Live or Die Tests at animal shelters

[Catherine]

Quote:They don't have time, is what it probably boils down to. They don't have time or inclination to get to know the characters of those dogs. It's a conveyor-belt system. In....then out (either to euthanasia or adoption) I don't know how these people sleep at night.

They sleep because they have such confidence in what they are doing. They totally believe what they are saying. They need a conveyor belt system and they fully believe that it works.

The way they were pulling at the skin of the corgi would be enough to make the calmest of dogs react. I wouldn't put up with that and neither should a dog.
I don't understand the food aggression issue. Why would you touch the food dish of a dog that is eating. I wouldn't put up with it and neither should a dog. I can't think of any reason why you would feed a dog then snatch the food away from it.

I know they are trying to sort out which dogs are safe as pets and which ones would be aggressive and possibly dangerous.
The need to assess and make judgements is real. I wouldn't send the corgi out as a pet for small children. I don't think it would be happy. Just observing the dogs and watching how they cope with shelter life would give you a better sense of their natures.

Dogs that don't cope with shelter life can be sent to foster homes where they can be observed better and can settle down and be less stressed.
We should have grown way past the over simplified testing methods. No shelter should be doing that any more, but I bet many of them do.