Sorry, not sorry.

A Personal Journey into the World of Animal Welfare.

Contrary to ‘popular’ belief, we are not against the idea of animal shelters. We totally acknowledge that they play an important role, offering a temporary refuge for animals in need. Some might be shocked to know that…however, the reality of how some facilities are run is deeply concerning to us and many others but why?

How is it any of our business?

Well, it’s simple. It is our business and anybody else’s business who cares about animals. It affects the lives of the dogs (and cats) and these are beings who don’t belong to any of us. They are animals who didn’t ask to be in such situations and who are often victims of self-serving protecting and rules, created by those in charge to serve their own interests and are subjected to a life in what is effectively a prison.

They are often languishing in environments rife with hypocrisy which often lack the necessary expertise to manage these animals properly. (Don’t worry, we’ve checked that claim out with experts.)

The problem? Well, many of these shelters, rescues, and animal facilities are expanding at an alarming rate. They are taking in more and more animals that will likely never ever leave. These animals will probably not be promoted, trained, or even walked and will survive on a shoestring budget—all in the name of ‘rescue.’

We’ve spent the last few years working around animal shelters, trying to help animals to get out of them quicker and into homes either as a foster, or to get adopted and get the care they need, and create some meaningful change. We’ve provided our time, resources, and support such as food, we paid for volunteers to attend professional training courses, we showed many how social media can be utilized for adoption promotion, and we have offered connections to valuable networks. In return, we’ve been met with resistance, hostility, and have even been banned from offering our help because we dared to challenge a few basic issues. Issues such as a lack of basic transparency, a lack of gratitude for help from others. the failure to use social media effectively for adoption, and the refusal to allow dogs to be exercised or socialized.

In fact what we got was a lot of abuse. Were we offended? No. We were shocked, yes, but our primary concern remains the well-being of the animals stuck in these facilities.

Our experiences have led us to ask some difficult questions: Why are animals being kept in shelters for so long? Why are there bizarre rules and protocols that serve only to protect the egos of those in charge rather than the animals in need? Why is any criticism by anybody met with a “with us or against us” mentality, as if there is only one way to help the animals? We know several victims of this ‘sides’ mentality personally, who have highlighted these issues and who have told us that they just want to help animals but couldn’t play politics anymore.

The hard truth is that the interests of the animals are often being ignored in favor of self-preservation. Cronyism is rife and if this mentality continues, it will lead to the tragic reality where animals remain stuck, overlooked, and forgotten. People will fall out, leave facilities where they give time for free and who suffers? Yep, you guessed it. The animals.

We’ve tested these shelters and their reaction to our comments and suggestions and unfortunately, they have failed at almost every hurdle. At every given opportunity, they’ve taken what we’ve offered financially and materially but given nothing back in return in the form of flexibility.

They continue to make decisions that make no sense, but are seen far too proud or scared to accept criticism. They claim they are doing the best they can and that nobody else could possibly understand the complexities they face, many of which are self-made we have to add.

There is a lack of transparency about the animals and a disturbing disregard for accountability. What’s most concerning is that these decisions are being made about the lives and well-being of others. If the people running these shelters were personally affected by their poor choices, perhaps it wouldn’t matter as much. At least they would be the ones to suffer, but instead, we’re talking about animals who have no voice and depend entirely on those who claim to care.

We’re not asking for much and we never have. Our issues have been consistently the same issues.

We constantly campaign for better use of social media to find homes for these animals—and from personal experience we know it works.

We’re asking consideration for basic things: dogs should be exercised, trained, and socialized properly. Is that too much to ask?

If it is, then perhaps these facilities shouldn’t be collecting dogs at all, as they clearly don’t care enough about what is required to keep a dog healthy, both physically and mentally.

We’re asking shelters to stop demanding that potential adopters come to their depressing locations. Instead, why not create events and take the dogs to the people? Some have understood it and they have great success. Is that all asking too much even to consider?

