Cat Survives 2 Rounds in Gas Chamber, but Can’t Change City Policy
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The Salt Lake Tribune/Djamila Grossman/AP Photo
A stray cat in Utah’s will to survive was enough to let it live out the rest of its nine lives with an adopted family, but not enough to change the animal euthanasia policy in the town where it lives.
Officials at the West Valley City Animal Shelter in Utah tried to euthanize the cat, named Andrea, in a gas chamber in October after 30 days passed without her adoption from the shelter.
She survived that attempt, so shelter officials tried again. This time, Andrea appeared dead, so officials followed shelter policy by placing her body in a plastic bag inside a 40 degree cooler.
When a shelter employee later opened the cooler, there was Andrea, meowing. At that point, shelter officials decided the black kitty deserved a third chance at life.
“Shelter tech who discovered the animal decided after the second attempt that the animal had been put through enough and wanted to attempt an another adoption try again,” West Valley City manager Wayne Pyle told ABCNews.com.
This time, thanks to the media attention heralding her survival story, Andrea found a home with a local family.
Her story also rallied animal advocates, led by the Community Animal Welfare Society, which took in Andrea until she found a home, to argue against the use of the gas chamber to put stray animals to death.
The shelter currently conducts 49 percent of euthanasia cases via injection, and 51 percent using carbon monoxide.
A group of nearly a half dozen advocates spoke at a West Valley City Council meeting Tuesday evening to ask that city officials eliminate the carbon monoxide chamber that was used on Andrea, and instead rely only on shots to euthanize animals, arguing the shots are more humane.
City council members, however, were not swayed. Pyle said the city did not plan to make any changes to the current policy and method of euthanizing cats if they are not adopted within 30 days.
“This issue has been examined closely multiple times since the shelter’s construction,” Pyle said. “We’re comfortable that the policy in place is a good one.”
The shelter, meanwhile, is investigating why the gassings failed.
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and this is why I’m glad I deal with a rescue group….we only put down animals who are fatally ill or horribly injured.
And it’s why I only donate to no-kill shelters.
Posted by: Mary | January 5, 2012, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
I’m with Mary — I only work with and donate to a certified no-kill rescue organization. That being said, do not be fooled by the word “rescue” in an organization’s name. One highly-recognizable organization with said word in their name does, in fact, kill animals they decide are not adoptable (not just those who are fatally ill or injured). So, do your homework!
Posted by: Victoria | January 5, 2012, 5:50 pm 5:50 pm
Most “animal care & control” agency staffers have developed the same arrogant attitude as bureaucrats in other government and quasi-government agencies. Stupid ill-trained bourgeoisie; don’t know their place, even try to talk about policies. Time to shut these agencies down, or get proper people to run them, fire the plebs who don’t toe the line.
Posted by: RRassendyll | January 5, 2012, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
It really sucks that the day upon arrival at a shelter that an animal only has 30 days left to live….
Posted by: asmariya | January 5, 2012, 6:29 pm 6:29 pm
I am very lucky that I survived a case of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was painful as I labored to breath. My head throbbed and my muscles hurt. I doubled over in pain and luckily I was rushed to a hospital where they gave me oxygen and meds to get the carbon monoxide out of my circulatory system. This is NOT a painless way to die. The pain is not long if there is enough carbon dioxide to reduce the respiration enough for the person(or animal) to fall asleep before actual death. I could not say this is a humane euthanasia method.
Posted by: Daimen Bokk | January 5, 2012, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
ASMARIYA, have you considered attending one of the West Valley City Council meetings and telling about your personal experience?
Posted by: Janita | January 5, 2012, 6:55 pm 6:55 pm
What really annoys me is that no one wanted the cat prior to this. Boy, but now that it’s a “special” cat, everyone wants to feel self-righteous and important by adopting it… and I bet none of the other cats at the shelter have managed to finds home either, at least not more than usual…
Posted by: Amy | January 5, 2012, 7:47 pm 7:47 pm
This reminds me a little of the story I read about a man who had a female black Rottweiler he said was 11-years old and could no longer walk very well, so he decided to have her put to sleep. He must have lived in the country because he said he took the dog’s body home to bury and layed her on the haystack for overnight until the next day. However, when he went to the haystack the next morning there was the dog alive and standing. The man said he didn’t have the money or the heart to try and have her put to sleep again so he was going to find someone to adopt and take care of her.
Posted by: Debbie | January 5, 2012, 8:04 pm 8:04 pm
Well.. now we have our answer, who will tell Schrodinger
Posted by: djhash | January 5, 2012, 8:16 pm 8:16 pm
The only good place for a cat is a gas chamber. They should have kept trying until they killed the damn thing.
Posted by: Benjamin | January 5, 2012, 8:24 pm 8:24 pm
I personally think a bully in the head is the best way to get rid of a animal.
