EUTHANIZE or Not. What is your Opinion?

As you know, ZAPP Animal Center is against euthanizing animals, unless circumstances are dire. What do you think constitutes a dire circumstance in the context of Mexico? Do you think dogs that are antisocial, and display aggressive behavior when placed in a pack mentality should be put down? Do you think that these dogs deserve to be rehabilitated or socialized?

ZAPP is a "no-kill" shelter, and San Felipians, especially Americans, living here have worked hard for years to get Mexicali Animal Control and other officials to work with us, by adjusting their policies regarding roundups and the euthanizing of dogs after said roundups. San Felipians should be proud of the strides we've made in that regard , because now dogs that are rounded up are brought to us alive, and we are committed to keeping them safe and out of harm's way..As you might know by now, after the last roundup in San Felipe on June 17th, which brought 93 additional dogs to our gates, which we gladly accepted, we did have some serious behavioral problems, primarily because we were not ready for this many dogs, and we were not physically capable of accommodating these dogs in a way that best served all our animals.

That is to say, that at the time of that roundup ZAPP already had 250+ dogs, and after the 93 that were brought to us, our population exploded, and we were forced to integrate dogs into runs and kennels that we would have otherwise never done. Some really aggressive fighting broke out and we had some injuries and wounds to treat. Let us not forget that these are dogs, and as such they were just doing what dogs do naturally in their own culture.

In our opinion, we know the fighting was a result of overcrowding, and once we removed the "antagonists" from the situation, the fighting ceased. Sadly, because of a lack of additional kennel space, which has now been almost totally addressed, and after much discussion, our choice was to release the few dogs that were causing the problems. Some have said, "why didn't you call Dr. David Ibarra from Mexicali Animal Control" so he could take these dogs from us, but we thought that was a death sentence for these dogs, for sure. Maybe we were wrong. I assure you that these dogs which came from the streets of San Felipe, were released back into the streets and we felt certain and still do that they would survive just fine as they always had. It was never our intention to starve or cause harm to any of these animals by releasing them into the desert, but just to do the right thing for the greater good of all the dogs concerned. We also believe that once these dogs were given their freedom as it were, and removed from that pack mentality, that they were less likely to be a threat to other dogs that are more submissive and vulnerable that they might encounter.

I've received many thoughtful and provocative emails on this subject, from fans and detractors alike. Many of these emails chastised me in particular, saying we should definitely have euthanized these dogs, or that what we did was truly unconscionable, or saying we definitely did the right thing. Based on what you know, or have heard about our situation in Mexico, what do you think should be the policy of an animal rescue in Mexico that is committed to the humane treatment of animals? No matter what your opinion, I want to hear it. This is definitely a discussion worth having, in light of the problems ZAPP Center has been facing.Please tell me what you think by responding to this email address, or weighing in on our FACEBOOK Fan Page with your feedback. The link to the Fan Page is over on your right.