I stumbled across an archived newspaper article published by the New York Times, reporting on the “destruction” of hundreds of dogs over a two day period in July of 1877.
48 Hours to Live
The pound keeper was required by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was required to hold all dogs for 48 hours before killing them by drowning. Obviously drowning was considered humane in 1877?
Euthanization
Forty eight dogs at a time were dropped into a crate (7ft X 4ft X 5ft) made of iron bars, wheeled out to the river and submerged for ten minutes. The crate was then emptied and another load prepared, load after load from 7:40am until 4:30pm, until 762 dogs had been drowned.
Accepted Their Fate
The quote from the NYT article, “The dogs seemed to know their fate and most of them sullenly submitted to it.” Not all went willingly, “One female with eight puppies was especially hard to handle.” wrote the author. Unfortunately she and her little family would meet the same fate as the others.
Same Sh*t Different Day
While dogs were being drowned by the dozens at the pound, the dog catchers were still hard at work rounding up hundreds more to drown the next day, 675 dogs to be exact.
Not a Good Time to Be a Dog Catcher
- 46 of the dog catchers and their assistants received 240 bites among them.
- Of the 46 men that were bitten, 39 were bitten by Spitz dogs.
- Of the 240 bites, 200 were from Spitz dogs, a 5-1 ratio.
- Numbers of non-Spitz dogs to Spitz dogs was 15-1.
Feisty little guys those Spitz dogs were!
Poor Mr. Dog Catcher
Part of the original headline reads; “The Sufferings of the Dog Catchers.” No mention of the suffering of the hundreds of dogs through drowning though.
Thankfully we’ve come a long way since 1877, but we can still do better!
Please Spay or Neuter your pet!!
Read the original New York Times article here.
I'm a dog guardian to Sweety, my 15 year old Border Collie & Zeus a stray American Pit Bull Terrier that I rescued in October of 2009. I write about canine health and nutrition focusing mainly on topics relating to feeding a raw meaty bones diet.
