Russian Dog Extermination

It's a sad sight thing to see dead dogs laying in the street of Sochi and hear about the extermination of a couple thousand dogs per Government order. But is it substancially different than what goes on here, where dog catchers (animal control) take animals into custody and euthanize the  animal a week or two later, if it has not been claimed? The Humane society estimates there are 3-4 MILLION dogs and cats euthanized in the united States each year. Yet many are up in arms over the animals being killed in Sochi. I think it's a shame that any animal has to be put to death prematurely, but the amount of vitriol being directed towards officials in Sochi over this issue seems a bit over the top to me.