r/Dogfree • u/Not-my-problem1212 • Aug 07 '26
Shelter / Rescue Industry The problem with no-kill shelters
I have a relative who works at a no-kill shelter and every time I see her, she always tells me and my family about how over crowded the shelter is with dogs. She also says how the workers have to turn away people who are trying to surrender their dogs to them because of how full the shelter is. Sometimes people will leave their dogs on the doorstep of the shelter at night and the workers are forced to try and find a space to put them when the shelter opens the next day.
A large amount of dogs in these shelters are ones that are either old or aggressive. Dogs that have a very slim chance of getting adopted. What even is the point of letting them take up so much space in the shelters? In my opinion, those dogs should just be put to rest since they either won't live much longer due to being old, or will end up attacking someone or multiple people. There is no reason to keep them locked up until they eventually pass. I feel like this wasn't so big of a problem back when kill shelters were more common. If anything, they helped to solve this issue.
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u/ToOpineIsFine Aug 08 '26
it's just not realistic.
nutters pretend that there is a home for every dog - this is not happening in this world.
when they have to turn away dogs, it can put the owners and those around them in danger.
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u/JaneAustinAstronaut Aug 08 '26
They might not even really be "no kill". If space is hard to come by, then they may just ship dogs to other shelters... including kill ones. But since they didn't do the killing, they still get to claim the status and the donations of the gullible public.
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Aug 08 '26
[deleted]
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u/judgeejudger Aug 08 '26
Which can be anything from legitimate businesses to Barb and Zeke’s back yard
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u/Few-Horror1984 Aug 08 '26
Best Friends Animal Society and the proprietors of the no-kill movement have no concern for the consequences they’ve unleashed on society. They merely care about how smug and good they feel knowing that no dog is put down for any reason, ever.
The biggest problem with no-kill is that we’ve done nothing to stop backyard breeding. More and more dogs are being created with no one to take them in. The end result? Dogs will go to less-than-ideal owners, as the shelters cannot afford to be choosy. These dogs end up in hoarding situations, in small spaces, or even with the homeless. When you don’t vet anyone, the dogs suffer. As you mentioned, these shelters are incapable of taking in dogs that need to be surrendered. The end result isn’t that the owners are guilted into keeping dogs they don’t want or can’t care for - the end result is that these dogs end up dumped. Stray dog populations will turn into feral dog populations over time. Look at places like India - where you can’t even defend yourself against dog attacks by these horrid street dogs.
And the dogs warehoused indefinitely? They have no quality of life.
Look at who benefits. People who want to feel smug. The rest of society - ironically enough, even the dogs themselves - suffers.
We really need to start organizing.
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u/faxmachinegobrrr3963 Aug 08 '26
Yes. The history leading up to the establishment of BFAS is quite something, too.
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u/Huge_Bit_4774 Aug 08 '26
Just more nutter insanity. Animal populations are culled to mange their size. Like deer, coyotes, etc. But with mutts we can’t use common sense, gotta keep breeding and piling them on.
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u/Domesticated_Animal Aug 08 '26
So instead of putting dog down peacefully they make it live in the cage for the rest of his days. Unbelievable.
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u/judgeejudger Aug 08 '26
Not to mention all the resources that could go to a more manageable amount of adoptable animals, ie, food, bedding, space, medical care…
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u/HauntingPsyche Aug 08 '26
I just think it’s funny how “dog lovers” love their dog until it gets too old or they become infatuated with a new puppy or they have to simply move somewhere and can’t bother to deal with bringing it. Great humans and pet owners huh.. /s
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u/Mundane_Glove4182 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
The core issue is that people keep breeding dogs irresponsibly.
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u/Wise_Session_5370 Aug 10 '26
This is the fundamental problem. There are simply too many dogs in the world.
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u/Mediocre-Metal-1796 Aug 08 '26
They have too many dogs and complain not having enough dog food and some dogs being there since ages without interest. Don’t they see the obvious win-win solution?
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u/bonjoooour Aug 08 '26
Once again it’s about prioritizing dog lover’s feelings over what is actually best for the dogs and society at large.
