Chilling words to any animal advocate, but to find out those words actually flowed from the lips of someone in charge of their care, is shocking. To find out they were uttered while the animal laid dead in his cage, IN ADOPTIONS, is disturbing. To know that the shelter opened at 8AM yet his body was not discovered for HOURS, is just heartbreaking.
Welcome to another day at the NYC AC&C. A place where volunteers leave in tears daily, paid dog walkers suffer burn out from the constant heartbreak, and shelter workers that really care are in the minority. A place where executives are paid too much to do very little, and those in the "trenches" are paid too little to attract competent and caring workers. Where else do they close entire wards down for construction, during the months when intakes are proven to be at their highest? It can only be the greatest city in the world... New York.
Yesterday, the rescue world in NYC was saddened to learn that a happy old guy named Miller, was dead. Miller was a friendly ten year old that arrived at the ACC a stray. Granted, he had some health issues, but the ACC felt he was healthy enough for adoptions. That was where he would come to spend his final days.
On August 11th, while "adoptions" was preparing to open for the day, Miller laid quietly in his cage. The dogs were howling and barking more than usual, but no one seemed to notice or care to find out what the fuss was about. Almost 3 hours after the ACC "officially" opened, and just before the shelter was open to the public, someone finally noticed that Miller was not just resting... he was DEAD. Did someone place food in the cage of a dead dog yet not realize he was not going to eat it? How many walked past that cage and failed to notice that the once loving and ALIVE animal in it, had been dead for HOURS? Was his illness so sudden that he went from healthy to dead in just a few moments or did he sit in that cage for days, suffering and dying a slow death?
Reports state that the staff treated his death as "just a normal occurrence," and when his body was finally removed from the cage (so a new dog could be placed immediately in the now empty spot) he was placed on the floor in medical, where his body sat for hours. No respect, no care. How many dogs were brought into that room and walked past the body?
As one person at the shelter said, "just one less dog that will need to be walked today." To them, Miller may have "just" been a dog they needed to take care of, but to Miller, his life meant something. He deserved care and compassion. He was not "just" a homeless dog in a shelter to those that met him... and loved him.
RIP Miller. You were loved.
Miller's Urgent thread: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=648870158459200&set=a.617942388218644.1073741870.152876678058553&type=1&theater
Don't let Miller's death be in vain. If Miller's life means something to YOU, DO something for him and the ones who are still in the grips of NYC AC&C. As one insider said, "All I ask is you take a trip down there. Walk through those doors, walk the rooms, see the despair, smell the death, feel the hopelessness. Write a letter to your councilmen, mayor, your senators, the media, and ask your friends to do the same." Volunteer at your local shelter. Donate to the rescues that are pulling these animals so they have the ability to rescue more. Open your home to one of these dogs or cats. Do not just sit back and shake your head. DO SOMETHING!
To join the discussion and to see what others are saying, click here: Miller
Click the following links for more information on:
Volunteering (At the NYC AC&C)
Foster/Adopt & list of NH Approved Rescues
Key Reform Contacts
To Donate to Our Cause
