MaryJae
Better Quality of Life Than Most in Rwanda
RECEIVED Wed., Nov. 23, 2005
Dear Editor,
I think I know why Town Lake Animal Center kills as many animals as it does [“What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?,” News, Nov. 18]. Because they make it harder to adopt a cat than it is to buy a car, refinance your house, renew your driver's license, set up a personal corporation, expunge a criminal conviction, or bring home a human baby. I understand their concerns about responsible pet ownership, but their application and background check process is a triumph of political correctness over common sense. I was very upset the day I took my very excited little boy in to adopt a kitten, only to leave empty-handed except for a fistful of paperwork. Not only that, but there was a "waiting list" for the kitten he chose. Who would win? I endured this process only because my little boy had already fallen in love with a certain kitten, and we're still crazy about the two cats we finally got, but would I go through that again? The horror stories about the adoption process at TLAC are so widespread that many people I know go to one of the smaller, surrounding communities to adopt animals. What possible sense does it make to have four families vying for the same kitten while 20 other kittens are being put to sleep? Maybe if someone with just a modicum of common sense revamped the TLAC adoption process, fewer animals would end up dead in a garbage bag. Skip the background check, and spay or neuter every animal before it leaves. That's all they have to do. Is it really necessary to ensure that an animal is going to have a better quality of life than, say, 90% of the population of Rwanda before you let someone have it?
I think I know why Town Lake Animal Center kills as many animals as it does [“What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?,” News, Nov. 18]. Because they make it harder to adopt a cat than it is to buy a car, refinance your house, renew your driver's license, set up a personal corporation, expunge a criminal conviction, or bring home a human baby. I understand their concerns about responsible pet ownership, but their application and background check process is a triumph of political correctness over common sense. I was very upset the day I took my very excited little boy in to adopt a kitten, only to leave empty-handed except for a fistful of paperwork. Not only that, but there was a "waiting list" for the kitten he chose. Who would win? I endured this process only because my little boy had already fallen in love with a certain kitten, and we're still crazy about the two cats we finally got, but would I go through that again? The horror stories about the adoption process at TLAC are so widespread that many people I know go to one of the smaller, surrounding communities to adopt animals. What possible sense does it make to have four families vying for the same kitten while 20 other kittens are being put to sleep? Maybe if someone with just a modicum of common sense revamped the TLAC adoption process, fewer animals would end up dead in a garbage bag. Skip the background check, and spay or neuter every animal before it leaves. That's all they have to do. Is it really necessary to ensure that an animal is going to have a better quality of life than, say, 90% of the population of Rwanda before you let someone have it?
Karyl Krug
