Strangetown, Here We Come.

I like the idea of a no-kill shelter, but I've seen how bad they can be in practice. There is one of those in my area right now, and I even considered helping out there, like I used to at the SPCA, but it was horrible. There are too many animals for the amount of space and money to run it. As much as I hate to see animals get put down, sometimes it's necessary. The no-kill place seems to keep them around, even if it would be kinder to euthanise them.

My mother had to do that with our last cat (which we had for 16 years), because they told her that it was the only way they'd do it. She had to leave the cat and they'd fit the shot in between their appointments (our cat had started the process of dying the hard way that morning, so there was no time to make an appointment). So she had to leave the cat, then try not to look like she was crying when she picked up my grandmother at the hospital (who has no time for crying over animals), then go back to pick up the remains. This sad tale ends with me driving home from the city for the evening to bury the cat in the garden, while our loud neighbours played "Love Hurts" on a shitty radio in their yard. It was an odd, yet appropriate soundtrack.