Inhumane Society

Just when the Harrisburg area Humane Society was getting a better reputation in my opinion by claiming (in a newsletter) that they will keep animals in their facility until they find homes. The Humane Society also claims on their web site that they "accept and care for all types of animals, contacting third party agencies for assistance when necessary." The following story proves otherwise.

You may have noticed several links on my blog that refer to animal welfare organizations. I have an extreme love affair with animals of all kinds. I think the cruel things that humans do to animals is despicable. Over the last decade or so, many no-kill animal shelters have sprouted up in my area. One of them being the Helen Krause Animal Shelter (link on the right.) My sister has volunteered there for many years. Through this relationship she has gotten to know other people that have no-kill shelters or run foster care facilities on their own property. One such facility is the Dog's Den which I used in the past to rescue a dog that lived behind me when the owners just didn't want him anymore.

It was the owner of the Dog's Den that recently told my sister the story of a woman that had contacted the Humane Society in the Harrisburg area because she could no longer care for a dog that she had gotten from another animal shelter-not the Humane Society. The H.S. took the dog from her. She later contacted the H.S. to say that she wanted to check some other shelters to see if they would take him instead of H.S. Now according to the information on H.S. website, they should have done this. But the previous owner did it and later contacted H.S. to get her dog back. The dog had already been put down.

First, this animal came from another shelter. Often when adoptions are done from other shelters, the new owner signs a waiver stating they will return the animal to that shelter if they can no longer care for it. In my opinion, the H.S. should not have even accepted this animal or should have promptly contacted the shelter it originally came from since they claim "to work with shelters in the area."

Secondly and most importantly, what justification could the H.S. have had to put this animal to sleep? I'm sure the answer to this question will remain a mystery.

Bottom line, the Humane Society of the Harrisburg area are a bunch of liars. I wish the person this happened to would have gone to the media about this as she was encouraged to do. Also, I'm very glad that I haven't yet made my Christmas contribution to the liars at the Humane Society in Harrisburg and now that I know this, they are crossed off my Christmas list for years to come.

And yet another lesson learned. Please, if you decide to take on the responsibility of having a pet, make it a life long commitment. And if you haven't learned by now, don't always believe what you read.