Some facts about animals in shelters:
Dangers of 'puppy for free' ads
Animal Cruelty - Utah's "Pound Seizure" law sells animals into lab experimentation
End Pound-Seizure
Animal rescues and shelter Facts
I have 10 dogs - over the years we've taken in 4 of them because they were stray, malnourished, and needed help.
I've had them all fixed, they're doing great, now, and I'm training them (housebreaking and basic commands)l. One was pregnant when we took her in - she had 8 pups, all of which we are also properly caring for (shots, etc) - and are being trained, doing great.
My goal: find homes for all of them.
Fact: that's HARD to do - even though I've fixed them all/have them up to date on shots/train them - it's HARD to find someone willing to take an animal in.
The economy is in the crapper, still, thousands of animals that were beloved pets have been given to shelters because people can't afford to feed them, anymore - and so trying to even give away animals when people can't take in another mouth to feed is beyond impossible right now.
Some people who have shown interest in taking them in are actually wanting 'purebred' animals - not 'stray-born' :shrug:
Others don't seem capable or interested in actually continuing their proper care and training - I've talked with one guy who honestly believed that "since you've trained them I don't have to do it anymore, right?" *sigh*
I've given up for a while - I'm just keeping them all and praying they don't all get Parvo.
I let my dog have her pups because I thought "how hard could it be to find homes for them" - I still have them, so that proves that fallacy . . . and I refuse to just hand them out on a street corner. I might as well just have them euthanized instead of fooling myself into thinking they'll be adequately cared for.
Not to forget that the reason why they were all strays is that, for one reason or another, people decide they don't want them - drive out in the middle of nowhere (where I live) and drop them off, drive away. . . hoping that someone like me is always around to take them in.
I see countless animals wandering the streets out here. I took in 4 dogs - 3 cats. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the number of animals I've *seen* come through here.