I'm torn both ways on this one...

Yes, there are plenty here. But I don't think dogs from abroad should die either, so why not help save them aswell?

I'm glad I have Pepper.

I don't have any trouble at all when an individual does this kind of thing, but with rescues and shelters... yeah. Sometimes I know they use it as a PR thing- a tragic story can get a lot of publicity and a lot of donations which can be used not only to help the dog in question, but other dogs in need. If the dog has medical conditions that can be resolved and give the dog good quality of life and make him highly adoptable, then I'm ok with that (broken leg for example which can be pinned/plated and the dog is good). But that's not always what happens....

It's a fine line, I think. Lots of gray area.

iwant...same reason children here should be helped to not go hungry every day before those of other countries. Because they are ours. Other governments and their consituents should do what needs doing in their own countries. That is my view on the subject...like I said...someone is giving those groups money...so they do what they do. But I certainly don't have to agree it's a great idea.

I am very torn on this one as well... There are rescues who take in the sickest dogs who require hundreds and thousand dollars to be brought back to health... and then they require $300 adoption fees... and there there are rescues who typically don't take on these dogs, their adoption fee is $100 and they adopt more dogs and.

But then again, I will appreciate everyone who saves a dog in need.

Then you have groups like H$U$ which solicits funds for individual dogs or situations then who knows what they actually..*do* with it...LOL.

I am too find it hard, I really don't think there is a right or wrong.
I know I took some grief, years ago when I refused to take in a very old deaf, blind, seizuring jrt that was in whelp. In my opinion she should have been put down, yes pups included. The jrt just didn't have the money to take on such a case and if I took her, I made it clear I was going to have her pts, before she had the pups (she was about half way through gestation.)

On the other hand I really enjoy dropping off, towels, blankets and laundry soap to local shelters along with extra collars/leashes etc.

I haven't read any other posts, but yes, I find myself thinking this all the time when I hear of horror stories.

And then last night when I was reading Bnwalker's thread... I started thinking about Fred. He was a kitten I was fostering and planning to adopt, and he died. And I realized - I would have done anything to save that kitten. No matter how much the cost was. I love him.

I think it's very different thinking about Hypothetical Animal or meeting one of these survivors and not getting to know and love them, seeing how special they are.. not seeing them when they are vulnerable and FIGHTING with everything they've got to live.

Because.. there's still a chance they could die. But if they are fighting to live, right there in your arms, they at least still have a chance to live. And EVERY second is worth it.

When I was a junior in college, I ended up taking in a 6 week old chihuahua mix puppy. Someone had dropped her off at a Petsmart, and I knew the manager who worked there. She knew I had chihuahuas so she called me. She told me the puppy was healthy... she just didn't have a place to go.

When I picked up the puppy I was shocked at her condition... big swollen belly, unalert, dehydrated, etc, etc. Some girl who worked there had taken the puppy home with her for a couple of nights and didn't care that she wasn't eating or drinking :yikes: I had to rush the puppy to my vet so she could get fluids and treatment. She had a few types of worms, an eye infection, an ear infection, was dehydrated, malnourished... just a very sick little puppy. My vet cut me a MAJOR break on her expenses... and even if it ended up costing more, I'm not sure that I could've just walked away.

I'm torn on the issue as well... if it's going to cost thousands to rehabilitate a rescue then I'm not sure how I feel.

I agree.

Let's take Mercy, the pit bull, for example. This was a very tragic case in which someone dragged, stabbed, and then burned the poor dog. It was horrific....it brought me to tears on all accounts-that a dog had to suffer so much and that mankind is capable of such cruelty that it constantly dishes out on a daily basis to both animals and humans. The pictures released fo the dog were horrendous....some of the most graphic I've seen.

Yet instead of allowing this dog a painless release from all her pain and misery, she was kept alive, forced to undergo countless painful debriding and bandaging treatments, surgeries, etc. I've seen dogs in this state and every second of every day is painful....there is no about of Torb that can take the pain away. In the meantime, her story and picture were plastered everywhere, requests for donations were attached, and tens of thousands of dollars were given to save this dog. Mercy died many, many days later.

Now, IMO this dog should've been humanely euthanized from the get-go. I think that it was cruel and selfish to live even longer like she did, despite all the "love" she received. But I also believe that the main reason for keeping her alive was for PR reasons. I know that sounds wrong, but it is what it is.

I also believe the same when rescue groups/organizations boast/proclaim about all their "Katraina dogs" or "Vick dogs", etc. If it was truly being done for just the dogs, there would be no reason to give them such a title. Many dogs already housed in shelters were euthanized in order to allow these other "famous" dogs a place to go. And those actions **** me off.

I believe it should be taken on a case by case basis. What is the expected quality of life, are their sufficient funds, what are the options, extent of illness/damage etc. You can go on http://www.puppymillrescue.com and see many dogs in a bad way that they have helped, but you can also see the ones they let go, like the yorkie with the broken jaw; they would have had to pin his jaw together, but they decided not to put him through any more pain. I admire them for that.

