http://www.cnn.com/video/?JSONLINK=/video/living/2...

An octopus pulls a plug, flooding the aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier. KCAL reports.

WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT OF HAVING A PET IF YOU ARENT GOING TO GIVE IT WHAT IT NEEDS TO THRIVE AND BE HAPPY?????
Goldfish grow to 8-24 inches depending on variety and have lifespans of 20-30 yrs.
They have longer memories then what was thought, thanks to Adam and Jaime from the show Mythbusters.  They actually are pretty intelligent, ive seen videos of this guy training his goldfish to put a tiny soccerball in an underwater net.  They definatly learn to recognize their care givers.  Yet ignorant pieces of shit think of them as "just fish".  Those are the ones who should be banned from owning any pet.  Its not just them their way of thinking gets passed down to their children.  They are unknowingly or sometimes knowingly teaching their kids that animals are disposible objects, unfeeling, unthinking decorations.  Just because their is a picture on a box or their parents did it or a shitty petstore told them that its ok to cram the fish in a tiny bowl or tiny desktop aquarium, that it is ok.  The poor goldfish's gills and fins burning and rotting off because of the high ammonia in the tiny toilet of a bowl or tank.  And when that fish finally succumbs to the neglect and abuse, another victim takes its place, continuing the unrelenting cycle of animal cruelty. 
Goldfish 3 inches and smaller NEED 10 gallons PER fish with alot of filtration and weekly 25 percent partial waterchanges where the gravel is vacumed thoroughly with a siphon.  Never drain the water past 50 percent. 

Meet Bruce


http://www.goldfishparadise.com/care/care.php

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1922&articleid=2650

http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html

http://www.goldfishinfo.com/setup1.htm

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/gfish.htm

http://www.thegab.org/Articles/GoldfishBasics.html

We would probably have a shot at correcting people's beliefs about goldfish if:
a) the media wasn't continuously portraying tv and movie characters as having goldfish in a bowl.  You don't see beloved characters beating their dogs, do you?  And yet Elmo must go through many goldfish... Interesting...
b) the more commercialized aquaria companies didn't continually show goldfish in their 3g Spongebob tanks or fancy globe tanks.  Let's take a look through the aquarium brands available at Petsmart.com that do this (we'll just look for golfish to make this easier)
-
Aquascene
Marina
Eclipse
BiOrb
AllGlass

c) So many petstore employees weren't circulating bad information to make a sale

 Goldfish are just a prime example of bad information on fish circulated in our society.  There are also media portrayals of other fish like gouramis and livebearers, etc in too-small tanks.

Goldfish Bowls have been BANNED in Rome.

