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i found this story on another website but i totally agree with it and thought i would share their story..  
 
 
Trying to Save Buddy, an SPCA Dog From a High Kill Shelter  
 
A True Story - Ever wonder why there are so many dogs in the pound, so many dogs killed on a daily basis? Read this shocking story...  
 
My friend wanted a dog for her family. She wanted to save an adult dog, but did not want to go through the puppy stages. I counseled her for months on dog psychology. I taught her and her kids how to be a pack leader, and had them practice the proper way to walk a dog.  
 
I informed them most of the dogs at the pound will have some type of issue, hence the reason they are at the pound. Some will be quickly fixable, and some will have more issues which will need more work. A dog is all about the moment. All about his current surroundings. Take a dog and give him to a meek owner who does not know how to, "speak dog" (communicate with a canine) and you create an unruley dog. Take the SAME DOG and put him with a firm, confident, consistent pack leader: one who gives the dogs rules to follow, limits to what they can and cannot do and a daily pack walk, and you will create a wonderful companion. It's all about the human, and what the human does with the dog. Hence the true saying, "There are no bad dogs, just bad owners."  
 
My friend and her family needed a medium sized, medium energy, somewhat submissive dog. Knowing the family and what type of dog was right for them, my daughter and I headed with them to the local SPCA.  
 
When we walked in, there were people standing around everywhere. Most with papers in hand, around the counter waiting. It was not clear what we should do. Was there a line? I asked several people, however no one seemed to notice me speaking. I started reading the signs hanging everywhere. Finally I was able to get someone's attention and asked if there was a line. No, there was no line. I asked if we could look at the dogs. Yes, we were allowed to go on back.  
 
We had quite a pack with us, myself, my friend and 4 of our kids. Our goal, to help match the dog to their lifestyle. Breed did not matter - we were looking for energy and dominance level. We looked all of the dogs over. One dog caught my eye. He was a 3 year old Norwegian Elkhound / Corgi mix named Buddy. What struck me about Buddy was, he did not want to make eye contact, he held his head low, ears were back, yet was right up front so he was not shy either. He was submissive, something my friends needed in a dog. A little over weight, but with the amount of daily walks he was going to get with this family, he would not be fat for long.  
 
The SPCA took my friends drivers license as collateral and let us walk Buddy outside. The worker brought Buddy out from the back. He was pulling ahead of her, very strong. I took the lead from the worker and immediately saw why Buddy had been given up. As submissive as he was, he was pack leader. He was never taught to follow humans, never taught to respect them. He had been allowed to drag humans all over the place.  
 
We were armed and ready, kids and adults, we all knew what to do. It was a short walk to the front door. Our human pack went first, and Buddy tried his hardest to pull out the front door. I stepped in front of him and performed a BODY BLOCK. He was persistent and strong as heck. He tried it again, to bolt out the front door... BODY BLOCK... Buddy stopped and looked at me. "No, Stay!" He tried one more time, and was met with yet another BODY BLOCK. When Buddy stopped trying I invited him to come through the first doorway into the corridor.  
 
Now our pack was inside a small room, between the inside of the SPCA and the parking lot. The second door was opened and the kids and my friend went out. Once again Buddy tried to bolt in front of them, only to be met with yet another BODY BLOCK and a firm, "No, Stay!" He tried one more time, then stopped and looked at me. I walked out the door, still holding the leash, and left him standing inside. I invited him to come. We were now all outside, standing on the front steps, which led down into the parking lot.  
 
Time to go down the steps, something that can be dangerous for humans if the dog bolts. The kids knew to go first. Buddy tried to bolt in front of them. He was immediately brought back to the top step with a firm tug on his lead. All humans went down the steps, including me. I was still holding the leash. However this time, Buddy just sat there looking at us. Humans were down the steps, he was waiting to be invited. "Buddy Come". Buddy happily came. He was figuring out the order of the new pack he had just met.  
 