But some cases are lost causes from the getgo. For example, I saw an ad on CL that said "saw this posted in Washington Post, pom puppy needs home, has water on the brain, cannot walk or stand. Someone please help this puppy." I sat there wondering why whoever had this puppy didn't humanely PTS.

I might get disowned for this one but this is how I look at it.

Combat Triage.

You take those with the best possible chance of survival and help them first then you work on the others - you may save a few of the others in the long run, but it's not necessarily going to happen. Yes this sounds cold to prioritize people or animals but it's sometimes the only way.
Animals that have a low chance of becoming adoptable due to mental or physical problems should, IMO, be euthanized, especially in the event like Miakoda mentioned, the dog did not have a good prognosis to begin with.
It's just like gambling, you'll win some, and you'll lose far more - but you can be assured that those cases you win will be fulfilling.

theoretically, it makes sense to help the most with the resources you have...but there is something that happens when you connect with a story or an individual.
When I told my husband about Wilson...he said "You know they euthanize dogs around here too"--which of course I know that. But something about that picture of Wilson, I kept coming back to and knew I needed to do something for HIM--and I had no knowledge of his medical needs, etc.
So, I think having a face or a story brings it to reality--you know you are helping THAT animal.
I don't know if it's right or wrong--but it just is!

I totally understand about triage. And I agree with it. I think some of the heroic measures used to save dogs are themselves abusive. I see dogs getting complicated, hopeless chemotherapy for cancer with a poor prognosis, for example, as a form of abuse the owners subject the dog to for their own needs.

On the other hand, I am fairly certain that my big hound would not have passed through triage. He was so traumatized when we got him that he was totally unresponsive to people. At the shelter that originally got him, they intended to euth him because they felt that during the abuse he probably suffered brain damage, due to his behavior.

He turned out really, totally great, and without expensive interventions. So you can't be sure.....

I don't know what i think.

I agree with this, and not just only with animals but human beings as well.
People who let an animal or relative suffer unnecessarily because they cannot cope with the loss are being selfish. Fortunately, a vet has the right to refuse treatment for a terminal condition if they believe it will cause inhumane suffering to the animal...
I don't like to see suffering in humans or animals, period. It is a shame that an animal has to rely on human beings to determine when it's time for them, since they don't have the liberty of signing a DNR, and they can only hope that their owner understands their needs and doesn't try to prolong the inevitable with heroic measures that will only torture the animal.
Some people miss the forest for all the trees and can't bear the loss of "fluffy or fido" - even though the animal is terminal and is going to suffer needlessly.
I could only hope that someone doesn't do that to me if I am suffering and am not going to have a good quality of life.

I believe it is an individual matter . . . you save the ones you are led to; the ones who speak directly to your heart.

Is one really worth more, or more worthy, than the other?

But then, I don't believe that WE are worth more than other animals, so for me, that translates directly to a question of whether a healthy child is more worthy than a sick or impaired child?

We love the ones we love, and real love isn't a conscious choice, it just Is.

:hail::hail::hail:

One of my rescue stories for example....

Abby was deaf, allowed to roam and was struck by a car. When I picked her up from the vet, the jerks let her sit in a run for days with a broken leg without repairing it even though we had authorized any treatment she may need. By the time they released her to us, the bone had started to re-fuse back together incorrectly. We had the option of rebreaking the leg, which on a dane was not something they could do easily if at all, or just letting it heal in a cast and hope it came out somewhat straight.

Well, the end result was a leg that looked like it had two elbows, was too short, and caused her pain.

I spent tons of money on her, outside of what rescue covered, and still we had a dog with multiple issues that by the thoughts of many should've just been euthanized.

But I tell you, when I went to see her at the vet hospital, and that frightened, bag of bones hobbled over to me with her leg dangling and she managed to scrape up enough courage to give me the tiniest tail wag, I knew then I would do whatever it took to save her. My heart wouldn't have permitted anything less..

(and there are many more stories just like this that I could tell...)

I've been reading the replies but have been kind of afraid to post, due to the fact that it seems the original post was pretty much directed at me. I actually feel a little bit offended by it and now I'm honestly regretting having posted about the puppies that I rescued.

Very well said, and thank you! :hail:

bnwalker, there is no reason to be offended.

Me personally, I save whichever and whatever I dang well please. If it's my money, then no one can tell me how to spend it.

In a rescue situation, I do think that a line needs to be drawn somewhere to keep dogs from enduring more of their hell on earth than they've already endured. Not to mention that I'm soooo against the soliciting of funds strictly based on where a dog came from or who it came from (LA/MS Katrina dogs, Vick dogs, etc.). IMO those dogs are no different than others. And I know for a fact of one shelter than euthanized several healthy dogs to take in some severely HW+ dogs from down here only to have 1 single surviving dog. Was that really fair? And more importantly, what was the true motive behind the move?

I hope it wasn't. If it was, I definitely see a reason to be offended.... and if you're offended by my post as well, I don't blame you at all.

But we've had situations similar to this being discussed here and there lately....

I wasn't offended by your post at all, it was one of the few that I very much agreed with.