omidog

A friend just posted about this on her journal, and I was so moved by it that I had to share it here. The website Art for the Animals by Cyrus Mejia features an extraordinary exhibit entitled the 575 project. This art exhibit calls our attention to the fact that 575 dogs and cats (and other animals, presumably) are euthanized every hour in animal shelters. This works out to approximately 5 million unwanted pets every year.

This installation makes use of physical objects that we typically associate with our pets, like collars, leashes, dog tags, etc. and displays them, 575 of each, in different forms to remind us of what’s happening to these animals that we hold so dear to our hearts. Mejia’s website says “on average, cats will live in shelters for 3-5 days before being killed.” The artist represented this process with this amazing display of 575 cats, brush painted using only 3-5 strokes, completed over the course of 5 days.

I’ll admit that I didn’t realize how many shelters killed the animals that they’re unable to rehome, and I hardly even knew that happened at all until I was probably in high school or so. The concept that an animal is put to death in a matter of days upon arrival to a shelter simply because nobody has adopted it appalls me, and I think there are a lot of other people out there who also have no idea this is happening.

The animals have no say in whether they’re taken to a shelter or not, whether they’re scooped up as strays, abandoned in their homes by owners, or brought into the shelters because their owners just don’t want them anymore. Regardless of the circumstances, the fact remains unchanged that animals are being killed because the shelters don’t have enough room to accommodate the continuous stream of homeless pets coming in.

It’s times like these that I wish I had a nice big house or a farm where I could take in a bunch of animals to rescue them from this awful fate, but even then, with 575 being killed each hour, it would be such a tiny dent in this catastrophic process.

What can you do to help? If you have room in your home and the capabilities to care for animals (both legally and personally), foster a pet or two. Many shelters or organizations will allow you to foster a pet in your home to avoid euthanasia at shelters. Spread the word in your local community about responsible pet guardianship and urge people to adopt instead of purchase from pet stores and breeders. And if you find yourself in a situation where you have a pet that you need to give up, take every measure possible to find your pet a happy home before resorting to dropping him or her off at a kill shelter. If an animal shelter is the only option that you have, make sure to find one that specifically says “no-kill”.

Tags: 575 project, animal cruelty prevention, animal shelter, cyrus mejia, kill shelters, shelter cats, shelter dogs, shelter euthanasia