A Day in The Life…. Webam Inside A HIGH-KILL Shelter
Networking By:
Advocate for Saving Dogs™
Stop surrendering your pets to the shelters!
I can not give you better proof than this!
L@@K!!
They come in…and most go DIRECTLY to the kill room!
~AfSD
Two ladies bring a mama dog to MAS after 5pm on April 30.
In you go mama.
Here come the puppies.
Delivering first 2 pups to mama.
Puppies 3 and 4 coming in.
One last keepsake photo.
Bye babies, I love you, hope you get adopted soon and have happy, long lives.
May 3: Taking puppies from the kennel and putting them into the trash can.
They are all standing on their little hind legs
Trash can full of pups last seen at the kill room door.
YesBiscuit!
Shelter (noun): Something that affords protection; a refuge, a haven.
Puppy to kill room – one hand on one foreleg.
Workers allow this pregnant dog to be dragged to the kennel in which they are placing a whelping box.
No seriously lady – that cage is way too small for me.
Do…not…want.
A mama dog is taken from her kennel on a chokepole.
Her pups are taken to the kill room.
Inhumane handling of puppy.
This dog is too big for this small cage.
A beautiful GSD comes into the shelter.
A worker puts the GSD on a chokepole.
The GSD is taken directly to the kill room.
This was the last shot of the GSD visible on the webcams.
In the background of this shot, a worker appears to be taking something out of a small cage.
It appears to be a dead black dog.
The business of killing continues while the black dog lies there on the floor.
Check out the dead dog.
So busy…
Everybody just leaves and the dead dog is still on the floor.
Snapshots from MAS
April 29, 2011
Adopt a shelter Pet! *yank*
Incoming dog, apparently injured and unable to walk – broken leg? Something else?
Injured dog taken straight to the kill room.
Another dog on a cart taken to the kill room.
Scared pup on a chokepole.
Civil disobedience.
Incoming dog gets dragged around the shelter while the ACO looks for an open spot.
Does not want to be here.
Same dog as previous shot, 15 seconds later. Pancaked.
Noooooooooo!
GET IN THERE!
You Have Got to be Kidding Me
April 28, 2011
screengrabs from MAS last night. The first two shots are 15 seconds
apart and appear to show an ACO trying to get a dog on a chokepole into a
bottom kennel. The third shot is 30 seconds after the second one. The
webcams usually refresh after 15 seconds, but not always. The ACOs
typically bring an impounded dog off the truck and place the dog in a
kennel. This is visible on the webcams daily.
second before or after each shot was taken. What does it look like to
you?
photos from this afternoon. It looks as if the black dog was in that
upper cage, a chokepole was used to remove him from it and he was taken
to a kennel more fitting to his size. At least, that’s my
interpretation.
The
bank of cages from which this dog was removed runs parallel to this row
of kennels. They are visible behind the dog in this shot.
Two MAS Dogs – A Love Story
April 26, 2011
Romeo on the move.
Juliet out for a stroll.
You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!
Wrong way lovebirds.
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
YesBiscuit!
Shelter (noun): Something that affords protection; a refuge, a haven.
This is What Cowards Do
April 23, 2011
needless killing, Memphis Animal Services staff could have stepped up,
taken responsibility and worked toward reform. I would have respected
that. Instead, they have opted to act like cowards and hide their
wrongdoing. This says to me that they know their actions are shameful
and they don’t have the backbone to defend themselves. So they go to
plan B: Hide.
They are now using circuitous routes through the shelter to try and
keep their abuse and killing on the down low, off the webcams.
Apparently they think the public is so stupid, no one will notice that
the shelter’s kill numbers continue to rise as it maintains its
disgraceful 77% kill rate. And if we don’t see the inhumane treatment
close-up, we’ll forget about it.
chickenshit attempts to fool the public by hiding your crimes will not
succeed.
“Trash” all piled up in front of the kill room at MAS on March 26, 2011
March 29: This dog is scared and does not want to be taken to the kill room.
March 29: Another dog too frightened to walk to the kill room.
Just hilarious.
Video documenting the need for reform at MAS.
