Humane Society struggles with overcrowding

Confinement causes dogs to experience mental deterioration

By Nicole Arias
Staff Writer

As a young redheaded girl slowly walks past the wire bars, a growing chorus of whimpers and barks echo within the room of mint-green walls and potent canine smells.

The girl peers in each cage until she stops in front of the second-to-last one and crouches down until she is almost eye level with the older puppy on the other side.

A smile spreads across her face when she sticks her hand through the diamond-shaped wire while the puppy comes closer and licks her fingers.

A few minutes later, the girl leaves, this time with her mother and older sister leading the way, calling her name to follow.

It was 4 p.m. and visiting hours for the Tippecanoe County Humane Society had ended.

Without the noise of people’s voices or shoes squeaking and clicking down the aisle, many dogs lie down on the cool, gray floor; some fall asleep. But still soft whimpers and barks echo.

A short time ago, one of those whimpers had belonged to Jetson, a black Shepard Schipperke who had been nameless and homeless when he first came to the shelter.

When he ultimately left, it was an unexpected ending.

In May 2000, a no-name, four-week-old stray was brought to the shelter. He was put into the shelter's foster care program, a program that often places puppies in temporary homes.

Placed in the care of Stephanie Schmidt, a manager at the shelter, he then had a temporary home, but he was still without a name, as Schmidt only called him "Puppy." She said she didn't give him a name because it only would have increased her attachment.

After two weeks with Schmidt, "Puppy" was adopted. His new owner gave him the name Jetson.

Now, he had a name and a home, but this wouldn't last.

Ten months later, the owner brought him back because she said she didn't have the time to care for a dog and he was too active.

Back in the shelter, nothing had changed for Jetson except that this time he had a name and was almost a year older.

Schmidt said older dogs are usually adopted within three or four weeks, but their conditions worsen with time.

"Even if we had 2,000 kennels, these dogs won’t last long here," Schmidt said. "Shelters are an abnormal setting; they aren't home. Dogs have to be stimulated."

One week later, Jetson was the TV pet on channel 18. By the end of the next week, Jetson had two inquires, but no takers yet.

The shelter managers agree that about one-quarter of the people who fill in an application or put a hold on an animal don't come back. "A lot of times people want to impulse buy," Schmidt said.

When Jetson returned to the shelter the second time and still hadn’t found a permanent home, he became a group project of sorts.

Schmidt and Andrea Ragard, the veterinary technologist and a Purdue alumna, brought Jetson to the back office every chance they got during non-visiting hours.

The staff was more attached to Jetson than was usual because he was at a higher risk, Ragard said.

In the office, he had more space to roam. Besides the volunteers, Ragard and Schmidt also walked Jetson in the back fenced-in area.

"He would have lasted no longer than two weeks (without the extra interaction)," Schmidt said.

Even with their efforts, Jetson started pacing and chewing up the blankets, beginning signs of caged craziness.

Although a healthy dog, his mental state was deteriorating because he was getting depressed, Schmidt said.

"People don't realize what a desperate situation these animals are in every day. There's nothing worse than seeing a really good dog going downhill," she said.

Sometimes the state of a dog's mental health can plummet without warning.

Amadeus, a two-year-old Pomeranian, was euthanized March 24, four days after he was made available for adoption.

Schmidt said it came as a complete surprise because Amadeus had passed the temperament test, which tests an animal's personality, health, socialization and aggression.

He had been "aggressively trying to bite" Ragard as she was examining him.

"He almost took my face off," she said. "It wasn’t an ‘I’m afraid of you bite.’"

In addition to dogs being euthanized because of bad temperament or health, they also contend with overcrowding problems that increase their risk of being euthanized.

Of the 22 cages that the shelter has for adoptable dogs, 8 kennels must be available each morning because the shelter's average intake is eight dogs each day

Usually four kennels are unoccupied, and the remaining four can be obtained by other methods such as placing dogs in other shelters, Schmidt said. But when these options are exhausted, sometimes adoptable dogs are euthanized for the space.

The shelter managers agree that the average number of dogs euthanized on any given day range between three and four; the number adopted are about the same. Of course, these numbers fluctuate depending on the month and day of the week.

Considering that dogs have about the same chance of being euthanized or adopted on any particular day and Jetson's deteriorating mental state, Schmidt wanted Jetson adopted within the week.

Saturday, April 7, he was.

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