Animal Shelters Abusing Animals? You bet!

 In a recent disturbing video exposing an animal shelter in Memphis, some of the allegations and photos show dogs being muzzled for eight hours without food and water, and one dog with an embedded collar left untreated for days. These are examples of workers violating city policies. It is estimated that there are thousands of shelters around the United States and chances are you are within 15 minutes of one. These shelters take in approximately 5-7 million animals per year; unfortunately, 60 percent of the dogs and 70 percent of the cats are euthanized due to overcrowding, sickness, aggressiveness or injury. Abuse at animal shelters, is something that is on the rise. Some states have pending investigations, while others are yet to be investigated. That’s where Guardians of Rescue steps in.

Due to the high rate of euthanasia, some animal shelters have received allegations such as animal abuse within the shelter, with innocent animals being gassed illegally, lack of oversight of the animals, selling pit bulls for dog-fighting, donated shelter items being stolen, false euthanasia rates, spreading infections, physical abuse,  and more.

On June 1^st 2013, Guardians of Rescue, a non-profit animal rescue organization based in New York, launched a new program called “Guardians Watchdogs” to investigate municipal shelters nationwide with the assistance of licensed investigators, including former law enforcement officers. The goal of this program is to target shelters that have received complaints or allegations and bring transparency to the shelters.

“The idea is to shed light on the shelters that are doing illegal activity and not taking care of the animals and create more shelters that can properly care for animals,” explains Robert Misseri, president and founder of Guardians of Rescue.

The Guardians of Rescue plan to rehabilitate these shelters in four steps:

·      determine the conditions and activities in the shelters

·      eliminating the illicit activities and poor methodologies taking place in the shelters

·      train the employees on hiring animal lovers and proper caregivers only

·      improving the shelter through the use of clean and safe veterinary care, food, and living conditions

“ Many complaints by witnesses are often ignored and allegations not pursued,” affirms Misseri.

Guardians of Rescue is a non-profit organization aimed at Animals Helping People and People Helping Animals. They provide food, veterinary care, and shelter to animals in need. They provide instrumental education to young people about animal abuse and how to prevent it. Guardians of Rescue founded programs such as Paws of War to help active military and veterans with the use of therapy dogs to assist with post-traumatic stress disorder. To learn more or donate, visit guardiansofrescue.org.