Everyone has a coworker that they hate.  Im gonna bitch about the shit my coworker does because i need to vent. 
K, so a week or so ago, these people buy the peruvian guinea pig we had.  She is waiting on them and they ask her if its just like taking care of a rabbit.  She says yes and she laughs.  Those people didnt buy food, they didnt buy bedding, they didnt buy any hay, all they bought was the guinea pig, the african millipede, and a large critter keeper for the millipede.  She didnt say a goddamn thing about how guineapigs dont make their own vitamin C and that they need guinea pig specific pellets that are fortified with vitamin C to live.  She never ever says anything about guinea pigs or rabbits needing timothy hay in thier diet.  These people probably have a rabbit cage that has the wire grate on the bottom wich is horrible for a guinea pig because their feet will get stuck and broken. 
Tonight this girl bought a rabbit and my coworker suggested the smallest cage and not one word about how it should only be temporary because the rabbit is gonna out grow it.  The girl asked her if the rabbit can eat hamster food, and my worker says and i quote " yes, but the rabbit wont get the right nutrition".  That right there infurated me, there should be NO yes in that answer.  Then the girl asked if the rabbit can drink out of a dish.  My coworker said yes thats fine.  So the store lost the sale of a waterbottle and holder.  Yet again, she didnt say anything about rabbits needing hay. 
My coworker was cleaning the bettas when this black guy came up to her and starting asking questions.  She had this attitude about her like she didnt want to be bothered.  That right there aint right.  Anyways she started answering his questions and she didnt make no damn sense.  She asked if he had a filter and heater.  He said he had a filter and it was a 10 gallon tank and has been up and running.  He didnt have a heater and she started saying something about " the tank has to be 72 degrees or the temperature will fluctuate"  She didnt say that the heater will stop it from fluctuating.  She said it exactly the way i quoted.  He asked her what the cheapest fish we had were, and she motioned to the feeder goldfish.  He asked her how big they got and this was her answer "they get as big as a regular goldfish".  Helloooo, he was expectin an answer with a number in it.   Anyways instead of small coldwater tropicals better suited for his tank size, she sells him 4 feeder comets.  Which will probably die within a few days due to ammonia poisoning.  Seriously how frickin hard is it to remember 10 gallons PER goldfish.  She is still telling people that the rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon.  Now a 14 inch oscar in no way whatsoever is ok in a 20 inch long 10 gallon tank. 
I answered the phone earlier this evening and it was a girl telling me her tetra died.  She has a 10 gallon tank and its been up running for 2 weeks and she bought a marigold swordtail and w black tetras yesterday.  The tetras died.  She described to me what the fish were doing before they died.  I asked her if she used water conditioner and if she properly acclimated them.  I asked her the day she bought the fish if there were fish in the tank or were in the tank, she said no that its a new tank.  She very well could be lying to me, i dunno but i gave her the benefit of the dout.  I took down her last name and jotted down that she will be bringin in the fish bodies and receit and that i told her to bring in a sample of water to be tested.  Well i was tryin to hurry and get the guinea pigs fed and watered in the stock room and my coworker with the note in her hand stepped into the doorway and started freaking out on me.  She told me that the girl already got her fish replaced.  She came in earlier today and was waited on by one of my other coworkers.  I told her straight out that "she will be in tomorrow and i dont know what to tell you, she didnt tell me they were already replaced and i didnt know because i came on at 4"  She shut up and went back on the floor.  Before i left tonight i saw that she wrote on the note saying she already got her fish replaced earlier today. 
So Sun-Thurs i work the small animals and birds and the stock room animals.  Friday and Saterday i get to work with the reptiles and fish.  My coworker works with the reptiles and fish sun-thurs because she supposedly has allergies.  Well come friday when i clean the cricket water dishes they are so nasty and slimy and underneath the wet papertowels there is black mold because she doesnt clean the water dishes, all she does is poor fresh water in the dishes.  She also never cleans the reptiles water dishes all she does is poor water in to the top from what evaporates.  I can tell dishes dont get cleaned daily because usually come friday their is algae growing in them. 
I had my boss get cypress mulch for the large boas to help with humidity issues.  I left a note for my coworker to keep the bedding moist.  She never mists it, i come in and its always bone dry and she never spot cleans the urates.  Same with the anoles, they are always bone dry.  When it is a fact that they need 70 percent humidity. Same with the ball pythons, i switched them over to coconut fiber because they have shedding issues from lack of humidity and they should have 60 percent humidity anyways since they are not a desert snake.  My coworker lets it dry out, she doesnt moisten it.  So now i get to pick off retained skin off the ball pythons friday or saterday, depending if it gets mad busy. 
What gets me though is on our checklist, she always initials when she aint doing what shes sposed to be doing.  I hate how someone from her house calls every night too. 
She doesnt try, she doesnt do add on sales, she gives out misinformation, she puts her work before customers and you can frickin tell with her voice tone that she doesnt wanna be bothered, and she does a half assed job with the animals. 

Reference links
http://www.cavyspirit.com/

http://www.cavycages.com

http://www.goldfishparadise.com/care/care.php

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1922&articleid=2650

http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html

http://www.goldfishinfo.com/setup1.htm

http://www.thegab.org/Articles/GoldfishBasics.html

http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/lizards/green-anole.php

