# Man injured by gas chamber blast at Animal Shelter



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/shelter-39229-member-staff.html



> Quote:LINCOLNTON — An employee at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter was injured Tuesday morning when a blast inside the gas chamber shot out at him.
> 
> The employee was euthanizing dogs about 10 a.m. at the shelter when the incident happened.
> 
> ...


Maybe while they are down they can rethink how they do things.


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

I can't even imagine what it was like for the animals INSIDE that death machine at the time.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

"The carbon monoxide was clearing out of the machine". 

I think, and hope, they were already past the point of feeling anything.


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## Doubleminttwin (Aug 21, 2009)

I'm glad no one was seriously hurt but its a shame they are fixing it so soon














Hopefully a few extra animals will be saved b4 they fix it







Who knows maybe it will take a long time to fix it... 

EDIT: I didn't even think about the poor babies that were in there at the time... I hope they were already gone


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

All I could think of was the babies inside at the time...


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

me too. But I think they were already gone. I hope this article raises some concerns with the local residents and maybe there is some action.


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

I don't understand gas chambers. It sounds horrible.


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## sprzybyl (May 15, 2008)

while i'm glad no one can be put down in the meantime and that the man is OK, it still makes me sad.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

there is nothing humane to me about a gas chamber....humans on death row don't even get it anymore


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Sagelfnthere is nothing humane to me about a gas chamber....humans on death row don't even get it anymore


That's because it's too inhumane.


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

I'd rather think of this as a 'Act of 
G-d'... too bad people refuse to listen! What they are doing is cruel and inhumane. I've read all the excuses people use for having that job and none of them fly with me. Unfortunately, there are too many unwanted animals in this world but this is no way to deal with it. They want to blame the ecomony in these areas, my response would be a 'censored' word but I'm sure you know how I feel. I'd eat dirt before I'd take that job! Pity this person??? I don't think so. Pity the animals which are no different than my own-yes, they deserve my pity.


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

This is SO GROSS.
Maybe that man will quit that job..
I would NEVER be able to do that... EVER


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

Ugh, they'll pay to repair the hellbox, but not to kill these animals in a better way than 45 minutes or so of complete misery and fear.

As for the men and women who do it... Would you rather someone with half a heart do it or someone who doesn't give a crap? Ever talk to an ACO who's had to load them up? They aren't the ones who make the decision to use a gas box... It tears these people up, even the ones who are lucky enough to use a needle.


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

*Re: Man injured by gas chamber blast at Animal She*

Look up "I gas cats and dogs"


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

*Re: Man injured by gas chamber blast at Animal She*

No way Act of God. The worker was injured and if that is used to improve the method of euthanasia, than God can use even such a horrible thing to improve things. But the idea that God pushes his thumb on people in order to get other people to change, I cannot accept that. The things God gets blamed for!


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## Mandalay (Apr 21, 2008)

Karma 

"...it is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own [heck]. We are the architects of our own fate."



EDIT:







the h e double hockey sticks word was turned into 'heck' when I submitted the post. That's funny.


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

I've sceen the videos, I've read the writtings on line of people who do this job and how awful it makes them feel... but what they are doing (in my book) is wrong. Am I suppose to feel sorry for murderers just because they feel bad afterwards? Or for the drunk driver who wipes out an entire family because they feel bad afterwards...I don't think so. These people have made their choices and they are the ones responsible for the choices they make. If it makes them feel awful then they should make a different choice in their lifes. 

If they do it 'with a heart' or not, the results for the animals is the same. No matter what, its a cruel and inhumane way to deal with the pet overpopulation in our country. 

No, I don't honestly think it was an 'Act of G-d', it's just too bad this can't be some kind of wake up call to bring more attention to this issue.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It really is not the worker who determines whether to euthanize and how to euthanize. They are pawns. Yes, they can quit, but some people do need the job. 

I do not blame the workers for doing the job. 

