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I am sometimes contacted by followers of my website asking why I focus so much on No Kill animal shelter philosophies and animal welfare advocacy. The answer is two-fold: 1) because those subjects are important to me; and 2) because I hope to educate others from things I have learned in the last couple of decades. I became an animal welfare advocate following the passing of our dog, Snake, and had the very unwelcome epiphany about how most animal shelters in our country operate and it changed my life in ways I never expected. I've learned a lot along the way; I was wrong about many things and oblivious to others. I firmly believe that the best way we can all help companion animals is to educate ourselves on issues that affect them. I also believe the best way we help reform our animal shelter system is to learn the history of that system so we don't repeat mistakes from the past and we don't get fooled by people who claim to seek better for animals when they are actually engaged in virtue signaling or focused on self-promotion. My website includes content related to puppy mills, breed bans, aggression in dogs, chaining, adoption, spay and neuter and animal politics because all of those subjects are all related in some way to the subject of what takes place in our animal shelters using our money. Which often bears no relation to what people think happens at their local shelter. Unless you live in what is called a No Kill community (a place where tax dollars are not used to destroy healthy and treatable animals), your shelter is likely destroying the vast majority of animals entrusted to its care and is blaming you for those deaths because you are part of "the irresponsible public." Animals enter the building, some are adopted out and the rest are destroyed, having been given no individual consideration at all. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Unlike many other bloggers, I do not use AI to write. I confess that I sometimes use AI generated images because I lack any graphic design skills and it can be fun to use something other than a traditional photograph - like the image you see here that looks a lot like our dog who obviously cannot type. I realize AI is here and is not going away; I chose to share content I write and research myself so I know it is accurate and is based on facts and real-world experiences. Call me old school, I guess. Like my book, I make no money from my website and I seek only to share with those interested in reading and perhaps learning something new. When the time comes that I am no longer helping people, I will stop writing and will go on about my life, knowing that I made a difference in many ways and that I left things better than I found them. I am taking questions from followers to share in a future "ask me anything" blog including (but not limited to) these general subject areas.
 Please submit one question per person no later than Friday, June 26, 2026 using the form below. I plan to answer 10 questions depending on the complexity of the questions. I plan to share questions and answers using your initials (unless you allow use of your full name), organization (if applicable) and your city and state. NOTE: Please keep in mind that I am not a veterinarian or attorney (although I worked as a litigation paralegal for more than 30 years) and I cannot address questions about individual animal placements, behavior or health challenges.
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AuthorI am an animal welfare advocate. My goal is to help people understand some basic issues related to companion animals in America. Awareness leads to education leads to action leads to change. Categories
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image courtesy of Terrah Johnson
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