I am so bloody sick of people who want a plecostamus because they think it will clean their tank.  And those who think they are shit eaters.  And those who say they have alot of algae. PLECOS ARE CRAPPER FISH, NOT CLEANER FISH.  THEY THEMSELVES SHIT ALOT.  PLECOS CANNOT LIVE ON JUST ALGAE, THEY DO NOT EAT SHIT EITHER.  THE REASON WHY YOU HAVE ALOT OF ALGAE WILL PROBABLY KILL YOUR PLECO!.  In the wild plecos mainly eat leafy vegetation.  They cannot survive on just algae, they need supplementation with algae wafers, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, shrimp pellets, driftwood/bog wood, and those dried algae sheets.  A healthy aquarium isnt going to have that much algae. 
I also want to hurt those who think that if they keep the pleco in a tiny tank it wont get any bigger.  THAT IS THE SAME AS KEEPING A CHILD IN A CLOSET OR A LARGE BREED PUPPY IN THE CUBBARD UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK.  Common plecos grow to 2 ft dammit and should be allowed to do so.  There are smaller species of plecostomus that are better suited to smaller tanks, they usually cost a little more but are well worth it.  Bushynose plecos, and bulldog plecos only get 5 inches, while the clown pleco only gets about 3-4 inches. 

http://www.petlibrary.com/fw_trop_plecostomus.htm

Black Adonis Pleco



4 lb pleco caught down in florida where they arent native

I think that people who use the argument that cats were made for the outdoors and shouldn't be denied access to it have been dropped on their heads way too many times as children. On top of the normal predators, like coyotes, and bears, and such, there are MAN MADE dangers as well.

What people don't appear to realize is that cats are not genetically programmed to be aware of the MAN MADE dangers. If they see a car on the street, they haven't a clue what it is and they haven't a clue to defend themselves from it. They haven't a clue that they shouldn't nestle into a warm hood of car to keep themselves warm. But they might have somewhat of a clue not to nestle up in a bear cave. Cats thrive on finding food outdoors, its their instinct, as well as finding water. When they find antifreeze outside, they haven't a clue that maybe they shouldn't be drinking it. Cats that have owners also aren't aware of the dangers of humans. They have a "good" human who doesn't hurt them (other than allowing them outdoors) so when they see a man with a bat or a gun, they don't know to run, they just think "Hey! Nice human! Maybe I'll get food!" CATS ARE NOT GENETICALLY OR INNATELY AWARE OF MANMADE DANGERS. And thats ALL this world is today! Even the coyotes and the bears and the deers are having trouble surviving because of the things HUMANS do. We're tearing apart their food sources, we are digging into their habitats and ruining their homes. The outdoors is turning into MANS domain, and its becoming increasingly difficult for ALL animals to survive - not just cats. So why in the HELL would you allow them to go outside if you don't have to?! It's not the way it USED to be.

Let's outline the states that I myself have heard of and witnessed in both my hometown and the town I live in now. One the country, and one, a big city. And these are just a few examples.

Country:
Cats dead on the side of the road at basically every street.
Cats gone missing. We have bears, we have coyotes we have a bunch of animals that could easily kill off a cat. Once my friend stumbled upon a kitten who had been ravaged by a wild animal. Another friend stumbled on an adult cat that had been ravaged by a wild animal.
My friend found a litter of kittens placed in a dumpster in a box.
My friend found a litter of kittens in a stiffling hot shed, locked in there by the owners. She had to break in to get the kittens out so that they didn't die. One didn't survive.
Someone witnessed a cat, tied to CINDER BLOCK, thrown into our river. It was ALL over the news. Its remains were found and sure enough, there was a cat, tied to a cinder block, in the water.

City:
Cats dead on virtually every street.
Cats gone missing.
I saw a cats whose eyes had been GAUGED out. Not that he had been born like that, or they had been surgically removed, they had been GAUGED out by humans. I spent weeks trying to catch this cat, but he never returned, probably got killed when he tried to cross the road, which is what I saw him doing after he ran out of my backyard.
Cats that live by my unviersity are often mistreated and fearful of humans because humans torture them. There have been firecracked incidences with cats and all this bullshit.

