Imagine�
You awake from the womb of your mother and take your
first breath, along with your four brothers and sisters. None of you
asked to be here, yet here you are.
As you and your siblings grow older and start to wander
around, you discover that the only thing you desire is a full tummy and
a little love and affection. You find none.
One day, you and your brothers and sisters are rounded
up into a small box. Wide-eyed, you do not fight the hands that grab
you. You welcome any opportunity to be touched. As you and your family
travel in the car, you snuggle close together, wondering what is going
on.
Eventually, the car stops and you are removed from the
box. Together with your siblings, you are placed into a cold, steel
cage. Scared, you are not, because for the first time in your life,
there are others hovering over your cage, admiring your precious little
body and reaching fingers through the metal bars in order to touch you.
You lick their fingers in return for their affection.
Three days go by. Many people have passed your cage,
offering the fingers of love. One of your sisters was taken away by
these hands. But, you and three of your siblings still sit behind the
bars, unaware of what is going on.
This day is a momentous one for now the hands actually
enter the cage and embrace your body. Your tail wags and your tongue
licks. Any contact is good contact for you. After all, this is the only
thing you really wanted all along. You are placed in a cage on wheels
with your three other siblings along for the ride. Four little tails
wagging, the ride stops.
The hands grasp you again. Still, your tail wags and
your tongue licks. You want to make sure that your admirer knows how
much you appreciate his gentleness. Maybe this way, you figure, you will
get some of this attention a little more often. But, the hands put you
down into a cold, barren chamber. Where the other cage at least had bars
that you could see between, this cage has none; it's completely
enclosed. Soon, all three of your brothers and sisters are with you,
along with a few other dogs, one of which struggled for his life to
avoid entering the chamber, but here he sits. The door to the chamber
shuts. All is quiet and dark inside. Eyes look around, slowly. Bodies
huddle close together. But, tails still wag in remembrance of the
attention just received.
Suddenly, there's a hissing sound from inside the
chamber. You don't know it, but that sound is carbon monoxide gas being
blown into your little room. Bodies start to tremble as the insiders
begin to realize that they are having difficulty breathing. A few
whimpers can be heard from within the chamber. The hissing continues.
The eyes of everyone inside start to water and burn. The
whimpers have turned into screams as everyone realizes that they must
gasp for air. The gasping only makes it worse. Lungs and nostrils' begin
to burn, but there's no relief. You are watching your brothers and
sisters convulse on the floor of the chamber. Soon, you are right beside
them, body wrenching in pain. As your respiratory system is consumed by
poisonous, deadly, painful gas, the cries finally cease. You have
watched your family die in pain and agony and now you are about to do
the same�..fall off into your endless slumber, never to lick or wag a
tail again.
You just experienced a firsthand account of a form of
"animal control" euthanasia by carbon monoxide gas. Though this method
of euthanasia is condemned by every national animal welfare organization
and the American Veterinary Medical Association, it continues to be
performed throughout the world.
Last year we received an action alert on the Abilene
Animal Control Center in Texas, known to kill its animals via a gas
chamber. As a result of one very caring, dedicated man, Jerry Layne and
his group Animals Have Hearts, Too!, combined with letters and pressure
from devoted people like you, our subscribers, the shelter has since
changed its method of euthanasia from carbon monoxide poisoning to
sodium pentobarbital consisting of two injections: one that puts the
animal into a peaceful slumber and another that causes all vital organs
to cease operating. As a matter of fact, Jerry Layne and his helpers
actually encouraged the Abilene Animal Control Center to change its
method of euthanasia through only two months of pressure!
In our efforts to help ensure that all animals are
treated with dignity and respect, we are calling on our subscribers once
again. Mr. Layne and Animals Have Hearts, Too! have made it their
personal crusade to ensure that all animal shelter gas chambers in the
United States cease and desist this cruel, archaic treatment. It is
completely understandable where this group has gained its dedication and
perseverance. Remember the holocaust and the torture that Hitler
inflicted upon so many Jews? We have resurrected the holocaust, but this
time it's against the furry four legged, our most innocent. The thing
that is most frustrating is that this torture is NOT NECESSARY! We have
methods of euthanasia that are much less stressful, less painful, and
are downright peaceful compared to carbon monoxide poisoning. In
addition, the Abilene Animal Control Center determined that it would
only cost them an additional $1,100 to $1,200 a year, after startup and
training, to switch to sodium pentobarbital. So, money or lack thereof
is no excuse. There is no excuse!
Mr. Layne and Animals Have Hearts, Too! are declaring an
all-out WAR on the gas chamber and they are pleading with you for your
assistance. Specifically, they need you, our subscribers, to contact all
your local animal shelters and find out what forms of euthanasia are
currently being used. It is your right, as a concerned citizen, to know
how animals within your shelters are being killed and it is their
obligation to tell you. Do NOT take "no" for an answer!