Now for the walk. It only took two corrections to stop Buddy from pulling on the leash. This pulling and bolting was the reason his prior family gave him up. Yet it took us 5 minutes to establish the pack order, and correct his behavior. Buddy was not being bad, but in his prior human family, he was simply led to believe he was the boss. Simple as that. His prior owners were meek with him. They did not understand a dogs natural instinct to have an order. He needed to have rules to follow, limits to what he was, and was not allowed to do. From the looks of his weight, I'd bet he was not taken for daily walks, another canine instinct, to migrate. Buddy was most likely only given love, which is a human trait. But not given what he needed as a canine. Buddy had taken over as alpha dog, and it led him straight to the prison cell, of a high-kill SPCA.  
 
We walked Buddy around the parking lot. Buddy was healing on the lead like a pro and quite happy about it I might add. It was decided Buddy was the right dog for this family.  
 
My friend went up to the front desk to fill out the paperwork. I waited and observed. There were dogs everywhere. Workers walking dogs here and there. All of the dogs were leading the humans. None of the workers understood the importance of establishing a human as top dog, for all of the dogs were all pulling in front.  
 
I saw another worker come out from the back holding a fake arm. I had seen these fake arms on TV. The show was about SPCA's and how they test the dog's temperament. The dog was given food, and the worker sticks the fake arm into the dogs face. If the dog reacts, growls, or snaps at the fake arm, then that dog was deemed unadoptable, and was killed.  
 
When a dog growls or goes after a human while he is eating, he is not being mean, he is communicating with the human. He is saying, "Look, I am alpha here, and I eat first. You wait your turn." If his growl does not work, a canine will bite. The bite is also a warning to wait your turn. The leader eats first.  
 
Looking away from the fake arm, I notice again how all of the workers are being led by dogs. I think of Buddy, and his pulling issue. He was top dog, he wanted to go first. In five minutes we fixed what the owner most likely tried to fix in the past 3 years of Buddy's life. If only the folks at the SPCA knew how to communicate with a dog. Knew how to establish the order, humans first, than canine. If only they took the time to learn it, took the time to implement it, before they stuck the fake arm in the dog's face while he was eating, they could save money on euthanization fees.  
 
My thoughts were brought back to my friend who had just finished the paperwork. We waited as they entered it all into their computer system.  
 
We were excited, because when we left, we were going for a pack walk! To release any excess energy he had from not being walked and to establish our leadership. After our hour long walk, we were going back to my friend's house to explain to the dog in, "Dog Language" just how things were going to be from this day forward, so he could stay in his new home forever.  
 
Buddy was to be the last person to enter the house. All humans were to walk in and Buddy was to stay inside the front door, and told to stay for a few minutes. Humans were to be ignoring him at this point. Buddy was to be introduced slowly, one at a time. Humans entering the room first, Buddy second. Slowly, to all of the rooms he would be allowed in, which were all but upstairs. The communication to Buddy would be, "This is the humans house. You are no longer the boss. Your rank as top dog with your old human pack, led you to the pound, where you would be killed if no one came to adopt you. Now in this new home the rules have changed. Your position has been knocked down from number one to dead last. This my dear Buddy, is the only way you can live happily among the human species."  
 
After about twenty minutes the SPCA worker came over and informed my friend she was not allowed to adopt Buddy, because after doing a background check, her cat was overdue for his rabies shot. We were shocked. My friend asked if she could still adopt Buddy, get the cat's shot tomorrow and bring them back the paperwork to prove the shot was given. "No". She then asked if they could hold the dog while she took her cat in for the shot. "No", was once again the answer.  
 
I asked them if I could adopt the dog. "No". They told me flat out that they were afraid I would give it to her, pointing at my friend, who was now deemed an unfit owner.  
 
My friend was never asked if she understood how to handle a dog, and never asked what kind of life she planned on giving the dog. Just "your cat needs a shot, so 'NO' you are unfit."  
 