Shelter (noun): Something that affords protection; a refuge, a haven.
Snapshots from Memphis
April 20, 2011
everything that comes through the door – you might want to watch making
blanket statements intimating only the sick/sad/bad dogs are killed. It
obviously ain’t so. And there’s no way it ever could be. Because most dogs
– including those in a shelter – are healthy or have treatable
conditions; they’re happy – even if some of them don’t show it inside
the scary shelter environment; and they are good.
don’t understand why Memphis Animal Services keeps killing and killing
without even giving many of these pets a chance.
wag-wag-wag
wag
waggy-wag
Although the tail is not visible in this shot, the front half of this pup looks pretty dang chipper.
Never mind the tail wagging – run for it! This dog was recaptured and taken to the kill room.
Tail not wagging, too scared to walk. This dog had to be dragged to the kill room.
How Long?
April 17, 2011
and whether MAS leaves a pile of dead bodies for all the pets to
see/smell in the kill room. I think the public deserves to know whether
the city is using their tax dollars to kill pets humanely or not.
“euthanasia room” at MAS. I’m willing to speculate a little since we
can’t seem to get any answers from those in charge. Here’s a guess:
matches the ID # on the cage card and make a note that they have
verified this.
scanning was missed upon intake or the scanner used at intake did not
pick up the chip for whatever reason.) Failure to locate chip is noted
in record.
brought into the kill room, we have to consider some variables. For
example, are the euthanasia techs standing at the ready, waiting to
begin their procedures immediately as each pet is brought in? Or is
there a backlog, with dogs tied to the wall such as Mr. Cox described at
the shelter public meeting last week? Is there just one open room or
is it divided into two completely separate rooms and staffed with two
separate teams? There may be other factors I haven’t thought of.
It appears as if this pup is on his way to the kill room.
Five
minutes later, it looks like feral cat transfer boxes with animals
inside are being carried to the kill room. Do the cats watch while the
dogs are killed at MAS?
the kill room at varying intervals – the longest period of time being 9
minutes and the shortest (the last few shots) are just 2 minutes apart
each.
12:30
12:39
12:46
12:51
12:53
12:55
14:42
14:43
14:47
14:49
Mayor Wharton: ac.wharton@memphistn.gov
Janet Hooks, Director, Public Services and Neighborhoods: janet.hooks@memphistn.gov
Matthew Pepper, Director, Memphis Animal Services: matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov
MAS Board: MASBoard@memphistn.gov
Cindy Sanders, MAS Advisory Board sanders127@yahoo.com
Jackie Johns, MAS Advisory Board jjohns25@hotmail.com
Allen Iskiwitz, MAS Advisory Board allensribs@aol.com
matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov, MASBoard@memphistn.gov,
sanders127@yahoo.com, jjohns25@hotmail.com, allensribs@aol.com,
Bill.Boyd@memphistn.gov, bill.morrison@memphistn.gov,
Myron.Lowery@memphistn.gov, janis.fullilove@memphistn.gov,
swearengen.ware@memphistn.gov, harold.collins@memphistn.gov,
wanda.halbert@memphistn.gov, Joe.Brown@memphistn.gov,
shea.flinn@memphistn.gov, Kemp.Conrad@memphistn.gov,
edmund.fordjr@memphistn.gov, reid.hedgepeth@memphistn.gov,
Jim.Strickland@memphistn.gov
that people from all over are condemning what is going on at MAS and
refuse to spend their vacation dollars in a city which tries to sweep
cruelty under the rug. Remind them there is a viable alternative: make
Memphis a no kill community. Include a link to this primer on no kill.
Let them know we are still watching and still horrified. Share this
info with the many caring pet owners you know so that they can write
letters too. If you need bullet points for possible items to include in
a letter, here you go:
have they been declared a danger to society by a qualified party.
interface with PetHarbor so that every pet is viewable online by the
public.
and smell of dogs in order to reduce stress and make the population less
susceptible to disease.
for social stimulation and in order to reduce stress and make the
population less susceptible to disease.
MAS Stats and Shots
April 16, 2011
over 2009. And in 2009, police and the ASPCA said the shelter was
starving dogs to death.
in time” (as we are often reminded) and we really don’t know what’s
going on at the shelter based upon the webcams.