We’re also kindly asking for shelters to better manage their people, especially volunteers, to attract more support. But will they bend? Will they even listen? Will they stop being little dictators? Sadly, we doubt it. They continue to use the excuse that they have a lack of volunteers, while they themselves are the reason why so many walk away.

Many involved with facilities who might mirror what we are saying will like to think that we are bitter, cheated, or have an agenda of our own, as it suits their narrative to believe such things. But the truth is, why would we be? If we didn’t care about the animals, we could walk away today. It would certainly make our lives easier. But unfortunately for us, we do care—and that makes our lives harder, not easier. If we were like many who have volunteered and given up, simply turning our backs would relieve the stress of constantly having to fend off attacks from those who are offended by our criticisms.

Many, instead of focusing on the animals, make it all about themselves, their feelings, and their egos. How offended they are. How they know better than everyone else because they are the ones doing it, and that somehow makes them the experts. This attitude is frustratingly misguided.

The reality is, the animals are the ones who suffer when the focus shifts to personal agendas rather than the well-being of the creatures they are meant to protect. Those in charge seem more interested in defending their actions, no matter how misguided, than actually acknowledging the shortcomings and flaws in their systems.

The irony is thick: they claim to care for these animals, yet they repeatedly put their own pride and egos ahead of the animals’ future.

We don’t particularly want to work with shelters; but we do want to help the animals trapped in them day after day. The ones who spend their nights alone, have no real access to the outside world, and are housed in extremely basic—and often substandard conditions.

It’s hard to see those who are covered in mud every time it rains, who haven’t been washed since the day that they arrived in the facility. Those who spin in their enclosures, slowly going mad. Those who are the victims of attacks due to overcrowding. Those who are getting gradually but noticeably worse, instead of better in the confines of their enclosure. Those who don’t remember the taste of good food.

These are the animals who could be homed, but they are never promoted because those in charge are better at making excuses than making decisions. They prefer to promote puppies and shove the older dogs to the back. Usually these are dogs who have been blacklisted by those who don’t understand dogs enough to be making such decisions and condemning them to life behind bars.

The worst is that when these people have had enough, they can simply walk away, as so many do, leaving the animals behind. We know about those who threaten it constantly. They have no accountability and could just ‘disappear’.

We also question whether these facilities even have a plan B for if they fail. Hundreds of animals could be left behind—and what then?

We must confront the reality that many of these animals are stuck in hopeless situations, and the people who run these facilities are the ones responsible for their fate. We’ve been trying to help, but all we’ve been met with is resistance, hostility, and refusal to acknowledge the obvious flaws in their management. This should concern all of us. When the animals’ lives are at stake, we should all be working towards the same goal, not defending fragile egos or personal agendas.

It’s time we ask ourselves: Are we really helping these animals by supporting a broken system, or are we enabling the perpetuation of its flaws? The animals deserve more than what they’re getting. They deserve more than what can be paid for with money alone. It’s time for us to demand better. It’s time to stop turning a blind eye to the reality of how these animals are treated and start holding those responsible accountable. The animals can’t do it themselves—so it’s up to us, and you.

What is the takeaway from all of this? One key point is that there are many ways to help shelters, but it seems that real progress is largely undesired. For many facilities, ‘help’ doesn’t mean adding to their skill set or expanding their capabilities. It simply means more people to clean up after animals, going through the same motions without meaningful improvement.

Finally, if shelters truly want more people to help, perhaps they need to rethink what the roles they offer. Not everyone is physically capable or inclined to perform manual labor, and many potential supporters are deterred by being limited to cleaning duties or similar tasks. There are countless other ways to contribute — roles that can even be done remotely, such as adoption coordination, social media management, fundraising campaigns, and marketing strategies to promote animals for adoption. Sadly, this seems to be the very last thing on their minds. Instead of utilizing the vast pool of skills available from willing volunteers, they remain stuck in outdated systems that do little to serve the animals or the community. It’s time for a much-needed change.