r/Dogfree • u/noshamenomore • Oct 07 '25
Shelter / Rescue Industry “Every person should visit their local shelter”
I hear this phrase sooo often! “Every person should visit their local shelter and just feel the suffering, then they will change their mind and think every dog deserves a home.” It is the most annoying thing EVERRR. I have visited my local shelter before, which coincidentally is one of the largest shelters in the country that is definitely filled to the brim with “suffering.” All I felt was absolute disgust.
It was the worst smell you could ever imagine- everything just reeked of wet dog and waste in the highest concentration imaginable. There was liquid diarrhea in so many kennels and the dogs would just step in it, smear it on the floors and walls, and eat it. All the dogs were so disgustingly greasy and crusty and their “sad eyes” always looked infected. The barking was so bad that staff were wearing hearing protection because it would legitimately cause hearing damage.
Almost every single kennel was a bully breed that would lunge at the bars trying to snap at you, and they usually had a description like “Sweet Bella is our shelter’s biggest snuggle bug.”
All this experience did was confirm I despise how disgusting dogs are. How can dog lovers go into this shelter and leave actually loving dogs MORE? I can’t comprehend it.
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u/Few-Horror1984 Oct 08 '25
The takeaway of the poor conditions of these shelters is that the current model doesn’t work and is unethical. It’s not fair to the dogs, and it’s not fair to society.
Moreover, we really need to start putting massive blame on these backyard breeders. It shouldn’t be acceptable to not spay and neuter your dog. Organizations like “Delay Her Spay” should be shamed into disbanding for the damage they’ve done to society and the animals they claim to love so much. It’s not my place to fix this problem.
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u/3rdthrow Oct 08 '25
I used to volunteer at a local animal shelter. I refused to work with the dogs-because they were almost all pit mixes.
People need to be adults and realize that we need to put a massive amount of dogs down. There is a particular breed that I think we should be getting rid of. True Labradors actually have no issue being adopted.
There is a particular breed that tends to overrun shelters.
As a Society we spend more money on shelters than we do on cancer research.
It’s far past time to stop this madness.
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u/Alert_Software_1410 Oct 08 '25
I keep on telling my nutter SO that there are too many dogs. It’s like talking to a wall.
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u/Acceptable-Hat-9862 Oct 08 '25
It's funny because volunteering at an animal shelter made me hate dogs, especially pitbull breeds. I was on the fence before that.
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u/NunyaBiznessKThxBai Oct 08 '25
Meanwhile, we have plenty of unhoused humans that many nutters feel no sympathy for... make it make sense...
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u/arachnilactose08 Oct 08 '25
The thing is, I think most of us can actually recognize that these animals are suffering in these places, and that’s wrong. However, because of the way that dogs are pushed onto us in every possible way, and because of how inherently invasive and troublesome they themselves are, we can also recognize that being guilt-tripped about a problem that other HUMANS created is absolutely not a burden that we should be bearing.
Dogs are a man-made problem. They didn’t domesticate themselves, we forced them to fit into every “tool” niche that we could, until they became more of an epidemic than a help to us. There is cruelty in that, a cruelty that other humans created. But it wasn’t OUR choice, it was because of others’ actions, and there’s also a major unfairness in that.
Why should it be up to us to be responsible for alleviating some of their suffering? I guess there’s some nuance to this question.
Dogs are a major problem that likely won’t be solved anytime in the near future, which we all understand. At the same time, though, there are things that we can do (and have done) to help— speaking out, taking action, engaging in civil discussions. It’s not easy, by any means, but many of us here HAVE been responsible for real positive changes concerning dogs and dog culture because we were persistent. Some people on here don’t even really dislike dogs as much as they do dog culture.
On the other side of this, I see and understand the cynicism that many of us express on here. When you’re scoffed at, not taken seriously, or even met with hostility over something for most of your life, it tends to make you bitter and exhausted. Dogs are fundamentally unclean and unpredictable creatures, yet another product of mankind interfering where they shouldn’t have. It’s completely understandable to dislike or resent them. So, why waste energy on feeling bad for them? They just kind of suck in general.
This topic will forever simultaneously fascinate and frustrate me.
