The human problem will remain

The Danville Area Humane Society is close to cutting the ribbon on the E. Stuart James Grant Adoption Center, a no-kill, temporary shelter for 50 to 60 dogs and cats and puppies and kittens in need of a permanent home.

A sparkling, brand new adoption center will offer people a chance to see some of the healthiest, best-behaved and most adoptable companion animals the shelter has to offer.

For the animals, it’s a great chance to find what is often called a "forever home." For the humans, it’s a great new facility to make their choice as easy as possible.

We’re excited about the prospect of this animal adoption center giving more local people — and animals — a better chance to find one another. Certainly, the aging animal shelter left much to be desired. It has been and will remain functional, but that’s about it.

Clearly, anything that can increase the number of pets being adopted is a good thing. But the underlying attitudes that some humans in this community have about dogs and cats won’t be fixed by this gleaming new building. Those problems include:

» Dogs and cats that run loose. They are in danger of being hit by cars, killed by other animals and becoming dangers and nuisances to those around them.

» Dogs and cats that have not been "fixed." Those animals are able to breed thousands more unwanted puppies and kittens than can be adopted every year by the people who will select their next companion animal at the adoption center.

» Dogs and cats and puppies and kittens that are left at trash collection sits, sealed into boxes and containers or just left by the side of the road — if they’re lucky enough to survive — will more than likely be too sickly to immediately be sent to the adoption center.

» Dogs and cats and puppies and kittens that are kept by an animal hoarder will likely have the same problem. Animals kept by hoarders typically have health problems brought on by the conditions that they’re kept in.

The Danville Area Humane Society has done wonderful things for the animals that live in the Dan River Region. The new animal adoption center will be a great addition to this community, and we look forward to the day when it finally opens.

But let’s not kid ourselves about the fate of most homeless dogs and cats and puppies and kittens. They face short, brutal lives filled with hunger, illness and injury because the humans that control their fate aren’t willing to live up to their responsibilities.

The new adoption center will solve some problems, but the remaining ones will continue to haunt this community. It’s not the animals’ fault, but they’ll continue to pay for those problems.