No matter where you are, there are dangers. Be it in the country or in the city. All animals are at risk being outdoors. When you have a pet, that has been programmed to trust humans, it is not likely to understand that humans can be DANGEROUS. I cannot comprehend for the life of me the excuse that animals were made for the outdoors, because people; the outdoors are no longer made for the animals, they are made for PEOPLE. This is what WE have created. This is NOT what cats are used to. Get it through your heads, it's NOT a cat's world out there!!!! Especially a cat that has been domesticated. A feral is different, it doesn't know the love of a human and fears all humans, it fears animals and it fears cars, it has a deep-seated fear of the unknown and is cautious and can survive, though it will not have the lengthy lifespan of an indoor cat, the outdoors. But a cat that has been domesticated and loves humans and realizes that humans are ok, is not aware of the dangers and horrors that humans themselves are capable of committing and is naturally curious. Curiosity has never hurt it in the home yet - so why should it think it would be any different outside?! It doesn't realize that a human has the potential to gauge its eyes out. Or tie it to a cinder block and drown it. It doesn't know what a car is or a wild animal is, all it knows is the house is safe, so the outdoors must be safe too. All it knows is, mommy is safe and daddy is safe, so other humans must be safe too.

Anyone who thinks different is a moron.

One decision every cat owner must make is whether or not their feline friend will be allowed outdoors. Many people feel that keeping their kitties indoors deprives them of a full life. However, one must consider that the average life span of a totally outdoor cat is about a year and a half, while a totally indoor cat is expected to live upwards of 15 years.

Aside from the obvious dangers of car fan belts and tires, toxic plants, dogs and cruel people, there are many hidden dangers to cats allowed outdoors. Life-threatening dangers include:


Diseases for which we currently do not have vaccines for (Feline Aids),
or vaccines that are not reliably effective
(Feline Leukemia, Feline Infectious Peritonitis).


Heartworm. Yes, it is true that a cat can get heartworm, through mosquito bites. Shorthairs are at higher risk than longhairs.


Antifreeze. Its sweet taste is irresistible to cats, and a cat who has walked through a small pool of antifreeze and cleans its paws has ingested a fatal dose.


Skin cancer. Light colored kitties (especially white) are at risk for skin cancer of the ears due to exposure to direct sunlight.


Hanging/choking. Those neat little cat collars which do not provide breakaway or stretch releases have killed many a cat.


Fighting among outdoor kitties not only spreads disease, it can result in painful abscesses which require medical attention (an untreated abscess can kill a cat). Unaltered tom cats are prime candidates for such fighting, not to mention they will impregnate any and all receptive females they come upon.


Toxoplasmosis. A single celled organism that cats can ingest while eating prey that has been exposed. Not only can it kill a cat, it is contagious to people and can result in severe birth defects to human babies whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Wearing rubber gloves while handling litter pan duties and gardening is highly recommended for pregnant women. Finding another home for your cherished pet is NOT necessary.

As if that is not enough food for thought, consider our wildlife. Cats kill many songbirds each year, plus rabbits, squirrels, mice, chipmunks, reptiles, etc. Most areas are not overrun with these creatures, and cats are not performing a necessary service by killing them.

Being neat creatures, cats bury their feces. It's not a lot of fun to be digging in your garden and get a handful of that! Not to mention that kitty excrement is not an effective fertilizer, or that your neighbor will probably not see the humor of their gardens being dug up and destroyed...

Non-life threatening things outdoor cats are exposed to can serve to make our human lives miserable also. Fleas, ticks and mites would just as soon bite you as they would the family pet, and getting them out of your home is expensive and time-consuming. These parasites can also carry life-threatening diseases. Kitties who come inside with motor oil or used chewing gum on their bodies and sit on your antique sofas cause quite a stir, also. Ringworm is sometimes contracted by a cat while outdoors digging in the dirt; this fungus is very contagious to humans.

Cats do not observe property lines by any means. To them, a fence is something to climb on, not a barrier. Your neighbor may not have a problem shooting, trapping or poisoning your family pet.

There are so many obvious benefits to keeping your cat indoors. Indoor cats are no lazier or less happy than their outdoor counterparts. Provide a window perch for them, put out a bird feeder for entertainment. There are so many toys available for cats now, both the interactive kind (a stick with a string with something fun on the end), and the toys that do not require human intervention. Avoid toys which have small parts that can come off and cause choking or gastrointestinal problems. A paper grocery bag will provide hours of entertainment for your kitty. A scratching post of some kind is a necessity.

