Part 1: Participant Observation/Interview with a Shelter

A few semesters ago, I took a course in Cultural Anthropology.  My research paper was based on the commodity fetishism of animals.  The methods I utilized in this project included historical background research, participant observation, and interviews.  I consulted such books as Craig Brestrup’s Disposable Animals, Jana Kohl’s A Rare Breed of Love, Arnold Arluke’s and Clinton Sanders’ Regarding Animals, Tami Harbolt’s Bridging the Bond: The Cultural Construction of the Shelter Pet, referred to many web sites devoted to animal welfare such as the SPCA (The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), and the ARL (Animal Rescue League).  I tape recorded and typed out interviews with a number of workers at two local shelters, a shelter in Arizona (I was visiting family), and one animal rescue, and several Monterey County veterinarians.   I also volunteered at a Monterey County shelter on numerous occasions, was a guardian to a purebred chocolate Labrador named Belle, and fostered dogs through a Pacific Grove rescue.  This is part one regarding my participant observation and interviews for my research.

In Regarding Animals, Arluke and Sanders (1997) speak to the construction of pets stating that “Although animals have a physical being, once in contact with humans, they are given a cultural identity as people try to make sense of them, understand them, use them or communicate with them” (30).  The process begins when a dog is taken into a home.  Naming the new pet begins its transformation from a generic puppy into a specific member of the family.  The name gives the dog an identity.  However, acquiring a status in the family is contingent on family members’ willingness to meet the pet’s needs.  Pets that do not obey “house rules” or that are considered “too difficult” or do not meet certain “rites of passage” (such as potty training) may be surrendered to a shelter or euthanized—a disposable animal if you will.  The message is powerful, and shelter workers deal with its ramifications for animals everyday.

The theory of interpretive anthropology owes its origins and popularity to Clifford Geertz.  “The analysis of culture,” he declares, is “not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning”, the interpretation of culture entails “the elucidation of its symbolic meanings” via the application of “the ethnographer’s empathy, verstehen [means to ‘understand’ in German], insight, imagination, understanding, and the like."  As I enter a Monterey County animal shelter (I will refer to as CAO-County Animal Organization) early one morning for a day of participant-observation and interviews, I revisit Geertz’s beliefs and statements.

 “I’m looking for Annie,” I say walking to the receptionist desk.  Apparently, the shelter is not aware of my observation this day and there is a frenzy of phone calls.  Finally, Annie greets me in the front waiting area.  She is blonde and very thin, in her late thirties, with reflective gray eyes.  She is wearing jeans and the same CAO T-shirt that the other staff and volunteers are wearing.  Smiling and extending her hand, she says, “Let me give you the grand tour.”  I recognize the anti-microbial hand sanitizers placed intermittently in the dog kennel area, reminding humans to wash their hands because this is one way diseases like “kennel cough” are spread from animal to animal.  I am told that workers, volunteers, and the public must sanitize their hands before every dog/cat contact.  We walk through a door into the dog kennels.  Most kennels contain one to two dogs.  The barking is deafening, and the aroma of fresh urine is prevalent.  The air is humid, as each kennel must be hosed out daily, giving the water insufficient time to dry completely.  The cement floors are hard and unyielding against my feet as we walk from kennel to kennel, but there are blankets for every dog and sometimes, even toys.  Annie tells me the floors are heated so the dogs are not cold at night.  I hear key words during this observation such as “stray”, “abused”, “purebred”, “mutt”, “sick”, “shy”, “not adoptable”, “adoptable”, “old”, “hungry”, and “put to sleep” among others.  Some animals have retreated to the back of their kennel barely looking up and frightened.  Some dogs are jumping up and down and barking violently. 

I ask Annie how many dogs are adoptable this week.  She tells me the shelter has nearly 200 dogs in the facility, but only 50 are adoptable now.  I ask Annie what type of dog is adopted readily, if this is a “no kill shelter”, and if so, how long does a dog have before his last day on earth?  Annie tells me what I already surmised:  the younger, cuter dogs are adopted, while the older and “not-so-cute” dogs are passed over, as well as “black” dogs and cats.  Black dog discrimination (a.k.a. Black Dog Syndrome or BDS) is a phenomenon that has historically made black dogs and cats the most difficult of shelter animals to adopt out.  Knowledge of these biases has motivated many shelter workers and volunteers to put extra energy into getting their black dogs and cats noticed, including targeted adoption campaigns, tying bandanas or ribbons around their necks and placing brightly colored blankets and toys in their living areas.  I submit to you that a dog or cat’s appearance, its beauty if you will, dictates how it will be treated and if it will become adoptable or “disposable.” 

Unfortunately, this is a “kill shelter.”  When a dog is surrendered to a shelter by its owner, or found as a stray, it is assessed for behavior and health issues, which can take up to a week.  When a dog passes these tests, it is spayed or neutered and tattooed with an “S” (spayed) or “N” (neutered) on its belly.  It is vaccinated, micro chipped, defleaed and bathed; then and only then is it deemed “adoptable.”  Many dogs do not make it to this point.  They do not pass the series of behavior tests or are too sick and must be PTS (put to sleep).  Dogs that are adoptable, but overstay their welcome (sometimes 30 days or more) are also PTS—it just depends when the shelter runs out of room.  When visiting an animal shelter in Arizona, dogs close to the end of their stay were “put on sale.”  Instead of costing the typical $150, the shelter would ask only $50 and put a sign on a dog’s kennel that said “last week on earth” with a picture of the animal and a written description, extolling its great personality and qualities.  This was an extremely wrenching moment for me and set the stage for my becoming a huge advocate for animals.  I was told by an attendant the obvious about the sign: “It was placed there to encourage people to adopt.”  I mention this to Annie.  She looks me in the eye and says, “There is a sad side to all of this.”  I nod, but I am angry and depressed.

Part two of this blog continues the interview with Annie and the veterinarians who “mercifully” euthanize the animals at the shelter.

I am an Animal Rescuer *(ORIGINAL)* BY ANNETTE KING TUCKER ...
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