To fix this animal problem, go to the source

Friday, November 9, 2007 Commercial Appeal Commentary in Editorial Page

A recent incident at Memphis Animal Services involving the euthanasia of a dog in the process of being adopted points once again to the failure of public shelters as a tenable solution for unwanted animals -- and to a lesser degree, to the heroic yet finger-in-the-dike approach of rescue groups to save them.

The problem of animal overpopulation in Memphis is similar to that of many other cities. We have irresponsible breeders, we've got too many feral cat colonies in neighborhoods and industrial areas, and we have untold numbers of abandoned and stray pets roaming the streets.

The primary role of government agencies such as Memphis Animal Services is to protect citizens against loose, and potentially dangerous, animals. Their job also is to rein in animals that tear into trash cans, cause accidents by darting into streets, and that are generally considered a nuisance. Most such public, city-run shelters have become animal adoption centers only by default.

Most rescue groups, on the other hand, have a single mission, and that is to save animals. Like most employees at public shelters, they are hideously overworked and overwhelmed. Unlike shelter workers, though, rescuers usually pay for vet care, food, boarding, neutering and shots from their own pockets. It is rescuers' unparalleled compassion that leads them to places like Memphis Animal Services, where they sometimes identify an animal, possibly someone's abandoned pet, that they are convinced they will be able to find a home for.

In a case publicized last month, a dog at the Memphis shelter was ready to be adopted by Lisa Trenthem, the founder of Good Dog Rescue, but for whatever reason -- apathy, ignorance, spite or a lethal cocktail of all -- the dog was euthanized. What a paradox. The rescuer wanted to find the dog a good home. The shelter needed to free up a cage so that the next hopeless, frightened animal could be checked in. Ultimately, Memphis Animal Services will this year euthanize more than 80 percent of the animals that end up there.

But the question that continues to be overlooked is: Why don't we attack the root cause of this wretchedness? Why must thousands of animals be euthanized yearly at Memphis Animal Services? All the rescue groups in the country cannot find enough homes for the continuous stream of litters born every day just in this city.

The only permanent solution for the problem of animal overpopulation is aggressive spay and neuter programs. Other areas have them, and they have reduced dramatically euthanasia in their taxpayer-funded shelters. The state of New Hampshire, for example, and cities such as San Francisco, Charlottesville, Va., and New York City have expanded spay and neuter programs as a cost-effective method of reducing pet overpopulation and the associated killing of animals.

Some are willing to go even further. In June the California State Assembly passed the California Healthy Pets Act (AB 1634), which requires most pets to be spayed or neutered. Sponsors included the California Veterinary Medical Association, the California Animal Control Directors Association, and the State Humane Association of California, which represents local SPCAs and humane societies across the state. The bill was also supported by law enforcement agencies, numerous elected officials and hundreds of animal organizations.

The bill contains at least 20 exemptions, including show and sporting dogs, dogs used in law enforcement or search and rescue, guide or service dogs, elderly pets, or those in poor health.

The California Healthy Pets Act was modeled on a successful ordinance implemented in 2005 by the County of Santa Cruz. Although the county's human population has been growing by 15 percent, its shelter intake has since decreased by more than 50 percent. That success motivated other jurisdictions, including Sacramento and San Bernardino, to adopt similar bills.

But it all starts with aggressive sterilization programs, and the South is way behind the curve of the nascent "spay and neuter movement." Locally, the Animal Protection Association (APA) is one of the first and few nonprofit organizations in this area whose total focus and efforts are upon low-cost spay and neuter. Funded entirely by private donations and grants, the APA is not in competition with local veterinarians, as it serves many pet owners who would not ordinarily have the funds for this procedure.

If people are truly concerned about animal overpopulation and the necessary evil of taxpayer-funded euthanasia, then it's time to seek other solutions such as spay and neuter. Answers will not be found within the walls of Memphis Animal Services, or with the numerous hard-working rescue and adoption groups. They will be found only when enlightened citizens take action. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once observed, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."

The Animal Protection Association is a nonprofit spay and neuter clinic in Memphis serving the Tri-State area.

Deborah L. Camp is a board member of the Animal Protection Association of Memphis.