If the shelter becomes so overloaded that you have four animals in each cage chewing on each other and dogs getting parvo and other diseases from overcrowding and not having the ability to keep questionable animals away from the rest. How is that more humane. 

If there are too many animals in the shelter, it is generally necessary to euthanize some of them. That is sad but it is not the fault of the shelter workers. It is the fault of the irresponsible owners who got tired of their dog and dumped him. 

People should believe that if they drop the dog off, the place WILL euthanize it. Some people might make a better effort of rehoming the dog, or training the dog.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

And add irresponsible breeders to that list that pump out litters for a couple hundred dollars per pup.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

No, there is definitely a market for cheap purebred puppies. Some of the puppies may land in the shelter down the line, but that is due to their irresponsible owners. I personally do not think that people who have less money to spend are more likely to dump their dog, but there are a whole lot more of them. But irresponsible breeders that drop a pregnant bitch or a litter of pups off, I will agree to that. 

People who pay lots of money for their dogs sometimes dump them too.

I think the fault lies in the jerk that drops the dog/bitch or puppy off at the shelter, not where they acquired the dog.


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## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

*Re: Man injured by gas chamber blast at Animal She*

_I've sceen the videos, I've read the writtings on line of people who do this job and how awful it makes them feel... but what they are doing (in my book) is wrong. Am I suppose to feel sorry for murderers just because they feel bad afterwards? Or for the drunk driver who wipes out an entire family because they feel bad afterwards...I don't think so. These people have made their choices and they are the ones responsible for the choices they make. If it makes them feel awful then they should make a different choice in their lifes. 

If they do it 'with a heart' or not, the results for the animals is the same. No matter what, its a cruel and inhumane way to deal with the pet overpopulation in our country._

***********

Rosa, I have to agree with you on this point. The following link contains some information on how animals, and people, die in gas chambers, from Animal Law Coalition. Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's right.

http://www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/65

Over the past 2 decades, I've been at the bedside of thousands of humans as they died. As their hospice nurse, I always have two primary goals. Don't let them die in pain, and don't let them gasp as they die. Both types of deaths are horrifying to watch, and animals in gas chambers experience BOTH. I realize that euthanasia is not avoidable the way things stand, but there ARE more humane alternatives now. 

As Rosa pointed out, we all have choices. In terms of pulling the handle, all it takes is one word, NO. Regardless of the reasons anyone signs up for the job, death by gas chamber is a wrong and immoral act, and it SHOULD be illegal. Even murderers are shown more mercy than this, and our homeless furry friends have committed no crimes and deserve SO much better than this. At the bare minimum, why can't we support a peaceful ending?

The best thing that could happen is that a very expensive lawsuit develops from this gas chamber accident. One also has to wonder how much data there is on exposure consequences to humans.

From the above link: 

_Prisoners are advised to take deep breaths to shorten their suffering – the luxury of instructions companion animals do not understand. Witnesses of human gas chamber executions have described the scene as “extreme horror, pain and strangling.” It is difficult nowadays to imagine a more cruel, expensive or dangerous (to the staff and witnesses) method of execution than gassing._

_Animals in a gas chamber do not die quickly or painlessly. They struggle for breath. They claw to get out. This is not a pretty site and will stay with you for a very long time. When animals inhale carbon monoxide, they can suffer convulsions, vomiting, angina, and muscular spasms. Some will not die the first time. There is a better, more humane way, euthanasia by injection. This method is cost effective and takes only seconds._


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## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

*Re: Man injured by gas chamber blast at Animal She*

Thanks Donna, I couldn't agree with you more. Oddly enough, I agree that humane euthanasia is necessary. As so many of you have pointed out there are just too many 'unwanted' animals. However, killing them in such an inhumane method is not acceptable to me and it never will be.


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## TxRider (Apr 15, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: selzerPeople should believe that if they drop the dog off, the place WILL euthanize it. Some people might make a better effort of rehoming the dog, or training the dog.


I certainly do, and have never in my 50 years allowed any dog to go to one. Not even strays I have found or have wandered up.

