I volunter at an animal shelter. We keep the animals for a week before we gas them.
Oh my god. That sounds horrible. Why would you kill sweet animals?
Critics like you might want to call it "the pound', but we believe we are sending the animals to a better place where they can be happy.
I think that killing them, is just as bad as the animal abuse that is happening all over the world. I am a pet owner and can't imagine hurting one. 
Our work is entirely legal.  In the United States, there is no federal organization that regulates what we do, so we are free to take care of the animals anyway we want.