How exactly are animals "destroyed" at the pound?

Don’t blame the pound for the fact that people are not responsible owners. What they do is necessitated by the way our society treats pets as disposable items. While the folks who work there must find a way to disassociate themselves from the animals to retain their sanity, don’t mistake it for not caring about the animals. No one works at the pound for the money, glamor or prestige – they’re there because they care about the animals.

Specifics are controlled by county and state regulations. All methods used are proscribed as “humane” by the American Veterinary Medical Association. I believe gassing is still legal but it has been eliminated by the majority of facilities. In most cases, an intravenous injection of euthanasia solution (pentobarbital) is injected – essentially, a massive overdose of an anesthetic. With proper dosing and transmission, death occurs in less than 3 seconds. A veterinarian must certify that the animal is deceased and then the body is disposed of – usually cremation. Often, as a security measure, an additional dose of euthanasia solution is injected directly into the heart through the chest wall.

@syz – Yes, pound workers generally love animals and do whatever they can within the system. And yes, there are more animals than people to care for them, largely because people are irresponsible about their pets. It seems to me that killing them is also necessitated by society’s attitude towards animals: They’re sub-human, and aren’t people. If they’re inconvenient or “too expensive”, kill ‘em, nicely, quietly, and let’s not think about it too much.

BLAME THE HUMANS they are the ones who REFUSE to spay and neuter or accept the responsibility of a pet that often lives a minimum of 15 years. Many think it is GREAT fun to have litters of kittens or puppies but then have no where for them to go.

Pets should be a lifetime commitment. They are not disposable.

Each year 10–12 million pets are euphemized in the United States. That is 192,000/week 27,000 every 24 hours 365 days a year.

70,000 kittens and puppies are born every day in the U.S. Every hour 415 children are born, 3,500 kittens ore also born in that hour. One out of every 4 is destroyed daily.

Unwanted litters face the cruel fate of pain, hunger, homelessness and disease.

http://www.buffalomissouri.us/pound.htm

what about poor horses…

Horses may be destroyed only by a veterinary surgeon (using lethal injection or by shooting) or by persons who are trained in doing so, such as a knackerman or hunt kennel man (both by shooting only).

The most common way to humanely put a dog down is by lethal injection. The solution used is called sodium pentobarbital, this substance is administered intravenously and results in two of three things. Firstly, the recipient will experience rapid loss of consciousness followed by either cardiac or respiratory arrest. The animal will feel absolutely no pain as it drifts into unconsciousness. This method of euthanasia gave rise to the euphemism “to put to sleep”;.Other methods used by vets include the injection of a substance called T-61. This is a type of neuro-muscular blocking agent. This method causes paralysis and pain and is generally not the favoured method of euthanasia with most vets.

Arguments frequently arise upon discussion of one particular method of euthanasia. Shooting is considered by many as a more humane way of euthanasia than sodium pentobarbital or T-61. However, one argument is that this method is barbaric and disrespectful to the dog. </p><p>To take a dog out into a field or yard and simply put a gun to his head and end his life is deemed to be inhumane. What if the gun misfires and the dog is accidentally shot in the stomach or back and is left in pain and shock with only death to bring an end? What are the social implications of validating the ownership of firearms for this reason, when there are other methods of euthanasia which pose no possible threat to parties not involved in the ownership of dogs? These are all very logical arguments, all though there are very valid arguments to the contrary. Why should a struggling farmer, for example, have to pay to have his own dog killed when he can do it for free in the privacy of his own home?

Why should any body pay for their dog to be killed by a stranger when they can end it peacefully in their own home?
http://www.petlibrary.co.uk/dog-care/putting-a-dog-to-sleep-pet-euthansia.html

THE LETHAL INJECTION CONUNDRUM
Hope this finds you all alive, well and prosperous. Some 10–11 years ago I authored an article entitled “Lethal Injection: what really happens” in an effort to educate the public and hoping to persuade some death penalty lawyers to tackle this issue of lethal injection, which I believe is an insidiously evil way to die, as recounted below.

http://texasdeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2007/12/lethal-injection-conundrum.html

as for your nazi comment…pretty much NO you are not right (it was MASS destruction of human beings there would not be time for nicely putting people to sleep). have you SEEN the pictures of how they were starved?

In the late 1930’s the Nazis killed thousands of handicapped Germans by lethal injection and poisonous gas. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, mobile killing units following in the wake of the German Army began shooting massive numbers of Jews and Roma (Gypsies) in open fields and ravines on the outskirts of conquered cities and towns. Eventually the Nazis created a more secluded and organized method of killing enormous numbers of civilians—six extermination centers were established in occupied Poland where large-scale murder by gas and body disposal by cremation were systematically conducted. Victims were deported to these centers from Western Europe and from the ghettos in Eastern Europe which the Nazis had established. In addition, millions died in the ghettos and concentration camps as a result of forced labor, starvation, exposure, brutality, disease and execution.

http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/questns.htm

The number of people killed at the death camps has been estimated as follows.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: about 1,100,000[6]
Treblinka: at least 700,000[7]
Bełżec: about 434,500[8]
Sobibór: about 167,000[9]
Chełmno: about 152,000[10]
Majdanek: 78,000[11]
Maly Trostenets: at least 65,000[12]
This gives a total of over 2.5 million, of which over 80% were Jews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extermination_camp

I never blamed anyone for anything. I’m just curious of you’d execute the task, no pun.

I guess the non literal Nazi remark wasn’t as blatantly sarcastic as I assumed. I’ll try and dumb down the dialog next time for the special users.

It is a shame that this great country has a dark side that few really know or care about but at least, those that are put down don’t suffer. My two will stay with me for my life or theirs and will go with love and respect. It is sad that a humanity as ours has neither, for animals nor his fellow man.