It's also the fault of taxpayers though, and how much or little we decide our tax dollars should go to the animal shelter.


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## TxRider (Apr 15, 2009)

*Re: Man injured by gas chamber blast at Animal She*



> Originally Posted By: MatsiRed_
> Prisoners are advised to take deep breaths to shorten their suffering – the luxury of instructions companion animals do not understand. Witnesses of human gas chamber executions have described the scene as “extreme horror, pain and strangling.” It is difficult nowadays to imagine a more cruel, expensive or dangerous (to the staff and witnesses) method of execution than gassing.
> 
> Animals in a gas chamber do not die quickly or painlessly. They struggle for breath. They claw to get out. This is not a pretty site and will stay with you for a very long time. When animals inhale carbon monoxide, they can suffer convulsions, vomiting, angina, and muscular spasms. Some will not die the first time. There is a better, more humane way, euthanasia by injection. This method is cost effective and takes only seconds. _


_

It's always puzzled me, I keep hearing of people dying in the winter from carbon monoxide as it's tasteless and odorless and they just slept through it, or fell asleep in their chair an died, or people using it to commit suicide in a lacked garage... Because it's painless and they just kinda go to sleep.

Is that all just myth?_


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Why should tax dollars go to animal shelters. I am sorry, but I am one of those people that think there should be less taxes, not more taxes. Less government involvement, less government programs. People who love animals can donate to private shelters if they WANT to. People who own animals, dogs, horses, cows -- anything that may land in a shelter, not just dogs, should pay a one time fee.

The general public should NOT be spending money on animal shelters in my opinion. Or rather, the general public should GIVE to animals shelters if they choose to, they should not be robbed via taxes to support animals. There are people in the world that do not have medical care, housing, food, etc. That should come way before animals. It seems like way more people are willing to give freely (without being taxed) to animals than they are to humans.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I think that when you purchase your "lifetime" license to own a pet, or farm animal, the cost of humane euthanasia should be incorporated into that fee. But you should also be allowed to take the animal to a shelter and have it painlessly euthanized if that is your choice, when the time comes. Most people would still use their vet.

but I do not think people without animals should not be compelled to pay for them.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Unfortunately there are so few people donating for animals that with this approach that the streets would be quickly flooded with strays. 6 million dogs get killed every year. You can imagine the numbers if all those were out in the streets, reproducing. Animal shelters exist to "keep the streets clean" and safe for the tax paying citizens. Helping animals is a very secondary goal. Negligibly little money goes to shelters, when compared to human programs. And while many humans can help themselves, the animals are not in a position to make a living and find homes for themselves.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

There are very few shelters that will even bother with cats. Feral cats are everywhere. But there are individuals that set up colonies and speuter them and tame them and get them into homes, all off of fund raisers and donations. There are spay and release programs as well. Perhaps it is only a drop in the bucket, but people are doing it without tax dollars. 

I think the government should stick to defending our country, and trade. The state should work on jobs, education, and the roads -- they are miserable at that much. Overloading them with every other thing, just makes those things they need to do get that much less attention. I better quit now lest someone thinks this is political.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Shelters that kill animals, cats and dogs, were established because taxpayers wanted them, to get the unwanted animals out of the way. It is naive to think that there would be enough donations to take care of all stray animals, maybe somewhere in utopia. And nobody would donate towards kill shelters, of course.
It is like the government should not be spending taxpayer money for jails, just defending the country and trade. It would be great if jails weren't needed or they were funded by donation, in some utopia.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

No, counties should pay for jails. States for prisons. Prisons should be self supporting, grow their own meat and produce and produce something useful that would cover the salaries for the guards, and utilities. 

People go to jail and eat good and are cleaner than they ever were on the outside, have equipment to grow strong and powerful on, and color tv. I am all for concrete bunks and chain gangs. It ought to be somewhere you don't want to go, don't want to stay there, and don't ever want to return to. 

I think that animal shelters were started by a group, the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals and children. I think they eventually dumped the children.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Wow!


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