We told them we were able to get the dog to heel on a lead in five minutes. But that didn't matter. Buddy was not coming home with us. He was to remain in his prison cell as his limited days ticked on by.  
 
What I am still trying to figure out is why was my friend unfit because her cat needed a shot. Yet they kill animals all of the time for lack of room and/or lack of understanding of a canine's needs (discipline). It just didn't make any sense. The SPCA is quick to take an animal, but they make it very hard to adopt one.  
 
I knew this was the perfect match for Buddy. The perfect match for this family. Did the SPCA workers really have Buddy's best interest in mind? Or was it ignorance, and a total lack of canine understanding?  
 
We were not going to give up on Buddy that easily. The SPCA worker had stated if she got the cat up to date on his shot, she would be able to adopt the dog. It was 7:00 p.m. when my friend called her vet and pleaded for an appointment. She got an 8:30 p.m. time slot that same night. She rushed her cat in for his over due rabies shot.  
 
The next morning she showed up at the SPCA with her husband, and the paperwork showing the cat was now up to date.  
 
The SPCA made them wait for an hour before they handed them the application form. My friends just stood at the counter waiting.  
 
One of the workers went in the back and brought Buddy out. My friend held Buddy on a leash. Buddy sat there with her, perfectly behaved, he already saw her as his pack leader...  
 
As she was standing with Buddy, she over heard another lady getting denied, because the lady had possession of her dead mother's dog and never transferred the vet records over to her own name. That was the reason she was given for not being allowed to adopt a dog from them.  
 
A half hour went by. Another worker came out and stated Buddy needed a vaccine and she took him away.  
 
Another SPCA worker informed them they were being denied. They told the husband he was not allowed to adopt a dog because he was married to his wife, and his wife had been denied the day before.  
 
They told my friends they were banned from adopting from the SPCA for the next 7 years. The wife was banned for having a cat with an over-due rabies shot. The husband is banned because he is married to his wife. The worker stated it was a PA state law to ban any person who has a denied application for the next 7 years. Could this law really exist? I am not sure...  
 
My friend questioned, "What would happen if the owners of Buddy walked into the SPCA and asked for their dog back."  
 
The SPCA's worker reply was, "The dog is our property now."  
 
My friend stated, "Are you saying the owner could not get their dog back if they wanted him back?"  
 
SPCA worker, "The dog is our property now."  
 
My friend said again, "So the owner could NEVER get him back!?"  
 
SPCA worker, "Well I didn't say never..."  
 
My friend asked, "Can I have the name and number of the person who turned Buddy in?"  
 
SPCA worker, "No, the dog is our property now."  
 
They turned their back from him about 15 times as he was speaking to them to run and answer the phone or deal with other paper work.  
 
So there Buddy sat, in a concentration camp like cell. There were people able and willing to give him a loving home, yet the SPCA denied them.  
 
A breeder will sell my friends a dog. Is that the route they must take??? Are we all still wondering why some of our SPCA's are over populated with dogs who need homes???  
 
People who are unable to adopt from the SPCA, will still get a dog. They will go to a flea market, pet store, breeder... They will find a dog. By this SPCA denying these people the opportunity to save a homeless dog, they are giving breeders and puppy mills the demand they need to keep breeding like crazy. The only way to cut down on the pet over population problem is to lower the demand for the puppies being bred. If people are not buying the puppies, breeders will not breed them. If people are unable, or find it very difficult to adopt a rescue dog, then they WILL go to a breeder or pet store. We can pass all the 'no-breeding' laws and regulations we want, however until we cut the demand, we will never solve the problem.  
 
It would be interesting to know, how many applications are denied at this particular SPCA, compared to how many animals are adopted and how many are killed each month? I observed a lot of people in there, waiting around with applications in hand, and no one walking out the door with a pet. I did however, hear people being denied from adopting.