Posted by: rebel | January 5, 2012, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm
It’s despicable and inhumane to euthanize pets in this manner and for this reason — a 30-day policy. How about a no-kill policy?? Other communities are doing it with success. Best Friends Animal Society in Kenab, Utah might be able to provide some guidance, if the politicos are open-minded enough to accept some. (That’s a big “IF” considering Mr. Wayne Pyle sounds as if he has it all figured out.)
Posted by: Nancy | January 5, 2012, 8:29 pm 8:29 pm
I wish someone would put these humans in the gas chamber and then in a cold freezer…you only give these cats 30 days to find a forever home?? I wish they had euthanasia for humans, I prefer to see them dead and cats and dogs alive, they are better than any human being could be. How horrible that this “shelter” exists! All kill shelters need to be shut down forever.
Posted by: jane | January 5, 2012, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm
Acceptable for government to do this. Inividual caught gassing and freezing their pet…animal cruelty charges, fines, etc.
Posted by: wainfiggitty | January 5, 2012, 9:49 pm 9:49 pm
I personally think a bully in the head is the best way to get rid of a animal.
POSTED BY: REBEL | JANUARY 5, 2012, 8:25 PM 8:25 PM**************
Sounds like you should try it on yourself more often.
Posted by: michael | January 5, 2012, 10:26 pm 10:26 pm
POSTED BY: DJHASH | JANUARY 5, 2012, 8:16 PM 8:16 PM
The only good place for a cat is a gas chamber. They should have kept trying until they killed the damn thing.
You are such a warm and loving human being. Why not go into the chamber and hold the cat?
Posted by: Paul Price | January 6, 2012, 1:24 am 1:24 am
I can’t believe they still use carbon monoxide chambers. That’s really sick. I only give to no kill shelters. If enough of us did, there would be no need for kill shelters.
Posted by: mobredthree | January 6, 2012, 2:02 am 2:02 am
I think gas chambers are barbaric and must be eliminated. I also think kill shelters are awful, but what else can be done? The homeless pet population is considerable. People don’t spay/neuter their animals. People don’t adopt as many as there are homeless. Puppy mills churn out product. It’s a numbers game & the animals lose in the end because they outnumber homes. If the people fixed their pets or the puppy mills stopped their production those animals wouldn’t be here in the first place so euthanizing kind of reverses their being here which is what the whole spay/neuter and no puppy mills concepts are all about – having the animals not be here. Until those campaigns are successful this is the only way to have them not be here. Sad but true.
Posted by: fat chance | January 6, 2012, 8:56 am 8:56 am
How horrible for this poor cat to wake up cold and in a bag! How many animals experience this without being noticed? This needs looked into ASAP! If they can’t determine how to prevent this again they should eliminate the gas method immediately!
As for the shelter – they all do their best! They are there to try and help save lives regardless of whether they are no kill or not. As a society we all need to do our parts by spaying/nuetering our animals and NOT letting them roam the neighborhoods. We can volunteer at animal shelters and/or donate money/supplies as well.
Bottom line is we should help to eliminate the need for shelters through education. And no matter which shelter an animal ends up in they ALL deserve our attention.
Posted by: Michelle | January 6, 2012, 10:13 am 10:13 am
Ok, the 30 days to live is NOT the norm. SOME animals are immediately put down when they enter a shelter because of MAJOR overcrowding etc. 30 days. Usually, animals are given LONGER lengths of stay because the “caretakers” like those animals. MOST Kill shelters have VERY short lengths, ranging from 24-48 hour time frames for animals. For owner surrender/turnover, this means you give your animal for whatever reason, animals have shorter deadlines on their lives. For strays, they get a longer time because they could be someone’s pet who just showed up. Know your local deadlines & work to change them. 8 Million animals are killed in the US alone in kill shelters each year.
Posted by: Chas | January 6, 2012, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm
Unbelievable. This makes me sick. Theres no words to describe how disgusted I am with this.
Posted by: Melissa | January 6, 2012, 6:55 pm 6:55 pm
As unpopular as it may be, I have absolutely no problem with putting an animal down in a humane way, such as euthanasia – NOT a gas chamber. There are too many unwanted animals due to irresponsible owners and not every animal is adoptable. I’ve had to put a dog down that was physically healthy, but she was very fear aggressive and becoming worse. It was too much liability and I cared too much for her to even imagine putting her through some adoption process which would have been too stressful for her and unlikely to be successful with her temperament. You can’t save every animal and no-kill shelters would just keep alive an animal miserable in a cage that could not be adopted. That is not a life for them. If you want to donate your money to help animals, donate to centers that do low-cost sterilizations, donate to animal food pantries that allow people going through hard times to keep their pets. Just don’t kid yourself that no-kill shelters are the answer to over-populations of animals and be realistic.
