One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter

by Diane Leigh and Marilee Geyer

These two compassionate women, both having spent much of their lives dedicated to companion animals in shelters and animal advocacy, took on the heartbreaking and inspiring task of chronicling the stories of 75 animals that passed through a Northern California shelter. 

They have "written this book and chosen to tell the full - and often difficult - truth: so that good-hearted, caring people can learn and gain a deeper understanding of their ability to affect this tragedy and solve this problem.  So that they will be able to recognize and use the tools already available to them to help create change.  So that compassionate people everywhere come to understand it is in their power to reject the "business as usual" euthanasia of millions of companion animals every year.  So that they can begin to build communities that treat our animal friends with love and respect."

Telling Their Stories

"When we arrived at the shelter on Monday, the kennels were already full, as they almost always are, with 238 animals being cared for.  The shelter is open on Mondays for emergencies only, so just five new animals were added that day; all were lost animals brought in from the streets.  But on Tuesday morning, when the shelter opened to the public, there was a line of people waiting at the door to surrender their animals, and still more animals arrived as strays.  Thirty-five were added to the shelter population that day.   During the rest of the week, every day, more animals arrived - another 125 by week's end on Sunday.

"At the end of our week, many of the animals we photographed remained at the shelter, and we followed each of their stories until its conclusion.  Eventually, each and every animal left the shelter in one way or another.  Some of the lost animals were reunited with their relieved families, some lucky animals were joyfully adopted into new homes, and some were euthanized.  Our hearts rose or fell, rejoiced or broke, with each happy or tragic ending.  Each of the animals became precious to us.  Each one, we knew, was gifted with his or her own unique spark of life and spirit.  All of them deserved so much more than to be there, fighting for a chance at a safe and happy life."

The Miracle of Life

Following is the story of "three kittens," one a siamese mix, one a black short-haired, and one a tortoiseshell.

"Five homes, ready to take in new feline family members.

"Ten kittens wait in the shelter.  Already, some will lose.

"Outside the shelter, away from the desperate situation within its walls, a family doesn't have their cat spayed.  She becomes pregnant.  Gives birth to five kittens.

"'We gave the other two away,' the family says when they surrender the three remaining siblings at the front counter.  Meaning, two of the available homes have been taken.

"Only three homes available now.  And now, thirteen kittens wait in the shelter.

"This is how companion animal overpopulation works.  Simple math, where the numbers are lives.

"In reality, the numbers are tens of thousands of times larger.  But the formula works just the same.  Every new kitten added to the equation reduces the chances for others to find a home.  Even the ones who don't cross the threshold of the shelter door - the ones "given away" - reduce the homes available and thus sentence other kittens to death.

"Another victim in the cold mathematical formula are the scores of adult cats waiting in the shelter, who will be overlooked when these irresistible kitten faces peer out of the cages.   According to one study, 84% of adopters want a kitten or puppy under one year old.

"These three kittens were some of the lucky ones.  The formula, by chance, worked out in their favor and each were adopted into new homes.  They left behind many others for whom the match was not so kind."

Reason for Surrender

"It is one of the major functions of shelters to accept animals who, for whatever reason, are no longer wanted by their guardians.  About one-third of the animals entering shelters nationwide are there because they have been surrendered.

"However he is surrendered, and for whatever reason, it is now a matter of life and death for the animal.  He has lost his home, his security, his safety.  He has lost everything, and now may ultimately lose his life.

"At a deeper level, the surrender problem is rooted in the way society views and places value on companion animals.  Animals, despite the fact that they are living, feeling beings, are defined legally and through the general consensus of society as property - as possessions.   ...And, just as easily, that property can be disposed of, with no consequences - a municipal shelter will have to take the animal when a reason for surrender is stated and ownership is signed over.  Our society simply does not require anything more, any deeper consideration, when it comes to companion animals.

"There is a moment, when the paperwork has been completed, and the animal is being handed over to shelter staff... if you watch carefully, you can sometimes see the exact moment when the animal comprehends what is happening, when he finally realizes that his guardian is leaving and he is staying; the exact moment when the confusion in his eyes is replaced by understanding, and then turns to panic, desperation.  Sadness, that will turn to grief as the days unwind, while he waits for another chance that may or may not come."

There's No Place Like Home

"'Home.' Such a small, simple word, but in a shelter, there is no more powerful idea.  Home is the ever-present thought, the all-encompassing goal; it hangs in the air and occupies everyone's minds.  In a shelter, the search for a home is everything - for every lost cat whose stray hold has expired without being claimed, for every puppy and kitten born into an already overpopulated world, for every dog given up by his guardian, home is now the ultimate hope, the slender thread by which his fate hangs, the magic wish that will mean the difference between life and death.

"...adopting a homeless animal is a profound act, an expression of compassion and of the inherent value of animals, a stand for life and against meaningless death.  Most importantly, and most basically, it is the happy ending to a shelter animal's story... a home."

This book is an amazing compilation of love, tragedy, sorrow, and hope.  But in reading it, you give meaning to each and every one of these animal's lives.  They are no longer invisible.   "It is nothing less than an act of courage to look past the statistics to allow yourself to see the individuals, to look into their eyes and ready about their lives, to bear witness to their stories.  Probably many people who picked this book up did not finish it, so difficult is the reality it shows.  But it is, on all levels, the truth, and we believe that truth must be told, difficult though it may be.   We can be angry, and we can be hurt, but we must not turn away."

To learn more about this profound and compelling book, as well as the dedicated work done by No Voice Unheard, please visit www.NoVoiceUnheard.org.

From the book ‘One At A Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter’ © 2003 No Voice Unheard,. www.NoVoiceUnheard.org.  Used with permission.