Animal lover, seeks advice about a animal shelter - well meaning sincere person?

Question

IN MY OPINION: I ASKJUST MY OPINION: I ASK

In a neighborhood, an animal shelter does not seem to hold any type of events to adopt the animals. Neighbors aren't aware of any type of place where these animals can be seen either. The shelter is not open to the public, its private property. That’s understandable. How do shelters adopt?

The goal of each rescue is to find new homes. Per a volunteer, more and more animals go in but never go out. As animal lovers, we just want to make sure these animals are ok. What does one do in this type of situation? Our hope is it's changed, if others have reported their concerns. Poorly maintained flea infestd. Bigger cages exist, but majority were in the regular cages. Who do we contact other than ASPCA? How do we research if others have written or filed similar complaints? If so, our hope, positive changes? This really tugs at our heartstrings.

Answer 1

probably not a proper shelter.. a lot of places use the term "rescue" loosely..

read this link

http://www.socyberty.com/Organizations/W...

contact a vet in your area, they will tell you who to call.  Good luck.. thanks for caring.

Answer 2

There is a shelter (for lack of better term) very similar to what you have described in my town. I happened to get the info on them a few years back on accident after I was surveying in the area. Turns out, this was a private rescue run by a most eccentric and (luckily) wealthy woman. She would take on dogs, cats and horses that stood no other chance at adoption due to age, illness or behavior. Then, rather than let them be euthanized, she let them live out their lives on her farm. Several friends and comrades of hers would "volunteer" their time to help her with the place. If after a period of time, one of the animals turned the corner and was deemed fit to be rehomed, she would personally find a home for that animal rather than wait for someone to come to her. When I happened upon the place, I asked to peek around, and she happily showed me her set up. Several of the dogs were in regular sized cages or pens during the day, she explained to me that this made it easier to desensitize them to human contact. And at night they went into jumbo sized pens with outdoor access.

This is just an example of what I saw local to me, and at first glance, may have made a few people cringe, but in actuality is a great place run by a wonderful selfless woman. In your case, you should contact your states animal welfare officer for guidance. He or she may go out and take a peek, or fill you in to the exact circumstance to the shelter you have mentioned.

Good Luck

Answer 3

I have to ask a few questions to you... Is this a true "Humane Society" or is a shelter with an obscure name? Do they have a phone number or somewhere to contact them in order to give donations? Do they have a board committee? If they have a building and its housing lots of animals they need a license. They would have to be inspected by a state health official every 5  to 6 months and they would need to comply with city and county regulations (such as wells, and waste disposal). If they haven't ever been inspected or are not complying then chances are this is  NOT a shelter, but a hoarding situation. I would contact the Chamber of Commrace or the City Licensing center  in your city to find out what kind of permits they possess. Thats the start. IF they have some kind of contact number try to get an "owner" or "manager" on the phone, if they seem hesitant I would fib with something like you want to donate some towels or something for the animals in order to get a human on the phone. See if you can get a person talking to you. This facility may not adopt out because they have a class b license in which animals are shipped off to research centers, and Universities for testing.  Is there any body there at certain hours? You have someone willing to testify that they witness things there? If you do call the Federated Humane Societies or the HSUS and see if anyone is willing to investigate. This really sounds like a fishy deal and that definantly needs more looking into.

Answer 4

they cant be doing anything that bad because they must have to get checked out why not ask to volunteer and check it out for yourself

please answer my question

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 5

You might consider contacting shelterwatch.org -- they are CA based but can probably advise you wrt what you can do and to whom you can go.

Answer 6

Most city governments are in charge of these things. Contac the Mayor, Board of Aldermen, those sort of people to voice your concerns. You may also contact the Humane Society of the United States to see if they can send someone to investigate the situation.  Good Luck.