Rescuers Watching MAS Webcams Have 39 Seconds to Save a Life
April 10, 2011
Two owners appear to be surrendering dogs at MAS in this shot. One of the dogs looks like an Akita.
Half an hour later, the Akita is put on a chokepole and taken away by a worker.
The
Akita is walked straight to the kill room. Did the dog get a fair
evaluation by a qualified individual? How many Akita rescues were
called by the shelter? Might not a member of the public want to adopt
an Akita? We’ll never know.
Mayor Wharton: ac.wharton@memphistn.gov
Janet Hooks, Director, Public Services and Neighborhoods: janet.hooks@memphistn.gov
Matthew Pepper, Director, Memphis Animal Services: matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov
Cindy Sanders, MAS Advisory Board sanders127@yahoo.com
Jackie Johns, MAS Advisory Board jjohns25@hotmail.com
Allen Iskiwitz, MAS Advisory Board allensribs@aol.com
matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov, sanders127@yahoo.com,
jjohns25@hotmail.com, allensribs@aol.com
that people from all over are condemning what is going on at MAS.
Remind them there is a viable alternative: make Memphis a no kill
community. Include a link to this primer on no kill.
dead, including this Akita who was never given a chance. Share this
info with the many caring pet owners you know so that they can write
letters too.
Snapshots from MAS and a Letter Writing Campaign
April 9, 2011
This dog was apparently killed before the shelter opened on Thursday.
The shelter needs someone trained in proper use of the control pole so that situations like this don’t happen.
Incoming dog tries to resist being pulled into kennel.
This dog does not want to go in either so lies down as his leash is being pulled.
After being forced into the run, the dog tries to squeeze out through the food bowl opening.
Not coming back.
MAS kills 77% of the pets at the shelter. Many of them are never offered for adoption or rescue.
This beautiful dog appears curious as he comes into the shelter.
A few minutes later, it’s not hard to tell from the body language how this dog is feeling.
Trapped cat brought into the shelter. MAS has no TNR program so feral cats are killed.
Another trapped cat – this one didn’t want to move into the shelter’s feral cat box so out came the pole.
Cat yanked out of his cage during cleaning.
Cat being handled like he’s vermin.
An ACO walks a large dog on a choke pole past three dogs tied to cages.
Someone put bandannas on 2 of these dogs.
Anyone
minding the store? When someone came to retrieve these 3, it appeared
as if 2 were placed in kennels with stop signs saying not to put dogs
here and the black dog was taken to the kill room.
Mayor Wharton: ac.wharton@memphistn.gov
Janet Hooks, Director, Public Services and Neighborhoods: janet.hooks@memphistn.gov
Matthew Pepper, Director, Memphis Animal Services: matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov
Cindy Sanders, MAS Advisory Board sanders127@yahoo.com
Jackie Johns, MAS Advisory Board jjohns25@hotmail.com
Allen Iskiwitz, MAS Advisory Board allensribs@aol.com
that people from all over are condemning what is going on at MAS.
Remind them there is a viable alternative: make Memphis a no kill
community. Include a link to this primer on no kill.
incinerator today and those still hanging on at the shelter, behind
closed doors, never to be seen by the public. Share this info with the
many caring pet owners you know so that they can write letters too.
M.A.S. – More Animals Suffering
April 7, 2011
look for their missing pets. Unfortunately, all the killing had to be
done by 5. Hope no one shows up after work looking for a lost pet who
was needlessly killed on banker’s hours.
The white dog in the run closest to the camera watches as his neighbors are taken to the kill room.
This dog manages an extra second of life by sitting on his final walk.
Getting closer to the white dog.
Two more.
The last to go. For today.
Photo from 2 days ago, showing how the white dog spent his final days of this life.
Minutes
later, several new dogs have been placed in the runs which were never
cleaned after the previous dogs were taken to the kill room. But yeah, I
blame the public for the spread of disease.
This
dog’s kennel door was left open this morning as various people looked
in the run then walked away. He was eventually carried out on a
stretcher.
