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Statement of Understanding |
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The Humane Society of Mason County
extends to you a very cordial
welcome. Thank you for your
willingness to provide a home for
one of the multitudes of homeless
pets received by the shelter. Please
take a moment to review this
Statement of Understanding prior to
adopting a pet |
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The Plight of Dogs and Cats,
Puppies and Kittens
Although the future is positive for
our own pets and perhaps for those
of our neighbors, relatives and
acquaintances, the future for so
many pets is not very bright. There
are many reasons why this
unfortunate fact is true. |
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Pet Overpopulation
Nationally, there are approximately
10 times more pets than there are
homes for pets. Because of the
serious overpopulation problem,
50,000 animals have to be put to
death every day in shelters
throughout the United States. |
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Stability of a Pet's Life
Sadly, fewer than 2 out of every 10
pets who find homes today will live
out their lives in that home. The
rest are either given away, sold,
lost, abandoned, or taken to animal
shelters. Many of the pets taken to
shelters will eventually become
victims of the overpopulation
problem and will lose their lives. |
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Pet Abuse - Non-Purposeful
Non-purposeful pet abuse often
occurs because pet owners are
unaware of basic pet care
responsibilities. We see animals
that are suffering from lack of
nutrition, and animals that are
suffering from serious, chronic and
even life-threatening health
problems due to lack of medical
attention. We see pets who possess
behavior problems that have not been
remedied, and pets who have not been
properly socialized. Other animals
have become hopelessly lost because
they do not have an identification
tag or other means of
identification. We observe animals
suffering from frostbite and other
extreme weather related problems. We
also receive animals that suffer in
various other ways. Sadly, many of
the problems we see render the pets
unlikely to be adopted when they
come to the shelter. |
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Pet Abuse - Purposeful
Unfortunately, we also see animals
that have been purposefully maimed
or abused in various ways. We have
observed pets who have been
abandoned and left to fend for
themselves. We have seen animals who
have been cut, burned and even
stoned. We have received animals who
suffer from purposeful abuse in
other ways, also |
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Responsibilities of Humane
Societies
Rather than perpetuate the problems
that dogs, cats, puppies and kittens
experience, responsible humane
societies work to end these problems
by seeking responsible, humane, and
life-long homes for the animals
entrusted to them. That is why
humane societies serve as adoption
agencies (much like adoption
agencies for children), rather than
pet shops. Pet shops are retail
stores where any pet can normally be
selected and purchased without any
further obligation on the part of
the purchaser. Most humane societies
serve as pet adoption agencies where
legally binding contracts are
executed. According to the terms of
the adoption contract with The
Humane Society of Mason County, the
adopter agrees to care for their pet
in a responsible and humane manner.
Adoptions are governed by adoption
policies designed to assure
responsible and humane treatment of
shelter pets based upon recognized
humane principles |
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The Humane Society of Mason
County:
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Is a 501 c3 nonprofit, private,
independent corporation not
affiliated with any other humane
society or any other
organization, either private or
governmental in nature .
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Seeks compatible homes for
adopters and pets.
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Reserves the right to deny an
adoption .
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Will strive to find an
alternative animal in cases
where a denial of adoption takes
place
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Reserves the right to stop the
adoption process if the
potential adopter knowingly
provides false information to
the HSMC or in any way attempts
to adopt a pet under false
pretenses.
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