Close the Animal Shelter Known as NPO SALA Network in Fuchu, Japan

The animal shelter known as NPO SALA Network is run more like a prison than a rescue and adoption agency. The dogs are kept in small cages, paid staff were fired months ago, and only a small number of dogs will ever be available for adoption.

We request the inspection and shutdown of the NPO SALA Network animal shelter in Fuchu,Tokyo and that the animals be transferred to legitimate rescue organizations.

Please read the specifics below, sign and share our petition asking the authorities to close this shelter. Reputable rescue groups have already agreed to take the impacted dogs to a safe place.

SHOCKING LIVING CONDITIONS

The shelter is a very small old house that has been converted into an animal facility. The dogs live in unhygienic conditions in small cages, some not large enough for them to stand. The cages are stacked three high in a very restricted space. The lower level of the shelter, where most of the dogs are housed, has no running water. The smell alone is incredible.

MORE THAN 50 ANIMALS AND NO STAFF

The shelter has no staff, only volunteers, who give the dogs short walks. If volunteers are not available, dogs are forced to urinate in their cages and sit in it until a volunteer arrives to clean. The majority spend 23 hours a day in their cages, most of which have no bedding. Pressure sores are common, and several of the large dogs have developed leg and hip problems.

NEGLECT

Some of the dogs are taken to a veterinary teaching hospital for treatments (some of which are considered experimental); others are neglected. Some have rashes that never heal, others have open sores. Volunteers and families keeping dogs on adoption trials have found medical conditions that the owner had not discovered or had ignored. The owner also takes hazardous shortcuts with medication, including halving heartworm pills meant for larger dogs for use with smaller ones.

ANIMALS DEEMED “NOT ADOPTABLE”

At least 16 dogs are prohibited from being adopted, some being categorized as "companion dogs" visiting nursing homes once every few weeks, while the larger dogs are kept for donation drives because they draw attention. These dogs lived caged at SALA for their entire lives, irrespective of whether a qualified person requests to adopt them.

REFUSAL OF ADOPTIONS

The owner is reluctant to allow dogs to be adopted. Dogs granted two-week in-home trials are often taken back, even when the families want to keep them. Trials are sometimes given for dogs not considered “adoptable” by the owner, proving that she has no real intention of letting them go. SALA's director has also demanded that some adopted dogs that have lived with their families for some time be returned because she has had a disagreement with the dogs' owners. She refuses to allow a dog's microchip registration to be transferred to its new owner. Recently she refused an offer by a highly regarded no-kill shelter to assume care and adoption help for these beleaguered Sala dogs.

USE OF MONETARY DONATIONS IS UNCLEAR

The authorized NPO status of SALA was revoked in 2012 for failure to file any financial reports. Because of this, no one but the owner knows how SALA truly uses donated money. Well before losing its NPO status, SALA had not maintained transparency or Board oversight.

IN SUMMARY,

A shelter should be a place where rescued animals are helped for a short time until they are adopted, not a place where they are caged for the rest of their lives. In practice, SALA seems more like a hoarding operation than a shelter.

To read stories of specific animals who are trapped at SALA, please visit our website: https://sites.google.com/site/savesalaanimals/home