Betraying the Trust
In the past year, shelters in the Nebraska/western Iowa area took
in 25,432 animals. Of that number 11,232 were euthanized (executed)
for lack of space, facilities, and loving homes. The shelters that
killed these animals serve a valuable purpose: they provide interim
homes for lost animals who are reclaimed by their human companions;
they place animals in loving adoptive homes; they provide humane
care for the animals in their charge. But all these services are
short-term, stop-gap measures, and when an animal goes unclaimed
and un-adopted for a specified period of time, it is killed to make
space for an animal with a better chance for adoption. For all their
humane treatment, in the final analysis, conventional shelters are,
for thousands of animals, waiting rooms for the executioner.
The vast majority of animals in shelters are domestic
animals, the name we give the non-human companions who play with
our children, guard our homes, fill our loneliness, and love us
without reservation or question. Each of these pets once relied
on an affectionate and caring human who, in bringing the animal
into a home, established an implicit agreement with the pet to see
to its needs, treasure its company, and return its affection. When
these non-human friends, who have known only our care and provisioning
from puppy- or kitten-hood, become too large, too inconvenient,
or just less cute, many humans reject them like outgrown toys or
stale pastimes. Some are driven far from home and abandoned to assume
feral lives in the wild, an environment for which they have been
systematically conditioned by domestication to fail. Some are killed
by their trusted and beloved owners. And some are surrendered to
animal shelters to enter the adoption lottery, of which the winners
are granted survival and the losers are exterminated.
The animals released by owners are the source of an additional problem-feral
natives: the offspring of feral pets, born and grown to adulthood
without the care of humans, but often living wild lives in human
environments. Packs of these native feral animals roam our inner
cities or the edges of our towns, exacting bitter survival by preying
on other denizens of the filthy alleys and littered streets or foraying
into suburban fringes to hunt their more fortunate, cared for cousins,
our pets. Disease and accident riddle their bodies with pain, and
harsh competition abrades away the loving natures for which they
were bred. Unfit for adoption, feral animals who are captured are
summarily killed.
The No-Kill Shelter: A Loving Alternative
In the past few years, animal lovers have devised and implemented
a new system for caring for some of the unwanted domestic animals
who are rejected by their human companions: the no-kill animal shelter.
The premise is a simple one: in a no-kill shelter animals are not
euthanized unless they are terminally ill and suffering. The pets
no one wants find a loving, safe, and healthy home where they are
shown the affection and care they have come to expect from their
early human contacts. Sick animals are given expert veterinary care
and close supervision until they are well. Healthy animals are given
the diet, exercise, cleanliness, and love needed to keep them healthy
and happy.
The
Loving Solution
The Nebraska/western Iowa region currently lacks
a no-kill shelter on the scale that is required to fit the need.
The pets in such a shelter would require spacious grounds for
kennels and runs, clean and well-kept buildings, wholesome food,
and safe, effective medicine. The animals would need an on-site
veterinary clinic headed by a dedicated and accomplished DVM.
The rescued pets would need stimulating and enjoyable
recreational opportunities. They would also need a warm, caring,
and deeply loving staff.
Our goal at Merlin's Refuge is to promote the
development of such a shelter and to address the need of soon to
be homeless pets until such a shelter is built. We offer the
unique advantage of working with current pet owners who want to
give up their pets and pet lovers who want to adopt a pet in
need of a home. We ensure that all pets we assist, are spayed
or neutered to control the pet population. Potential adoptive
human companions are required to complete a screening and, if we
determine that they meet the criteria established by the current
owner, we facilitate the match.
This approach has several advantages:
-
The current pet owner is provided with
pre-screened potential adopters
-
The pet is never placed at risk by being
warehoused in a shelter
-
The current owner has full control of the
adoption process and surrender of their pet
-
Your donation dollar goes further by ensuring
that overhead costs are minimal
Extension and Education Services
Merlin's Refuge
will work closely with local schools and adult educational
institutions to provide people the opportunity to learn about
animal overpopulation and how to care properly for pets.
We will publish and distribute
flyers, brochures, and pamphlets to raise community awareness
about pet overpopulation and the hardships pet animals face when
abandoned by humans.
We will provide pet matching
services for community members who must give up a pet due to
disability, terminal illness, or permanent entry into
nursing/hospice care facilities.
Finally, Merlin's Refuge will
coordinate efforts with local shelters, animal rescue services,
FEMA, and local homeless shelters to provide pet matching
services for pets of victims of natural disasters and pets of
the homeless.
The Bottom Line
Merlin's Refuge is a tax-exempt (IRS Code 501 (c)(3)),
non-profit corporation. Your tax deductible cash or in-kind gift
to Merlin's Refuge will help provide a loving and effective alternative
to euthanasia for hundreds of pets in the Nebraska/western Iowa
regional alternative of affection, professional care, and healthy
life for the pet's natural life span. Requests for information should
be addressed to: MerlinFrye@aol.com