This cat was dumped in a wire cage during cleaning this morning.
An owner surrenders his dog on Tuesday and a worker takes him…
…directly to the kill room.
MAS
is open today and people have been coming in but the lobby cages are
all empty. Doesn’t the shelter have any adoptable pets to showcase?
Demand reform at MAS including new leadership in the form of
compassionate people committed to no kill. Demand that the city recruits
those leaders and provides support for them when they get there.
Memphis – You’re Breaking My Heart
April 1, 2011
A dog looks with interest at a bucket of pups in the lobby of MAS.
This photo appears to show a litter which died overnight.
Compassion fatigue?
I’m sorry.
A mama dog is on a choke pole while a box containing her litter of pups is dragged down the hall. Goodbye.
This entire row was emptied out this afternoon.
Snapshots from MAS
March 31, 2011
“Friends”
stated on 3-29 that we would be seeing dogs walked from their kennels
to the outside runs during cleaning every day. I guess they forgot to
inform the staff at MAS.
Again today, runs being cleaned with dogs inside.
The shelter says killing is the best way to handle the distemper outbreak.
Ring bell for service.
Today at MAS.
MAS kills more than 77% of the pets in their care.
A few left…
choosing to focus only on those lucky few and to ignore the needless
killing of so many. Let these photos stand as a reminder that there are
people who know and care about all the pets being needlessly killed at
the shelter. These photos will not be deleted. These pets will not be
erased from public view. You are not forgotten.
The Irresponsible Public, MAS Edition
March 30, 2011
dogs and piddling in the hallway at Memphis Animal Shelter last night.
The shelter is currently closed for adoptions to the public while they
manage a distemper outbreak.
Shelter (noun): Something that affords protection; a refuge, a haven.
Another Mass Dog Killing in Memphis
March 29, 2011
been moved to the adoption area will likely be put to sleep.
head of Memphis Animal Services. “When you take quick action like this,
you hope to prevent a bigger problem.”
snapshots from this morning are offered without comment because at the
moment, I am disgusted and incapable of much commentary beyond a string
of words that would make a sailor blush.
Snapshots from Memphis
March 28, 2011
This shot appears to show some type of pole being used on a loose cat.
This dog was left unattended for over an hour this morning.
Perhaps he’s weighing his chances.
After
the dirty kennels were sprayed with the pressure hose, the white dog
looks at his bowl of kibble and decides to take a pass.
Loading up the cart – 90 pets were reportedly killed at MAS on Saturday.
Dogs apparently being loaded up for killing on Saturday.
There had been puppies living in these cages last week but all appeared empty on Saturday.
The aftermath.
All gone.
Memphis Animal Shelter: It Gets the Hose Again
March 21, 2011
with several more screengrabs showing the cleaning procedures at the
shelter on March 17. I decided to have a look at the shelter’s webcams
myself this morning and pull some shots for the blog:
Via
the webcam, I watched this worker step from the main walkway into this
side walkway as he continued his cleaning procedures with the hose.
Note the number of empty kennels where dogs could be placed while their kennels are cleaned.
I
observed this worker step back off the main walkway, presumably to
avoid backspray, before hosing down these cages. Unfortunately, the
dogs in the occupied cages had no place to escape the backspray.
Again, the poor dogs in the cages below…
I continued watching after this shot but did not observe the bottom cages being cleaned nor any dogs being moved around.
each year. This is how some of those pets spend their final days in
this life – being sprayed with a hose while trapped in a cage. While we
know MAS director Matthew Pepper likes to dress up in a costume and dance to ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ in the face of bad publicity, I think the pertinent question here is, Who doesn’t
let the dogs out? The answer being, MAS staff. Two of the reasons for
keeping a shelter clean are to minimize the spread of disease and
provide a comfortable environment for the pets. Fail and fail. Can’t
we do better?
ACO drags an incoming dog around on a chokepole, apparently looking for a spot.
Still looking, still dragging.
Back and forth.
The ACO leaves the dog on the chokepole in the back corner. Can this dog even walk?