An indoor/outdoor cat can easily be made a totally indoor cat with perseverance on your part. They may resent their confinement for a short time, but they will adjust. Another option is a safe outdoor enclosure. It must be carefully constructed, as you need to keep other animals OUT, as well as your cat in. Screen porches work well, too, just be sure to give the kitty some way to get back into your house if they need to.

Many cats live their entire lives without ever setting foot on grass. The difference in their life expectancy as well as quality of life speaks for itself.

Animal Aid has frequently been criticized for charging an adoption fee. "If you're so anxious to find homes for these pets," we're told, "you should just give them away."

This attitude makes us shudder. In the first place, these small fees in no way begin to cover the cost incurred for medical treatment and upkeep of the pets we adopt out. Yes, we're anxious to find homes for our animals--GOOD homes. And some people who take free pets do provide wonderful homes. However, frequently--much too frequently!--Animal Aid is called in to rescue former "free to good home" animals.

Did you know:

1) People value what they pay for. Pets obtained for free are are less likely to be spayed or neutered by their new owners (why bother with vet bills?), and more likely to be abused and/or discarded, because "there are plenty more where that came from!" A recent study at one animal shelter yielded the startling statistic that 51% of all owner-surrendered dogs had been purchsed for less than $100; 41% of all owner-surrendered dogs had been obtained "Free to good home."



This handsome, well-fed-looking fellow is Brutus, and he is an Animal Aid rescue. Brutus was the pampered friend of "Mark." Brutus and Mark played ball together and walked on the beach together, and, in general, enjoyed each other's company. Then, Mark's company transferred him to a different state. Mark didn't know how to take Brutus with him, or considered it unfair to submit his friend to the trauma of moving, or just plain didn't know that most states DO allow big, good-natured dogs to move in with their masters.

Whatever the reason, Mark placed an ad in his local newspaper: "Free to good home, friendly, lovable black lab." Someone saw the ad, called Mark, and said, "That's just the dog I've been looking for. Can I come over and see him?" The new person was very nice to Brutus, talked to him, rubbed his ears just the way Brutus liked to have his ears rubbed, and convinced Mark that he and Brutus were just made for each other.


 
This is Brutus's new owner's idea of a good home--at the end of a two-foot chain tied to a rope collar, in a garbage-filled backyard, no water dish or food bowl anywhere in sight. This sweet, loving dog was now 20 pounds underweight, suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, fleas, intestinal worms, mange, fly-chewed ears, heartworm, and, worst of all, neglect.

Luckily for him, neighbors called an Animal Aid volunteer, who arrived accompanied by a policeman. The new owner was arrested, charged, and convicted with cruelty to animals. He paid a fine which probably equalled less than Brutus's medical bills.

Brutus went to the vet for all kinds of medicine, then home with the volunteer for lunch. Several years later, he's been adopted by the volunteer, and still eating! He's well and happy and a bit overweight; greets everyone with a tail wag and a wet kiss. But he still wants you to remember this story and this photo every time you see an ad that says, "Free to good home."
 
2) So-called "Bunchers" gather free pets until they have enough for a trip to a Class B Dealer who is licensed by the USDA to sell to sell animals from "random sources" for research. The Buncher may only get $25 a head for former pets, while a dealer can between $100 - $450 per pet. The Class B dealer probably already has a contract with certain facilities, and will transport them to other areas within a state, even out of state.

3) Free animals are taken to "blood" pit-bulls--to train fighting dogs how to kill, and to enjoy it. This can be dogs and cats, of any size--in fact, rescuers suspect that a recently rescued cat was used in this manner. Often, a larger dog's muzzle will be duct-taped shut so that he can't bite back, and the fighting dog will gain confidence in killing a dog larger than he is.

4) One "adoptor" took free kittens to his "good home"-- as dinner for a pet snake.

5) Unspayed or unneutered pure-bred dogs & cats may end up as "breeding stock" in a puppy or kitty mill. One woman was certain that if she didn't give away her Dalmatians' AKC registration papers along with the dogs, she could keep them safe from millers. Wrong. Unscrupulous breeders, who use puppies as cash crops like other farmers raise cattle, pigs, or chickens, aren't above forging registration papers, or using those from deceased dogs. Rescuers have learned the hard to way to make sure that all pets they place have been spayed or neutered before going to new homes.

