DEATH AWAITS ANIMALS

A lethal injection awaits most dogs and cats that end up at the animal shelter of the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.

In recent weeks there has been an increase in the number of unwanted animals brought in, which has meant more animals have had to be killed, said Nancy Richards, shelter administrator.

Since the first of the year, the humane society has administered lethal injections to 1,026 or 67 percent of the 1,516 animals brought to the shelter.

"I took this job because I love animals, but I end up having to kill so many of them, and that is what really hurts," said Richards. "It's a harsh reality. It's not easy to deal with."

Richards said there always is an increase in the number of animals brought to the shelter this time of year, but that the numbers might be higher this year.

Part of the problem, she said, is that many pet owners don't get their dogs and cats spayed or neutered. Those animals end up pregnant or impregnating other dogs and cats, which results in unwanted litters.

The relatively warm winter likely added to the problem, she said, since pets were allowed outside more frequently, increasing the opportunity for more litters.

"We had a man last week bring in 16 puppies at one time," Richards said. She said the man, who lived in the Perryville area, has 15 adult dogs, none of which is "fixed."

A week ago Monday, about 45 animals mostly kittens, puppies and wild cats were brought to the shelter, Richards said.

"A lot of the ones brought in, of course, are sick," she said. "We have to put a lot of them asleep without even giving them a chance of being adopted."

Richards said the shelter staff generally sees an increase in the number of wild cats brought to the facility this time of year. Such cats don't make good pets. "They do not like people," she said. "They are extremely unsociable."

The shelter currently receives at least 25 animals daily. On Tuesday morning when staff members arrived at the shelter, they found 20 animals had been dropped off in the outside kennels.

By early Tuesday afternoon, the shelter staff already had given lethal injections to six cats, and had plans "to put to sleep" about 30 dogs later in the day.

"It's the most humane method that there is," said Richards. "Within five to 10 seconds, they are gone."

The shelter's 48 dog kennels now are nearly filled, and the facility is crowded with 100 to 125 animals.

Richards said that if the animals are healthy and there's sufficient space at the shelter, the staff tries to find new homes for them.

Under a contract with the city of Cape Girardeau, the shelter is required to keep animals picked up by the animal control officers for three days. After that, the dogs and cats legally may be killed.

"We do first try to adopt them, if they are adoptable," said Richards. But only about 22 to 24 percent of the shelter's animals are adopted.

Richards said that's a good percentage compared to the national average of about 10 percent.

She said that although some people talk about their children's joy in witnessing the birth of puppies or kittens, many of those animals ultimately are put to sleep.

The state legislature recently passed a bill requiring that any animal adopted from a humane society shelter be spayed or neutered a measure already practiced at the local shelter, Richards said.

She said if more owners would take the initiative to have their pets spayed or neutered, there might not be so many unwanted dogs and cats.

"When we are having to spend 2 hours each day putting animals to sleep, there is a problem," Richards added.