"We are asking animal shelters across the USA to take a pledge not to kill any savable animals on June 11, 2013. For Just One Day, "Euthanasia Technicians" will put down their syringes and pick up cameras. Instead of injecting animals with lethal doses of sodium pentobarbital, they will photograph them and post them on the Internet, on Facebook, on twitter. On June 11, 2013, they will market their animals to the public, they will reach out to rescue groups, they will host adoption events with discounted rates, they will stay open for extended hours, and they will ask their communities to help them empty the shelter the good way."
I surfed around to see which shelters in Texas were participating. Plenty were, including those with less funding and fewer paid employees than Dallas Animal Services. Seagoville's participating. So is Arlington, Irving and Carrollton Animal Services. Even Houston's BARC is participating.
But Dallas Animal Services isn't participating. They never have. Can Jody Jones explain why?
I decided to visit the DallasCAP Facebook page to politely ask why - but after reading their "Rules of the Road", I realized that my post would last about 30 seconds. I've copied and pasted the Rules below. My comments are in blue.
Rules of the Road - please read before posting.
We are creating a community plan. To that end, please consider the following before posting:
- DallasCAP is about reducing euthanasia by creating a plan to implement the community programs necessary to affect all the components of a no kill plan.
- DallasCAP is not about Dallas Animal Services. Dallas Animal Services now has a manager with decades of experience in animal sheltering, who was instrumental in making Richmond, Virginia a No Kill Community. She knows what needs to happen at DAS and can get it done. (FP note: Er, how long do we have to wait for this? Jody Jones didn't just show up yesterday.)
Remember, no one individual or organization can tackle a problem of this magnitude. “No Kill may be defined by what happens to the animals within the halls of the shelter, but it can only be achieved by what happens outside of them.” – Nathan Winograd, author and No Kill advocate*
- All comments need to be constructive. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. (FP Note: what this really means is if you can't ram your nose up our asses when you post, don't comment as we'll delete it like the good fascists we are.)
- If you've got a suggestion regarding a way you think our community can decrease the number of animals entering shelters and rescue groups, increase the number of animals reunited with their owners by shelters and rescue groups, help keep beloved companion animals in homes they already have, increase the number of pets adopted from shelters and rescue groups, and increase support and funding for spay/neuter, we want to hear it. You are welcome to post it here for everyone on Facebook to see. (FP: so why is there not a single posting of this nature to be seen?)
- But if you want to be sure the task force considers it, please use the Suggestions page on our website at www.dallascompanionanimalproject.org. (FP: This makes it easier for us to delete/ignore you.)
- Please do not post adoptable pets or pets in need of rescue. We can't help. (FP: No, you can't help. You don't want to do what it takes to end the killing. You want to sit in front of your computers and "educate" the likes of us.) We're a task force creating a plan - (FP: Where's the plan? Why no updates?) implementation will begin as soon as possible, but for now we are not handling adoptable animals. For assistance rescuing or rehoming pets, please visit the Advocacy Partners page of our website for a list of local organizations who may be able to help.
Also, please note - months of research has been conducting up to this point, so while we appreciate the sentiment, general comments like "look at what Richmond did", keep in mind that we've already researched Austin, Richmond, San Antonio, San Francisco, and many, many more. (FP: Why they didn't replace this paragraph with the phrase "fuck off" is a mystery.)
* Although Nathan Winograd has literally written to the mayor of Dallas and asked that the quote be removed from all DAS-related materials - but as of today's date, it's still there. Does anyone know who the author of this is? (Hint: Winograd decisively ate her lunch on Facebook when discovering he'd been quoted in such fashion. She also likes to "like" postings that feature her on the DCAP Facebook page - a page she authors.)