6) So-called "collectors" watch the newspapers for Free to Good Home animals. These collectors truly believe they are "rescuing" the animals.

How could this happen? It's not as unusual as you might believe--or hope. Such people are called "collectors;" they take in orphaned dogs or cats, watch the "free to good home" ads, either don't believe in spaying and neutering or run out of funds for the vet bills. These collectors actually think they are "rescuing" the animals! More and more free pets come to them--they're very convincing; and they truly do love pets--and the ones they have keep reproducing, until the collectors are overwhelmed. In the best circumstances, animal rescue organizations are called. In the worst--the collector simply walks away.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Some folks answering the "Free to Good Home" ads really are loving, responsible pet owners. Many--perhaps even most--are not. There are steps YOU can take to help end abuse:

DON'T advertise Free pets

DO convince others not to. Some people even take the time to phone owners of pets advertising Free to Good Home and warn them of the dangers.

DO spay/neuter to keep from creating possible Free to Good Home situations or condemning your pet to a short, miserable life in a mill.

DO write letters to the editors of your local newspapers warning of the dangers of Free to Good Home.

DO contact breed rescue organizations or local animal welfare organizations for help in placing unwanted pets; if you bought the pet from a responsible breeder, he/she will help you rehome the pet.

DO charge at least $25 to discourage resale of pets to labs.

DO take the time to interview every prospective owner. Ask for vet and personnel references, and check them, then visit the new home where your pet might be living!

DO write a letter to your congressmen in support of legislation aimed at doing away with Class B dealers, who sell animals obtained from "random sources" to research facilities. Random sources include strays, stolen pets, seized shelter animals, animals purchased at flea markets--and pets found through "Free to good home" ads.

DO report any incidence of suspected dog-fighting to police, Animal Control, and your local Humane Society.

DON'T try to stop these people yourselves; there is a lot of money involved here, and you could be putting yourself and your pets at risk if you try to intervene alone.

DO call police, animal welfare workers, even the health department, if someone in your area seems to be "collecting" cats or dogs.

DO write to district attorneys, judges, and prosecutors if you hear of the arrest of any so-called collectors in your area, and urge them not only to prosecute to the full extent of the law, but also to mandate psychological counseling for these individuals in the hopes of avoiding repeat violations.

DO call police or animal welfare workers for any incidences of suspected abuse. Be willing to testify in court, if necessary. Note: what constitutes animal abuse is defined by state law. If your state has inadequate abuse laws, TRY TO CHANGE THEM!

Remember--the welfare of pets is in ALL of our hands!

Date: 2006-10-31, 7:55AM

GREED AND IGNORANCE BREED MORE DEATHS IN MAJOR SHELTERS. THERE ARE ENOUGH "AKC PAPER" DOGS BEING DESTROYED EVERY DAY, DONTCHA THINK?

Helter Shelter - A Grim Tale of the Needle And The Damage Done

August 5, 2006 : 12:00 AM
By Ty Phillips
Modesto Bee
Reprinted with permission

It is early morning at the Stanislaus County Animal Shelter. And for you, the animal care specialist, the day opens in minor chords. You walk to the computer and print out the list of dogs that fill dozens of the agency's kennels. You sit there with your coffee, highlighting in yellow marker the ones that have been here for five days. They've all got a story.

Someone stopped loving him. No one ever loved her. He got too big. She started chewing on sprinklers. He bit a child. Her owner is out of town, and the house sitter noticed the dog got out but didn't bother to call the shelter. Whatever happened, it doesn't matter now: Their time is up.

You move to the first noisy cage. As you open the door, a few dogs try to escape, while others cram themselves into the far corners to avoid you. Everyone on the outside says the animals have no idea what's coming, but you've seen too much proof to the contrary. Yes, on some sad level, they know.

You squeeze into the cage and slip your leash, your noose, around the neck of one. You lead him back to the gate and open it just enough for you to squeeze through. You pull his head closer to the gate, and get ready. Then you jerk him out quickly and slam the door so the others don't get out. He's scared and whimpering, looking around frantically, but he does what he's told and follows you, faithfully, to the end of the line.