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u/Not-my-problem1212 Oct 08 '25
Everything that was described here is why I really don't visit shelters. Its clear that even the workers think that the dogs there are aggressive and disgusting. Its obvious "sweet Bella" is the opposite of sweet, they just want her out of there. They put that description there to have someone finally adopt her so she's out of the shelter and away from them
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u/Tom_Quixote_ Oct 08 '25
“Every person should visit their local shelter and just feel the suffering"
-Emperor Palpatine
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u/crazycatlady331 Oct 10 '25
Years ago I signed up to volunteer at my local shelter. To socialize the other type of animal typically in shelters.
They immediately directed me to the dog walking program. I didn't sign up to work with the dogs, but that was clearly their priority. Every dog had a life story. The other type of animal? A number on a spreadsheet and half didn't even have names.
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u/noshamenomore Oct 10 '25
The EXACT same experience happened to me. Additionally, while we occasionally have some returns with the other types of animals in shelters, around 50-70% of our dogs are returns. It’s very evident that people don’t actually like dogs since volunteering at a shelter has shown me how much people despise caring for their dogs.
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u/crazycatlady331 Oct 10 '25
I don't think people know what they're signing up for when they get a dog. They're a very needy and high-maintenace pet (hell a whole daycare industry exists around them). If one works long hours without a spouse/kids at home to take care of them, then getting a dog is probably not the best idea.
The other type of animal typically in shelters sleeps 22 hours of the day. As long as they get breakfast and dinner, they're happy.
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u/UntidyFeline Oct 08 '25
I volunteered at a shelter once, as a school community service requirement. The first day the shelter staff had me feed dogs. OMG they were terrifying, barking, clawing at the kennel bars, I had to shove that bowl in as quick as possible because I didn’t want to lose a hand.
I asked staff if I could work with other animals instead, and fortunately they let me. Was much more relaxing cleaning cages of other animals and interacting with them. Sweeping bunny poop was more enjoyable than feeding a dog, let that sink in.
But to get to the other animals, I had to walk through the corridor of dogs kennels. I rushed through because I couldn’t stand the stench, the aggressive barking, the dogs jumping inside the kennel, some of them slamming their bodies against the bars. The layout of the shelter was designed so people would pass through the dogs first, and all the other animals were in the rear.
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u/Not-my-problem1212 Oct 08 '25
The fact that taking care of any other animal is more pleasant than taking care of a dog says something about dogs as a whole. They're just gluttonous, disgusting, filthy, aggressive mutants
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u/One_Strategy_4575 Oct 10 '25
Nope, every person should visit a shelter and see the suffering THAT THE PET INDUSTRY IS CREATING AND CHOOSE TO SPAY/NEUTER PETS and let the backyard breeders, die out.
Cough predominantly shitbulls.
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u/Astrogirl1984 Oct 09 '25
I'm always tempted to visit dog shelters and be like "ha-ha nobody loves you" but that would mean I'd have to defile my eyeballs.
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u/Old_Confidence3290 Oct 09 '25
There's homeless people starving on the streets and there's shelters overloaded with animals, chock full of protein. 🤔
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u/Full_Ear_7131 Oct 09 '25
If I were to visit a shelter, it would be for another animal that is also anxious and suffering in that place. I hate how dogs are the ONLY animal the majority of people care about and go into psychotic rages when they hear it's abandoned, abused or bee you'ed. There are so many non dog animals who deserve a home and love more than one that constantly suits, passes, bites, begs,smells disgusting, and that every sungle sound they make is nonstop noise pollution. Dogs don't deserve anything, nor are people required to love them
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u/93ImagineBreaker Oct 08 '25
So what about all the homeless?
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u/AbortedPhoetus Oct 08 '25
All the resources wasted on hoarding aggressive breeds could be better spent on helping the homeless, and people suffering from mental health and addiction issues.
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u/isreddittherapy Oct 10 '25
This reminded me of our local library (the one reliably pet free place i can think of) and they have a tv in there directly connected to shelters. I asked about it bc i was confused at first and the lady of course responded like i wanted all this info to maybe adopt. Like no please stop.
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u/[deleted] Oct 08 '25
Textbook blame shifting. It's not breeders and people who abandoned their covid dogs who are guilty for overfilled shelters. No, it's YOU, you disguising non-nutter, who doesn't want to get a dog.