Every year, thousands of perfectly healthy, innocent dogs are routinely destroyed in ‘rescue’ charity centres throughout the U.K. -  often for perfectly resolvable ‘behavioural’ reasons. Barking, anxiety, guarding, and reacting towards strange dogs or people in the only way they know how, are often deemed sufficient reasons to end a life.

These poor dogs die unaccounted for, their stories go unheard as their very existence is simply erased in silence.

The exact numbers are unknown, as despite operating on public donations given by well-meaning, loving and compassionate people, most major national charities refuse to reveal the true, horrific extent of their willingness to kill those dogs they quickly label ‘too difficult’ to train. Annual reports tell how many dogs are  taken in and re-homed, but avoid telling how many are destroyed, what efforts were made to avoid destruction and why destruction was deemed ‘preferable’?

Imagine being perfectly fit and healthy, but taken from your home or owner, or abandoned  through no fault of your own, only to be considered ‘unsafe’ by the people who take you in, simply for feeling anxious, afraid or protective? Perhaps you growl, snap or bark, simply because you are alone and you don’t know what else to do? 

Several of these national centres have tremendous wealth, often millions and millions of pounds, donated by pensioners, kind people who are struggling to make ends meet or school children, to help the poor dogs in national centres find a loving home. But the reality is, despite publicly claiming to offer the very best, most successful and scientifically advanced training and support for ‘difficult’, ‘problem’ behaviours, THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of those animals are routinely killed EVERY SINGLE YEAR by national animal charities without any public record, accountability or meaningful explanation.

ANY and EVERY true animal lover with a compassionate heart will agree that this is simply WRONG. VERY wrong. It cannot be allowed to continue without reason, transparency and public accountability.

We at The Association of Responsible Dog Owners are asking for YOUR help in calling for a change. We are loving, responsible and realistic dog owners, who believe that EVERY option available to save an innocent life, SHOULD be made available before simply killing the dog to hide the problem.

Whilst we understand and accept that there are a small minority of dogs who simply cannot be reached, we believe that EVERY dog deserves EVERY opportunity to try; to adapt; to change.

We are using the hashtag #mynameis to highlight the fact that each dog is an individual, and if they deserve to be put to death, then they deserve (at the very least) for their stories to be known.

We want to make it a condition of charitable status, that all dogs destroyed for behavioural reasons in rescue centres are recorded and publicly disclosed in annual statements every year.

We want to make it a condition of charitable status, that a full and publicly accessible  training record is maintained for each dog, documenting EXACTLY what training steps have been taken to rectify problem behaviours, including observable, video evidence, so that the success rates of the rescue centre training and behaviour policies can be examined and adjusted in line with welfare demands.

 PLEASE join us in calling on Baroness Stowell of Beeston MBE, Chair of the Charities Commission, to affect the above changes for animal welfare charities throughout the U.K.

Don’t let them die in anonymity.

#mynameis

Thank you.