The killing room is a large, cold place with a small row of metal cages along one of the concrete walls. There's a large, stainless-steel table in one corner, holding syringes, needles and bottles of tranquilizer and Fatal Plus, a solution of sodium pentobarbital that usually kills within seconds.

As a co-worker readies the syringe, you're kneeling, holding the dog still, cuffing one leg with your hand. Sometimes you have to fight them. Sometimes the battle is so fierce, you resort to forcing them between a gate hinged on a wall, immobilizing them long enough so you can get the needle in.

But not this time. This one's calm. He trusts you. He even gives you his paw: He's obviously someone's pet. So you stroke his head softly as the co-worker finds a vein. Then, just like that, he melts in your arms. You grab his paw again and drag his limp body to a corner.

One by one, you lay them out on the cement floor. One by one. Though county records show roughly 15, 000 animals are killed each year at the shelter, it's a number, like eternity, that defies comprehension. But when one considers the solitary act of each animal death, and the people who do the dirty work, the number 15, 000 comes into better focus. One death is a tragedy; anything more than that is just a statistic.

On this morning, and every morning, there will be about 15 to 20 of these canine executions, not counting the ones that come in throughout the day that are injured or unadoptable. As you walk to the cages to retrieve another, the anger swells inside you. Because you know most of this daily ritual easily could be avoided. Spay and neuter, people, you say to yourself.

Spay and neuter!

Time runs out on a mother pit bull and her puppies. When she showed up here last week, your only hope was that she wouldn't give birth before her five days were up. But she did.

You hardly could stand to watch her care for her pups, licking them, dragging them around to protect them. Finally, you gave in and fed her treats, telling her, "That's a good girl."

Because, sadly, you knew all her efforts were in vain. This day always comes. Once you've got them all gathered in the room, you put her down first. Because you've learned the babies cry when they're injected, and that only adds stress to the mother.

One by one. One after another. You stack the singles into piles. You load the piles into 55-gallon barrels. You push the barrels into the walk-in freezer, where rows and rows of barrels fill completely about twice a week. The barrels are emptied into trucks. It's like a factory here. And they call this a shelter?

The stench of death permanently haunts the air: It's a dull fragrance you won't forget the rest of your life. Someday years from now, you'll be served food at a restaurant, and something will trigger the memory of that awful smell. Just like that, the meal will be over. You wash your hands incessantly; trouble is, what you're trying to clean doesn't go away with soap and water. That would take a psychologist, better than the one you have.

An hour into it, you're nearing the last of the morning's kill. Next up is an adorable pop-eyed Chihuahua you had thought someone might claim. Or adopt. You start for her, but then you make a grave mistake: You look into her eyes. In a flash, your mind acknowledges that this is a living, breathing thing. --darn-- dog, now she's under your skin.

Suddenly, you can't bring yourself to do it. Not this one. Your back yard already brims with the dogs and cats you've personally spared over the years, and there's simply no more room. So, you sneak her off the list and move her to another kennel. Your day off is tomorrow, and you just put it out of your mind. That's all you can do.

Now, through the bars, you spot the big mongrel. You squeeze into the cage, and he moves away. He's scared and hungry; he's not the alpha male in this lot, so he hasn't eaten in five days. And who knows what he went through before he ended up here? So you kneel and call to him in a pleasant voice. Now he's wagging his tail because he thinks you're going to rescue him from this awful place.

You get him outside and pet him to try to keep him calm. But he's excited, jumping up and down, because you helped him out of the chaos. You're his friend now; he'll follow you anywhere. So you lead him toward the room and he trots along happily.

But halfway there, something shifts in him. You figure he's starting to smell that stench coming from the freezer. Yes, on some level, they know. He starts jerking his neck back, using his front legs to try to pull you back. The more you fight him, the more he realizes he should fight. So you drag him the rest of the way.

Once you get him into the room, he's still fighting pretty hard. Your arms are getting tired. To get him to the table, you both trip over piles of dead dogs that now cover the floor. Finally, you get him stopped. The soft talk helps a little, and you're able to hold him still enough for the co-worker to find a vein. Once it's in, you let go. He moves away, woozy. They don't always die immediately. He wanders over to the corpse of another dog, and sniffs it a little before collapsing onto the floor.