Hard
to make out details but it appears as if the ACO is moving a puppy from
one cage to another, perhaps to make room for the big dog who is still
in the corner in the chokepole.
ACO forces big dog into cage.
The dog is too big for the cage and the water bowl gets pushed on to the floor.
Follow this link to take action:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyesbiscuit.wordpress.com%2Fmemphis-animal-services-links%2F&h=e77c0
Memphis Animal Services – Take Action
Mayor Wharton: ac.wharton@memphistn.gov
Janet Hooks, Director, Public Services and Neighborhoods: janet.hooks@memphistn.gov
Matthew Pepper, Director, Memphis Animal Services: matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov
MAS Board: MASBoard@memphistn.gov
Cindy Sanders, MAS Advisory Board sanders127@yahoo.com
Jackie Johns, MAS Advisory Board jjohns25@hotmail.com
Allen Iskiwitz, MAS Advisory Board allensribs@aol.com
matthew.pepper@memphistn.gov, MASBoard@memphistn.gov,
sanders127@yahoo.com, jjohns25@hotmail.com, allensribs@aol.com,
Bill.Boyd@memphistn.gov, bill.morrison@memphistn.gov,
Myron.Lowery@memphistn.gov, janis.fullilove@memphistn.gov,
swearengen.ware@memphistn.gov, harold.collins@memphistn.gov,
wanda.halbert@memphistn.gov, Joe.Brown@memphistn.gov,
shea.flinn@memphistn.gov, Kemp.Conrad@memphistn.gov,
edmund.fordjr@memphistn.gov, reid.hedgepeth@memphistn.gov,
Jim.Strickland@memphistn.gov
that people from all over are condemning what is going on at MAS and
refuse to spend their vacation dollars in a city which tries to sweep
cruelty under the rug. Remind them there is a viable alternative: make
Memphis a no kill community. Include a link to this primer on no kill.
Let them know we are still watching and still horrified. Share this
info with the many caring pet owners you know so that they can write
letters too. If you need bullet points for possible items to include in
a letter, here you go:
have they been declared a danger to society by a qualified party.
interface with PetHarbor so that every pet is viewable online by the
public.
and smell of dogs in order to reduce stress and make the population less
susceptible to disease.
for social stimulation and in order to reduce stress and make the
population less susceptible to disease.
at the shelter. Please keep in mind that these are just snapshots and
may not tell the whole story of what is going on at any particular time:
ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS™
AfSD™(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS™)
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Tonya, I spent a great deal of time reading this blog.
“Memphis, please – stop the killing.”
but earlier in the blog, the concern was about the inhumane treatment, not the killing in itself.
I have to ask exactly what IS the goal here?
Are you suggesting that all of these animals should just be turned loose to roam free on the streets?
Animal shelters HAVE to euthanize because they cant AFFORD to keep all of those animals alive.
I even saw a reference in this blog that some animals “starved to death”.
I see where if you dwell on ALL of the loss of animal life that it can “get to you” but Euthanasia is a NEED until some invisible super rich donor can afford to keep ALL of the animals in EVERY shelter alive indefinitely.
We have the same chances in that as we do in actually having a “utopia”.
Sorry that I have to sound REAL about this when I know there is no solution to STOPPING euthanasia.
“It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers.” – James Thurber
I also took the time to read this blog and it makes me sick. I agree w/Metal that we can’t save all of them. And as I have said so many other times, spay/neuter could play such a crucial role in population control. I think I agree with you, Tonya about the “right” to own an animal. We need to make some huge changes there. I have personally known people that had absolutely no business being a pet owner. Some of these people need to have their asses kicked and kicked hard for the abuses they inflict.
I believe that humane treatment should be given no matter what the circumstance, and I was under the impression that shelters offer adoptions in most situations. Is this not done at MAS? It sucks that I live in Tennessee as this kind of crap makes me embarrassed for the state, although I’m sure we aren’t the only ones guilty of such cruelty and indifference. While these type blogs make me heartsick, I appreciate the effort I know it took to gather and post the pics. Thanks Tonya for all you do!
Amen! But when? It can’t be soon enough!
I clicked on the heart to vote for this blog, but failed. My voice is yours 8)