelters try their best to care for the arrival of so many animals but lack the resources. The ultimate result?

Euthanization.

In 2023, SAC estimates that approximately 800,000 animals will be euthanized in shelters by the end of the year.

In all the shelters and rescues that report to SAC, over 2 million animals entered shelters between the start of 2023 to October.

One shelter is located in Burlingame and is owned by Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA (PHS/SPCA), a nonprofit animal organization.

Through the doors lies an open-spaced room with benches and a counter. Workers and volunteers greet each other with friendly faces as they pass by. Barking can be heard from afar. At the back of the first floor of their facility, you’ll find dogs in small rooms they call “condos.”

Large dogs occupy most of the condos.

“There are a lot of large dogs. That’s pretty common now in shelters across the U.S. It’s hard for people to adopt large animals because you need a bigger space,” said Buffy Martin-Tarbox, the Communications Manager at Peninsula Humane.

Echo, a camera-shy Australian Shepherd cattle mix, is one of the large dogs housed in the condos.

“Echo’s definitely gonna need to go to an active family that’s going to be consistent in taking him out for walks and getting some of his energy out,” Martin-Tarbox said.

When asked how many animals the shelter can house, Martin-Tarbox said it depends on how big the dogs are, for small dogs could be housed in the same room if they get along. At the time of the interview, only two small dogs were in the building— a pug and a chihuahua.

PHS doesn’t have to turn away any dogs who need shelter because they have another shelter in San Mateo. Martin-Tarbox, who has been working at the shelter for almost seven years, said she had never witnessed PHS reject assistance to an animal but acknowledged that it has happened before in their history.

PHS strongly believes in giving all pets a second chance at a forever home. Duke, one of the big dogs at the shelter, has been at the facility for over 300 days.

“We never euthanize a healthy animal,” Martin-Tarbox said.

Ascending to the second floor, adopters can meet small animals, reptiles, and birds.

In the reptile room, guests can find an unusual amount of snakes, specifically ball pythons. According to Martin-Tarbox, all of them were surrendered by their owners, meaning their previous owners brought them to the shelter.

“Sometimes, people pass away, and their family can’t take care of the animal, so they bring them to us. Other times, people lose their pet-friendly housing. Sometimes, a new cat that they just adopted just can not get along with the cat that they had before. Animals are surrendered to us for a variety of reasons,” Martin-Tarbox said.

When PHS receives a lot of animals, they sometimes hold adoption specials to encourage more adoptions. Qualified adopters (those who know how to care for their animals) don’t have to pay for their animals during an adoption special.

Before an animal gets put out for adoption, they are generally tested on their behavior, health checked, and spayed or neutered if they haven’t been already.

PHS wants to ensure that their animals get sent out to good homes, so they are very honest when they think someone won’t be a suitable owner.

“We care for these animals from the beginning when they come to our shelter until they’re adopted. So we want to make sure that they are given the best home possible,” Martin-Tarbox said.

Martin-Tarbox had nothing to say about breeders on behalf of PHS but noted that animals at the shelter are healthier than those in pet stores.

In addition, she declined to comment about the ethics of reputable breeders contributing to overpopulation but said PHS understands if people are interested in a different breed.

Yet, she also said PHS agrees with the motto “adopt, don’t shop.”