Adopting a Pet in Nebraska

Every day, animals are abused, neglected and abandoned. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an animal is abused each minute, which means it is likely that as you read this, another dog, cat, horse or any other type of pet has been beaten, starved or left without shelter or love.

 

But life for animals in America isn’t all bleak. Though the storm clouds of abuse gather and rage around pets, organizations like the ASPCA and humane societies across the country strive to bring light to abused and neglected pets and raise awareness of their plight.

 

In 2017, the Nebraska Humane Society took in 15,820 dogs and cats alone, according to its national kennel statistics. But it isn’t just limited to those classic pets; the Nebraska Humane Society shelters animals from horses and rabbits to iguanas and ferrets.

 

To Jackie Selz, the customer engagement leader at the south Lincoln PetSmart, humane societies are a beautiful thing, but they’re also reminders of the problems of human violence.

 

“Humane societies are one of those necessary but regrettable organizations,” Selz said. “We shouldn’t need places that teach us how to be humane to each other and to pets. We shouldn’t need to rescue animals from abuse or neglect. But we do.”

 

Selz said it’s difficult to discuss the adoption process without mentioning puppy mills and other commercial institutions that neglect and abuse pets.

 

According to the definition proposed by the American Humane Society and other animal care organizations, “A puppy mill is an inhumane dog breeding operation, which offers dogs for monetary compensation or remuneration, in which the physical, psychological and/or behavioral needs of the dogs are not being fulfilled due to inadequate housing, shelter, staffing, nutrition, socialization, sanitation, exercise, veterinary care, and/or inappropriate breeding.”

 

There are approximately 10,000 puppy mills currently operating in the United States. Kitten mills and other pet mills also operate with the support of thousands of consumers across the country.

 

To Selz, those are the stakes of adoption. Each time a person wants a pet, they have the choice between purchasing one that’s been raised for human aesthetic pleasure in a mill and adopting one that is raised with love and affection at a humane society

 

“I think it’s a fairly easy decision,” she said. “The only reason commercial mills are still in operation is because people still financially support them. And that has to end.”

 

Tammy Conroy, the director of education at the Nebraska Humane Society, is like Selz in that she’s conflicted by her employment. On the one hand, she loves working for an organization that takes care of pets. On the other, she knows her organization wouldn’t exist without animal abuse and neglect.

 

“We’re fighting for world in which we’re no longer needed,” Conroy said. “If people made smart and ethical decisions with animals, we wouldn’t have these problems.”

 

But Conroy said people shouldn’t go out and adopt just because they feel guilty or think it’s a moral duty.

 

“They don’t need your guilt,” she said. “They need your love. They need your shelter.”