Dear Friends,

From Buffalo to Babylon, Rochester to Riverhead, upstate, downstate, Long Island, Westchester and even in the greatest city in the world, our cats and dogs have this in common: When they're surrendered to Municipal Animal Control Facilities (ACF)/"Shelters", they're as good as dead. "Owner Turn-in" or "Owner Surrenders" are often killed within minutes of entering the shelter. The laws need to be changed!

 In the recent case of "Yankee and Cece," in Hempstead, N.Y. (Family stunned after pet pit bulls are euthanized( http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=9480178 ) these beloved family dogs actually hid in their own home, cowering in fear for their lives when police and animal control entered in search of the dogs, without a legal warrant. The owners who spoke little English, uncertain of what was happening, scared, intimidated and unaware of their rights, signed a paper surrendering their pets for "euthanasia" to the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter. Shortly after their arrival, they were both swiftly destroyed, two innocent souls given no chance at life. They had no trial, no behavioral evaluation, no prior bite history and yet, they were summarily killed.

 As it stands now, any companion animal surrendered to an ACF/"shelter" can be destroyed before the owner even pulls out of the "shelter" driveway. In fact, both "Surrender" and "Euthanasia" forms are specifically written to protect ACF/"shelter" and animal control staff, not our companion animals. The language on these forms was created to protect employees and enhance shelter image by manipulating kill numbers, thus leaving animals in constant jeopardy, in the hands of countless individuals schooled in the "Animal Control" quick to "pull the trigger" mentality. Our pets are vulnerable, subject to marital disputes, where a spouse can maliciously surrender a pet to be killed without the knowledge of the other party; a disgruntled neighbor can capture your cat or dog and relinquish him/her to the shelter, claiming ownership and requesting that your pet be destroyed. Furthermore, errors, carelessness, complacency, are endemic in most shelters and many lost pets, even those awaiting rescue are killed.

 What can we do to prevent incidents such as this one from ending so tragically?

With your help, we are about to change the outcome of cases such as these on behalf of Yankee and Cece, two lives senselessly lost along with the millions of others who have faced the same fate. It may take time to remove the "kill" mentality from our shelters, but in the meantime, we must remove their power to kill. Recent FOIL documents and "euthanasia" records show that in some shelters, a majority of animals, mostly healthy and adoptable, are being "euthanized" under the code of "Owner turned in for "Euthanasia". Shelter Directors and management masterfully use this "category" to manipulate their kill numbers and to justify killing with impunity. It's time to eliminate the "owner request for euthanasia" option in municipal animal control facilities/"shelters".

What we want:

A State-wide bill eliminating the option of "on demand killing" and "owner request for euthanasia".

Municipal Animal Control Facilities/"shelters" should not be allowed to take in animals for "euthanasia" except in cases of irredeemable suffering or untreatable medical conditions, which must be diagnosed and authorized in writing, by a licensed veterinarian and affirmed by the shelter director/supervisor.

Pet owners, requesting that their pet be "euthanized", must first provide proof of "ownership" and then provide proof of terminal illness from a licensed veterinarian, at the time of surrender.

In keeping with a changing society that values companion animals as family members, there should no longer be an option to surrender an animal specifically for "euthanasia" except in a case where he /she is terminally ill.

Every animal entering a shelter must be protected and given a right to life. If this "easy kill option" did not exist, the lives of Yankee and Cece would have been spared they would still have been alive when their owners came to bring them back home.

Please sign our petition and share with all your friends and colleagues who care about animals.Your signature on this petition will help save the lives of our companion animals by showing your support for legislation to "Eliminate Easy-Access Shelter Killing and Take Away Their Power to Kill".

United Action to End the Killing of Shelter Animals - A growing coalition of animal lovers, advocates and rescuers dedicated to ending the hideous and senseless killing of of pets in shelters.

League of Humane Voters, NY (LOHV NY) (www.lohv-ny.org )                      

Hope for Hempstead Shelter, Unlimited (HFHSU):(http://on.fb.me/1mf6w2V)  

SOS: Save Our Shelter Animals (http://on.fb.me/1jfRymB)                         

PEACE: People for the End of Animal Cruelty and Exploitation