If you locate an organization that is killing its
animals via a gas chamber or similar methods, it is imperative that they
immediately start feeling pressure from concerned citizens. This is
where Jerry Layne, Animals Have Hearts, Too!, and Animal Rights Online
are prepared to step in. Mr. Layne has requested that, once you locate
such organizations, you supply him with the following information:
1. The name(s) and address(es) of the shelter(s),
including the name(s) of the operations manager(s). Also, Mr. Layne is
requesting a copy of a shelter newsletter, if possible.
2. The name(s) and address(es) of all local newspaper(s).
(Mr. Layne recommends that you immediately begin sending in letters to
your editor about the intolerable killing methods being employed at your
local shelters.)
3. The name(s) and address(es) of local city council
members.
4. The name(s) and address(es) of all State and Federal
legislators for the districts in which the shelter(s) is/are located.
In addition, we would appreciate it if you would copy us
on all information sent to Mr. Layne so that we may help distribute your
findings to the rest of our subscribers. We will do our best to expose
the shelter(s) and start massive letter writing campaigns. We have seen
with the Abilene Animal Control Center that together, our efforts do
reap success. The major keys in this success are support of local
newspapers and support from the local community. According to Mr. Layne,
Abilene Animal Control Center would still be killing its unwanted
animals via carbon monoxide poisoning if it was not for the efforts of
local citizens and the members of Animal Rights Online and their
letters.
On a more specific note, Mr. Layne has already verified
three other shelters in the United States that are currently employing
gas chambers in the euthanization of unwanted animals. Animals Have
Hearts, Too! is requesting that subscribers who live in the local
communities of these shelters contact Mr. Layne with the following
information:
1. Chatham County Animal Control, Savannah, GA: (This
shelter uses a gas chamber with carbon monoxide). Mr. Layne URGENTLY
needs newspaper articles, letters to the editor, and any and all other
information pertaining to Chatham County Animal Control.
2. Pickaway County Dog Shelter, Circleville, OH: (This
shelter forces dogs and cats to inhale hot exhaust fumes from a gasoline
engine!) The name(s) and address(es) of any local newspaper(s), in
addition to the same information requested above.
3. Gaton County Animal Shelter, Gastonia, NC: (This
shelter uses a carbon monoxide gas chamber.) The same information as
requested above.
Gas chambers are a cruel, inhumane method of killing the
most unfortunate, innocent creatures. No animal, human or non, should
ever have to die while screaming in pain and fear. These animals did not
ask to be born. The only ones to blame are ourselves for not being more
responsible in having our pets spayed and neutered. Homeless, neglected,
lost, and abused animals have experienced a cruel enough existence as it
is. The least we can do is fight to ensure that they receive a peaceful,
painless release from this cold, terrible, uncaring world. This fight
will never be achieved without your help and assistance! Please, we will
do whatever we can to help you in this process, but you are the backbone
on which this mission must stand. Make a pledge today to take an hour
out of your schedule this week, look up all the shelters in your area,
and inquire as to what methods of euthanasia they use. If you would just
start the process, we will do the rest!
Jerry Layne can be contacted at:
Animals Have Hearts, Too!
P.O. Box 3612
Waco, Texas 76707-3612
Phone: 254-757-1682
Fax: 254-757-1683
Email:
[email protected]
Please copy all information sent to Mr. Layne to:
[email protected]
at Animal Rights Online
In addition to the above mentioned material, which is
the personal mission of Jerry Layne and Animals Have Hearts, Too!,
Animal Rights Online cannot help but consider those shelters that sell
their unwanted dogs and cats to research laboratories. These animals,
the majority of which are domesticated pets, do not deserve to be
tortured and maimed for the remainder of their short lives merely
because they were unfortunate enough to have been born into this
uncaring, throw-away society. It is absolutely preposterous that we
envision an animal shelter as a last resort for an animal to get a good
home, only to have their home become the cold rooms of a laboratory and
their caretaker a white-coated man or woman who probes and poisons them
all day long. While you are making that phone call to find out which
method(s) of euthanization your local shelter(s) use, please inquire as
to whether or not they sell or dispose of any of their live animals to
research laboratories. If you find that they do, please contact Animal
Rights Online immediately and we will do all that we can to help ensure
that this action ceases. (Contact:
[email protected])
For the countless animals who have already suffered and
for those who will suffer in the meantime, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK
AND DEDICATION! We could not accomplish as much as we have without you,
our subscribers!
Go on to The Ten
Worst Excuses Not To Spay or Neuter a Pet
Return to 27 February 2000 Issue
Return to Newsletters
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