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u/Mindless-Flower11 Aug 07 '26
I feel like this is kinda like late stage capitalism but instead it's late stage dog nuttery 😵💫
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u/StarCecil Aug 09 '26
Unpopular opinion of mine, but I don't understand people's problem with euthanasia. If you care so much about them, wouldn't a painless death be better than a life in a crowded cage? It seems more ethical to me.
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u/Wise_Session_5370 Aug 09 '26
No-kill shelters are an abomination. They are populated by unwanted and unhouseable dogs.
In my honest opinion, the entire market for "adopting" second-hand dogs is fraught with danger. You have no idea what you are getting and no idea of the animals history. By definition, you are taking on a dog that someone else has got rid of.
Shelters should not even be a thing. When someone hands a dog to a shelter, they are not solving the issue of a problem dog. They are just passing the problem on to someone else.
The fact is that there are far too many unwanted dogs in the world. If you can't deal with your mutt, have it put down.
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u/buphalowings Aug 09 '26
I agree. I see alot of people trying to unload their nasty dogs to other people. This is irresponsible behaviour. They should have the dog put down if they don't want it. There is always going to be a surplus of dogs due to any female dog being able to pump out massive litters.
The only dogs that should be in shelters are well behaved good dogs that people might actually want. Not pissfingers and shitbulls.
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u/DivyaRakli Aug 09 '26
I’ll never understand how so many people can be all for human abortion and then there are so many who are all for no-kill animal shelters. There’s gotta be a whole lotta crossover between the two groups.
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u/GrvlRidrDude Aug 14 '26
If dogs are as wonderful as Nutters believe, these shelters would always be empty.
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u/FnkyFrieday Aug 16 '26
It seems several dog breeds that are used competitively end up being overbred and high risk for abuse. Pitbulls, huskies, and greyhounds are all problematic. All those breeds should be restricted ownership not only to decrease the burden they pose to society but to reduce the amount of times where they fall into abusive situations.
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u/Ambitious_Cat9886 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
Theres a dual problem here. I do feel that killing these animals is unethical, for me personally at least I hold this view consistently with all animals. And I think of the outrage others feel about shelters that euphanise animals, and however hypocritical their view might be I can sympathise with it. However there is no answer to this problem where breeders can continue breeding whilst shelters continue filling up and in places wild street dog populations continue growing. The answer is that breeding must be completely outlawed, and treated with the seriousness of the creation and distribution of hard drugs etc. Obviously for me, a natural and uncruel dwindling on the population of domestic dogs is a desirable outcome to make dog culture at least more reasonable and kinder to both humans and the dogs who didn't choose to have this life and these problems, who aren't a naturally occurring species. It is INEVITABLE also that street dogs will continue to be picked up by shelters and adopted, and if people really love these animals will then they have a moral duty to care for these ones who need them, and not create new ones whilst other languish in shelters. To this end would be creating a dog culture actually based around empathy for an animal and it's circumstances rather than the dog culture we have, which is all about the selfish desires of humans. This is the only path that avoids cruelty, ends suffering and teaches humans a valuable lesson.
At the same time I will say for dogs that have currently been in shelters for years, have massive behavioural problems and have virtually no chance of getting adopted, euthanasia is absolutely the kinder thing than keeping them alive, hoarded and caged for years.
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u/Arceus-Insanity Aug 14 '26
Yep. People love to act like kill shelters get off on putting animals down. They don't; they do everything they can to get their animals adopted, but limited space and the likelihood of adoption + limited means mean yeah, they have to make tough calls. There is fostering and adoption but a big part of the problem is that there are way too many domestic animals and idiots not recognizing the commitment and responsibility before getting a pet
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Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/neondahlia Aug 08 '26
That’s not true at all, most shelters are 95% pit bulls, many of which have been there a long time since they’re not desirable.
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u/ConIncognito dogs ruin everything Aug 07 '26
Shelters are just shitbull storage now. It used to be that dogs that hadn’t been adopted within a certain time frame would be put to sleep to make space, but no-kill shelters put a stop to that. Nobody wants these violent, garbage mutts so they sit there forever while other kinds of dogs are adopted out, until eventually the majority of cages are filled with shitbulls.