Posted by: Judy | January 6, 2012, 7:15 pm 7:15 pm
And they wonder why the gassing failed ? Miracles happen even in the animal world and I think this should have been a message loud and clear that animals deserve life to be treated humanely ! How can this shelter not get the message that gassing needs to end ! So the government officials think gassing is ok and should be carried out ? If it were the officials in the animals place I’m sure they wouldn’t want to die by gassing for sure.Since there so blind at what the message was here goes to show a miracle still can’t get people to do the right thing! Wake up State of Utah wake up other states and countries using gassing as the method
of euthanasia it’s a message turn away from killing and believe in life and give these animals a chance.I don’t know how any shelter of government official can have a good conscious in what they are doing!!
Posted by: Katrina | January 7, 2012, 9:49 am 9:49 am
this kills me, the animals dont asked to be orphaned and neglected, but because some stupid person decides they dont want an animal anymore, the “COUNTY OFFICIALS”( PC term) place the blame on the animals and decide they are not worthy of life after 30 days..this sickened me. if i could adopt ever animal believe me i would,but sadly i would not be able to care for them all.i am in tears at thethought of how some poor animal must feel, wondering why he isnt loved and no one wants him. this is exactly the reason i think i value and animal life over a human one.
Posted by: amanda | January 7, 2012, 6:57 pm 6:57 pm
Part of the problem is what do we do with all of these unwanted animals? I’m sure if the shelters had the funding and room, a lot more animals could be spared. However these shelters cannot take care of the flood of the unwanted. Programs that do things such as spay and neuter strays and more public awareness helps, but there will always be more that we can do. We created these breeds through thousands of years of selective breeding and we do have a responsibility towards our creations.
I have not seen an animal go through a gas chamber, but I have seen very ill cats that had to be put down via injection. While it was hard to see, the cats quickly fade off into a sleep that they will never wake from. That is defiantly a more humane way when you are forced to put an animal down.
Posted by: Smokin' Deist | January 7, 2012, 11:54 pm 11:54 pm
I say, put the owners of the animals in the chamber with them. I am a huge advocate of spaying and neutering pets. That way we won’t have this problem and won’t have to deal in putting these innocent animals down.
Posted by: Midtown Girl | January 8, 2012, 3:19 am 3:19 am
This should be considered a case of “CRUELTY’.
Gassed twice, put in a plastic bag, left in a cooler?!
Torture.
Posted by: amanda | January 8, 2012, 9:27 am 9:27 am
If the city council members think gassing animals to death is so swell, maybe theyshould go into the chamber themselves and see what it’s like.
Posted by: warrior-woman | January 8, 2012, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm
I guess that Andrea has 7 lives left.
Posted by: Mike | January 8, 2012, 5:13 pm 5:13 pm
How many people who call this cruel and inhumane are pro-choice? Ironic, n’est-ce pas?
Posted by: Andrea | January 8, 2012, 7:09 pm 7:09 pm
I always wondered what kind of peoplewould work at this type of job.I am sorry but I could never ,no matter how much money they paid.Unless an animal is seriously ill there should be no killing it.And those people with those horrible comments about how they would do it….I cant find words to express what I feel.
Posted by: JOAN BOGORAE | January 8, 2012, 8:57 pm 8:57 pm
How about sterilisation? I mean, it’s “humane” and it’s proven that it acutally more effective that just gaing every unwanted animal…
Posted by: Sonia | January 9, 2012, 1:30 pm 1:30 pm
This cat’s survival wasn’t a miracle; it was incompetence. And I’m a cat person. Trying to save every homeless former pet is a mission that women use to compensate for not having babies. Or for the lust of wanting more. This “rescue” phenomenon is closely tied in with women’s sexual urges.
Posted by: Zimminger | January 9, 2012, 1:42 pm 1:42 pm
It is astonishing how studies conducted by psychologist and criminologist and educators transmit to people how those who mistreat animals will later on threaten human life. Yet in the State of the Mormon family animals are put away by Gas and yet call it humane. If Andrea did not pass on to a better life after 3 attempts, is this not a sign? And yet the animals give us all a clear message yet our blind spiritual valeus can not see! Life is not for the taking by man animal nor other. This all brings on Judgement. Happy New Year to Andrea in an old trait of ignorant men….sign JesusChrist
Posted by: Mr. Raul Gonzalez M.ed | January 10, 2012, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
Zimminger, I usually try to be more civil both in real life and on these forums but good God, you are a raging moron! Sounds like you are the one who is sex obsessed to me. Being someone who has a need to rescue animals may in some cases have something to do with loneliness and may in a very few cases be correlated with an inability to have children. But to connect it to sexual urges is utterly obscene. You, sir, need to get your mind out of the gutter.
Posted by: Adam | January 12, 2012, 9:35 am 9:35 am