No Kill Shelters

          Okay, I confess: I am the Quintessential Crazy Cat Lady. I can’t imagine life without cats. My hubby and our girls are all cat lovers too.  Shortly after we were married, Derek surprised me when he came home with a kitten hidden inside his jacket. My heart melted when he opened his jacket and asked, “Can we keep her?” That was the first of many, many cats loved in our home.

          They haven’t all been keepers though. We had to give away a beautiful long-haired cat when Kalene was two and she had a rash on her face that our pediatrician said was likely a reaction to the cat.

          As much as I love cats, I love my children more. I have a friend who has nine or ten cats in her house, and she says she loves her cats more than her kids. (Her kids are all grown up, don’t call Child and Family Services).  We have provided palliative care over the years to a couple of sick cats and the third grade hamster, but I don’t feel a calling to turn our home into a rescue shelter. Not that I have anything against animal rights activists, that’s just not my personal cause.

          I do think it very sad when animal shelters have to euthanize animals because there are just too many. Some shelters now are just refusing to take in any more when they are full. I don’t know which would be more heart wrenching: turning them away when there is no more room at the inn, or having to put down some of them. Some shelters recruit families to provide foster homes for animals. The shelter provides pet food and pays vet bills, so the tax payers get the bill. A much better solution would be for people to get their pets spayed or neutered, especially in cities, but we know that is highly unlikely to happen any time soon.

          If you are still reading this post, I think it would be safe to assume that you love, or at least tolerate animals. So what would you say to the idea of a clinic where all that they did was euthanize unwanted pets?  No shelter, no foster families, no adoption – just the needle. Wouldn’t that be an awful place to work?

          I love animals, but I value people more. That is why I am so passionate about pro-life issues. From conception to the end, and in between, disabled, sick, or depressed – people matter, and I am angry that our government is legislating abortion and euthanasia and calling it a human right. The right to terminate human life when it is inconvenient or burdensome should not be an option in a civilized country.

          It is not just a ‘religious thing’ to take a stand against abortion and euthanasia; it is a human rights issue.  If we are outraged to see animals neglected or abused, how much more should we be angry when humans are killed just so we don’t have to be responsible for their care?