Dog Pound Facts-- The Good, The Bad and The Little Known

The dog pound, it's also known as the animal shelter. Just the sound of the name strikes fear into some dog owner's hearts. Images of the mean dogcatcher snatching up unsuspecting pooches are conjured up. However, most of this is based on myth and TV's portrayal of the dog pound. Let's take a look at what this institution really is.

First of all the dog pound is a place where lost, nuisance, and unwanted dogs are kept. These dogs arrive here in several ways. Animal control (a.k.a. the dog catcher) brings in animals reported as strays. They also bring in abandoned dogs, dogs suspected of rabies (these guys are quarantined), dogs injured by cars or other animals and left at the side of the road, and dogs that have been taken away from negligent owners.

Let's talk about strays. Not all stray dogs that end up in the dog pound are really strays. Some are beloved pets that have wandered out through open gates, or gotten away from their owners by other means. If your pet has a collar with either their name and address and owners phone number attached to it, they will try to contact you.

Also, if the rabies tag is attached to the collar (and it should be) they will look up the vet who issued the tag and try to contact you through them. In the mean time, while your precious pooch is waiting for you to find them; they are in a safe place with food, water, shelter, and vet care (if needed). The dog pound does not offer luxury accommodations, but your pet is safe until you come to get them. If they are unable to contact you within a certain amount of time (this varies from place to place) the dog will be put up for adoption.

Dogs that have been abandoned or confiscated from negligent owners find their way to the dog pound. Again, animal control is involved. Usually these poor pups are in need of immediate vet care. When calls about animal abuse are received by animal control they are required to investigate. If the situation warrants, the dogs are taken away from the owners. These dogs are then given immediate vet care and if they can be rehabilitated they are put up for adoption. In severe cases of abuse, when the damage is so severe to the animal, sometimes they have to make the difficult decision to euthanize the animal. In this case the dog pound offers a safe haven to animals in need.

Animal control will pick up stray dogs and usually fine owners of nuisance dogs. If the nuisance keeps up then it is possible that the dog will be removed from the owner. These dogs all become residents of the dog pound. Now here is where things get difficult. Every shelter or dog pound can only hold a finite number of animals. Although they adopt out animals, there are usually more animals in need than the shelters can hold. The shelters have to make very hard decisions about what to do about space management.

Unfortunately, this requires euthanizing healthy animals. Sometimes animals are not adaptable because of age, size, or behavior. These are the ones at highest risk for euthanasia. It is an unfortunate reality of the dog pound. The best way to relive this problem is to adopt dogs from these pounds instead of going to a breeder. They almost always have puppies. If you do not want a show dog, then be responsible and adopt from the local dog pound.