BEWARE! City of Chicago's Puppy Kill Mill!

Shortly after writing the last post, entitled Illness, I looked out my window to see an adult dog and (presumably) her 4 month old pup running loose, and crossing the street, etc. I went out and called them to me. The pup came immediately, but the mother remained warry and I wasn't able to get her to come to me. In hindsight, I'm very grateful for that, or I'd have her blood on my hands as well.

What followed is the most vulgar, distressing, incredible and intolerable set of lies I've heard told by a government agency. I'll send you to the full and ongoing account to read it .

Suffice it to say that I am disgusted beyond words that I have ever lived in a city which would tolerate such deceptions and so blatant a disregard for both the feelings of others and for life itself. I am moving at the end of the month, and will never again live in Chicago, the city of my birth.

I hope none of you ever has to know the feelings I'm living with now, never unwittingly betrays a trust given you in such a fashion. Suffice it to say that I cannot endorse associating with, or acquiring a dog from, such an organization. I'd strongly encourage you to do anything, including simply letting the dog run loose (if you are unable to take it into your home,) rather than taking it to such a place to be killed with no good reason whatsoever. Moreover, I ask you to pass the article along, by sharing the link. Let people know what they've done, and let the City and Mayor know that you do not find it acceptable, and will actively campaign against anyone who allows or endorses such killings.

The cavalier indifference encountered from everyone from the Animal "Care" & Control on through to Alderman Troutman's office and even the Mayor's office itself, these only serve to cement the statements of the previous article. We live in an ill society, a morbid, sick, bunch, when life can be so easily and unnecessarily extinguished, stolen from loving hearts and hands.

Illness

I think you know that I do not agree at all with Kill "shelters." I've posted on the Internet that "shelters" do not exist for the sake of the animals. They're there as a convenience to society. The dog that runs stray might get into the trash, or take a dump on the yard. It MIGHT be mean or bite someone, so it should be rounded up, and then if nobody wants it (or it happens to be a breed that the shelter doesn't like,) they'll "Euthanize" it.

C'mon, people. Just say it. You'll KILL that dog, because it dared to be wandering around and MIGHT have caused such problems.

There are some good reasons to pick up strays. They could be hit by cars, injured or killed. They may not have vaccinations and that could be a public health hazard. On the other hand, picking them up and then killing them is more than a little overboard. In other countries, a dog running loose doesn't cause such a reaction. There is little spay or neuter going on, and yet the dogs do not outnumber the people and threaten to take over, and the world doesn't end. One such "stray" decided to be my friend while I was in West Africa. She insisted upon playing, and wouldn't take No for an answer. The few hours spent in that "stray' dog's company remain amongst the highlights of 2 month spent in West Africa - both for the good time I had with her, and for the lesson it taught me. Stray dogs aren't inherently dangerous or aggressive. They don't form wild dog packs and steal children from their cribs, either. Shown a little attention and appreciation, they are a pleasant species living alongside us, making our lives better.

But we don't see them that way here. Here in the States, they're seen as Out Of Order, and we just can't abide anything not being rank and file, a place for everything and everything in its place. If it doesn't fit in, then it is inconvenient, and must be disposed of. THAT is what needs to change.

Our society is sick, mentally and spiritually ill, for that it holds us in such high regard and all other life in so low regard that it is okay to end others' lives when they become inconvenient to us. The whole "That dog was getting into my trash, so I shot it" mentality - that's what we have to fight. The binary mentality which does not allow for building a trash box to resolve the problem, for example.

If we can persuade them to come to their senses and see killing another creature as an unacceptable solution, then perhaps we can guide them towards solutions which allow allow all creatures to live in tolerance, recognizing that even if they don't care to have a dog in their life or home, the entire world would be lesser without them.

Peace and Creation,

JT