Spay and neuter, people!

Leaving the room, you remember something you wanted to tell a co-worker. She's working alone in the cat room, putting down several dozen to start her day. You open the door, but the scene makes you forget what you wanted to say.

There she is, sitting in a corner, crying, surrounded by dozens of dead cats that litter the floor. You make eye contact and get ready to say something, but she waves you off. It's a quick shake of the head that says, "I'm fine; just leave me alone." So you do.

For those who do this for a living, it's mostly business as usual, life goes on. But there are occasional meltdowns. Not to mention divorce, denial, alcoholism, nightmares, antidepressants and all sorts of other ugly side effects.

Walking away from the cat room, a simple question forms in your head, one that plagues you often throughout your days here: Does anybody care about animals? Anyone at all? Inside, you know there are thousands of people, just like you, who cherish their pets and treat them like family. Or even royalty. Working here, you rarely see those folks. They take care of their animals.

Instead, you get the people who � before business hours � drop off a cardboard box of mangled kittens that were used to train pit bulls to fight dirty. Usually, they just toss the dead alongside the road somewhere, but for some reason, someone brought these in. You open the box to discover all but one are dead, and the only one alive is using its front legs to crawl toward you because its back legs are crushed.

Or you get the people whose hobby is trapping feral cats and bringing them to the shelter. Once you asked about strange lines etched into the stick they use to hold the trap shut, hoping you were wrong. But, yes, like notches in a gun, that's how they track how many cats they've captured. It's a game to them.

Or you get the man who brings in three kittens in an ice chest he placed in his trunk. In the middle of summer. When you open the lid, most of the horror has played out. You look up and scold him, asking him what he was thinking. And he shrugs. Not like it matters, he says, they didn't belong to anyone.

Or you get the people who pull up in a moving van to drop off their family pet, saying that they can't take the dog with them and that they were unable to find the animal a home. They drive away, conscious clear, leaving the dirty work for you. Like you're some kind of sin-eater.

And to think, you took this job because you wanted to save animals. Standing there at the kennels, lost in the flashbacks, you ask yourself again: Does anybody care? Anyone at all?

A friendly face pops into your mind. Yes, there is one, you finally remember, trying to cheer yourself up. That poor young woman from the west side, the one who's been coming by twice a week for the last six months, looking for her beloved red Doberman pinscher. She keeps asking you, "How long should I keep looking?" And you keep telling her, "As long as your heart needs to." Who are you to take away hope?

And now, come to think of it, you did notice a nice-looking Doberman in the back kennels this morning. Nah, couldn't be, you think. He disappeared six months ago. But, needing a miracle, you go and check anyway. You look him over for a while. There is some red in his coat, but you're not certain.

Cautiously, you have someone call the woman. Be sure to tell her we're not sure, you say, but let her know we might have her dog. An hour later, the woman is scurrying through the hall toward the back kennels. You can barely keep up with her.

I think I hear him, she keeps saying excitedly. She keeps calling out his name. All you hear is what you always hear: the deafening din of scores of barking dogs. When you get to the back kennels, a lowered metal guillotine door is keeping everything outside. So you raise the door, and 80 pounds of frenetic dog come bounding inside, wildly running around the cage. You think to yourself, how would he even know she was coming? Yes, on some level, they always know.

Just like that, this huge dog plasters itself against the chain-link fence, licking the fingers of a woman who's pressing herself against the fence, too. The scene is reminiscent of lovers on a beach. It's him, it's him, she keeps saying. All the while, this enormous dog is emitting the strangest high-pitched yipping you've ever heard, almost like a puppy.

Overcome with emotion, the woman sinks to the cement gutter and starts sobbing into her hands. You sit next to her to offer some comfort. Then, before you know it, you're right beside her, bawling uncontrollably. She's crying because her life is complete again. And you're crying because, after working this job, your life never will be the same. Because for every animal that leaves with its owner, half a dozen are hauled off in garbage trucks.

No, you think, wiping away the tears, this is no place for an animal lover.

Bee staff writer Ty Phillips can be reached at tphillips@modbee.com or 874-5716

Original URL: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pet/228199780.html

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