Rusty Sivils' June 13 Opinion article "Dead Wrong" was an exceptionally well-written plea from the heart. I would add that the national death toll of killed shelter animals is not the 4 million to 5 million as quoted, but more like 9.6 million, according to http://www.americanhumane.org. And yes, to kill all these tender life forms is abhorrent, shocking and deeply violent, however passive it appears to be.
Many otherwise intelligent and well-educated people I have known think they are doing a great deal of good by "rescuing" or adopting a dog only to crate it for 8 to 10 hours every day, or leave a highly intelligent dog crated in the house over a weekend. While their intentions are good, this is not rescue — it is still imprisonment for the caged animal that desperately wants to become part of your family
And what of the unbelievably violent and loathsome practice of subjecting all types of animals to torture, maiming and days or years of agony as their delightfully furry bodies and intelligent minds become merely medical "experiments" in labs throughout the world? How can we as a people qualify subjecting animals to incredible acts of violence in lab experiments yet think it is just fine because it's all in the name of "science"?
You are dead right, Mr. Silvis: We need to lovingly commit to adopting and genuinely caring for all the animals that we are currently killing. Additionally, as a civilized country we need to have a national dialogue about how to stop all this needless death and violence. Wouldn't a national spay/neuter program do that? Obviously people cannot make a commitment to fixing their animals, which then leads to the killing of many millions, year after year after year.
In the past 15 years my husband, Al, and I have rescued and deeply loved 10 animals. They have brought an immeasurable amount of happiness, love and laughter to our otherwise dull lives.
— Tricia Lindsay
Asheville
