Urgent Death Row Pets in NYC

[mg]

Does anyone follow these groups (http://urgentpetsondeathrow.org/ and on Facebook)? They list the dogs and cats in high kill shelters in NYC in an attempt to find them homes before they are destroyed. It’s kind of like Camelot Horse Weekly, except the to be destroyed lists are posted daily.

I know a couple people who have adopted dogs out of these shelters through their rescue group connections in the area. I also know a woman who regularly adopts a dog or two through the group, spends several weeks getting the dog healthy, UTD, and socialized, and then finds a local forever home for the animal. She’s getting two more this week and it sounds like it was a very difficult process to secure the dogs.

I’m curious if others have adopted any of these animals. I regularly see dogs I would love to rehome, but am still apprehensive about what would happen if the dog was a poor fit for my lifestyle and/or with my current pets. TBH, looking through the pictures makes my stomach churn. Not because these animals are likely to be destroyed (though that is very sad too), but mostly because a lot of these animals do not look like they came from very caring families. The number of 13 year old Maltese dogs and other small breeds that show up in the group breaks my heart. Of course, the remainder is a ton of pit bulls who do not look like they were very loved either. I have a very high amount of respect for the volunteers at these shelters who give these animals affection and try their best at finding them homes through their personal descriptions and additional photos & videos.

[Donella]

I follow the group daily and try my best to do what I can but living in Canada it makes it very difficult. I tried to network to find a way to get some dogs up here to foster them but I haven’t yet found a solution. I am constantly amazed by the dedication and heart of those volunteers. I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to go in day after day , hoping for those dogs and then seeing many of them killed despite their best efforts. I have shed many a tear for those beautiful dogs, for the crappy hand life has dealt them and for the kindness and generosity of good people out there.

We have four dogs and three are rescues, they all get along well and it has worked out super. One thing you can do is take your dog/s to the shelter and see how potential fosters/adoptees interact with them. I know they are extremely short on good fosters so if that was even a possibility I would contact many of the NYC rescues (Zani’s Furry Friends, Second Chance Rescue, Pibblesnmore ect) and talk to them about your concerns ect. And keep spreading the word, pledging, donating ect. All they have is us!!

[pg55]

I actually volunteer with Urgent on both pages. Folks who want to adopt one of the pets from the euth list really will do best to work through a rescue group, since often these groups have met the pets and would have a sense of how each animal would get along with your critters.

Urgent also features the dogs and cats who aren’t on the euth list, and people are encouraged to get involved in trying to save the animals long before they make the dreaded lists. Again, working through a rescue group, potential adopters can request behavior tests to learn more about an animal you are interested in saving. For those who live close enough to the ACC facilities, you can take your current pets with to the shelter and see how things go. It’s best if you can at least jump on the animal’s thread and request that a volunteer be there to say, take a dog on a long walk before you arrive, or go on a parallel walk with you and your pet to see how they get along.

One great way of helping more dogs and cats leave the ACC for happily-ever-afters, is for people to adopt pets from the rescues which pull from the ACC. You will be getting a pet which has had time to de-stress in a foster home, which has had a chance to get over the shelter cold, and you’ll be freeing up a foster home to take in another ACC captive. On either of the Urgent Facebook pages, look at the “Must Read” note that talks about adopting. You’ll find a list of rescues that pull from the ACC and some of them might work with people in Maine, either directly or through a rescue-to-rescue relationship.

These dogs and cats need as much exposure, as much help, as they can get. There are 20 dogs on the list tonight, and 3 cats, and the sad fact is that the majority of those will probably die a painful death before the shelters open tomorrow morning. There are euth lists almost every night of the year, barring major holidays. I know a lot of people who have adopted dogs and cats from the ACC, and who have had great experiences with them. Please consider getting your next pet from a rescue group that pulls from the ACC, if you can’t get to NYC yourself. I know that it’s hard to look at the nightly euth lists, because I do it every night. But not looking just allows more to die. More exposure will mean more lives saved, and there is plenty of room for improvement on that score.

[vacation1]

The people breeding pits need to be shot. I didn’t even look at the cats; their situation is even more appalling. As sad as that site is, I think it’s misguided. People shouldn’t buy an animal because it’s about to be killed. How is that responsible? Is it any better than stopping at the pet store when you’re blue and buying a puppy from Kansas on impulse?

[Thoro]

Is there someway to get a cat to Ct from there? I don’t live in NYC but I know two people who are looking for cats here in CT. Perhaps it would be best to just adopt from a shelter near here?

[Laurierace]

I believe you should support your local shelters both by networking and adopting but also fundraising or volunteering. If each of us cleans up our own backyard, suddenly the world is a beautiful place! I have fostered hundreds of cats and kittens over the years but my first foster dog arrives tonight!