Just about every community has them. In fact, if you’re involved with animal welfare in your community in almost any capacity, you’ve likely already encountered them. They care deeply about animals; they’ve been rescuing animals longer than you’ve had a driver’s license; and in the face of inescapable evidence that saving most impounded dogs and cats at animal shelters is possible, they call community efforts to achieve No Kill success foolish and naïve.
But here’s a news flash for all those who argue against shelter reforms on the ground that No Kill is nothing more than a distant pipe dream: No Kill is not only possible, it’s already happening. In communities across the country, rich and poor, urban and rural alike, progressive animal-shelter directors are saving the vast majority of animals entering their open-admission pounds.
There is Ithaca, New York—the first community in America to save all healthy and treatable animals entering its open-admission shelter (The Tompkins County SPCA)—which this year, under the leadership of Abigail Smith, is on pace to save a jaw-dropping 95% of all animals that enter the shelter’s doors.
There is Charlottesville, Virginia, which despite being surrounded by some of the highest-kill-rate shelters in the country, has saved over 90% of all animals entering its open-admission shelter (The Charlottesville SPCA) since 2006—under the leadership of lawyer-turned-life-saver Susanne Kogut.
There is Reno, Nevada, one of America’s cities hardest hit by the economic recession, whose open-admission municipal shelter, in coordination with the Nevada Humane Society, is saving over 90% of all impounded animals this year. NHS’s dog and cat adoptions doubled in just one year under the leadership of Bonney Brown, and under the leadership of Mitch Schneider, Washoe County Animal Services has reunited over 65% of impounded dogs with their owners.
And it’s not just those communities. Among others, San Francisco, California has saved over 80% of impounded animals since the mid-1990s. Shelby County, Kentucky is saving nearly every treatable and healthy impounded animal. And Austin, Texas, in the heart of one of its highest-intake kitten seasons ever, saved an impressive 77% of all impounded animals this August—it’s highest life-saving Summer month on record.
So, in light of the facts, it isn’t the shelter-reform advocates who need a dose of reality—it is those who continue to deny even the possibility of No Kill despite unimpeachable evidence of No Kill successes. You know who they are, and, frankly, it doesn’t matter how many years they’ve been involved in animal welfare. If they continue to delay proven and cost-effective life-saving reforms by denying No Kill’s promise, it is time for them to get out of the way—because every minute that they successfully yet imprudently convince public officials not to enact lifesaving reforms, they are causing healthy, adoptable, and perfectly innocent animals to die.
Rosebud September 26, 2010
I also invite the world to start looking at a “little” municipal shelter in Plano, TX. They are a beacon for success in our area, and I don’t think anyone even knows about them. They have placement rates in the 80 percentile, year round…had over 50,000 people through the shelter last year, and had 8,000 volunteer hours. They have a clean, bright, happy facility, and just added a new addition to the shelter, a surgical suite and additional kenneling, and are making improvements in the outside areas in the back, so that several different play yards can be provided, including those under shelter. It is happy place.
I think there are many shelters out there, unknown, unappreciated…that are doing fabulous work in our communities…and probably doing without any knowledge of “No-Kill” per se. Plano is a community of approximately 275,000 people, and have a municipal, open-admission shelter, that receives it’s budget through Code Compliance, which in some cities is a HUGE problem since animal services are treated in much the fashion tall weeds and condemned buildings, which is just more proof of how something CAN still be successful, even when in other cities, it is a huge detriment.
I don’t care what they “call” it…but it works. The director stated that killing for “space” is an extremely rare occurrence (about a dozen animals last year) and one which they strive to completely end. They had ONE case of disease, a case of kennel cough, which was treated, and the animal placed. They have a state-of-the-art “green” shelter, with a highly efficient air recycling system, and a highly qualified, and highly motivated staff, AND volunteer corp. The animals are bathed, groomed, and even cared for with injuries or minor conditions, AND placed. They even have groups and veterinarians that will care for the serious cases that come in, IF their long term prognosis is good, and if good quality of life can be reasonably expected. Even dogs which are hit, or are heartworm positive, have hope in this shelter.
In addition, we have several other communities in the area that are seeing their placement rates increase significantly…Lewisville, Carrollton, Flower Mound. And many shelters in the area, are now beginning to place MORE than they kill. Perhaps not a “flagship” yet…but we are moving in the right direction as a region (DFW) if we’re placing more than we are killing. And I think once a shelter “tastes” success I think it becomes “addictive” and spurs them on to greater success. And when there is success, when there is a “feeling” of good, then the community will be drawn to help as well…and the success continues even further. NONE of this success can take place without the support of the public, to help and to ADOPT! But NO ONE is drawn to dark, depressing environments, to work, or to access a new pet. Shelters that understand and invite their communities to be part of the solution, find that most communities WILL volunteer. When volunteers are perceived as “snoops”, or as potential “hoarders”, or as an “opponent”…well, guess what…they won’t help. Which in some cases, in some shelters…I strongly believe is the intent. I don’t believe placement is the goal. I think maintain the status quo is the goal. But I think the tide is turning, because for every successful shelter we KNOW about…I think there are FAR MORE we don’t know about…that just go about their work, and do it well.
How many of these stories do you hear? There’s a LOT of good going on out there.
And then, there remain the hell holes, the equivalent of the inquisition, literal torture chambers, where cats starve in walls of the shelter, where cats are removed from the nite drop with a catchpole, breaking their jaw, tearing flesh from their legs, tearing out their nails, and bursting the blood vessels in their eyes, and where ACOs are called to accident scenes, with a dog with mutiple breaks in both rear legs, who first forces the dog to try to walk, and when it cries, pulls it up by the rear fur, and when that has no success, drags the dog to the truck with a catchpole. Until the officer on the scene takes over, and transports the dog. AND REPORTS the ACO. Yes, the Dallas Animal Shelter. $17.3 million dollars less than three years ago… It was touted as one of the FLAGSHIP shelters in the country. Totally “green”, wastewater recycling (doesn’t work), complete air reclamation/recycling (doesn’t work), surgical theater to inexpensively spay/neuter all outgoing animals (never completed), air-conditioning hasn’t worked most of the summer (several reports of over-heated and extremely uncomfortable animals…big fans were brought in…), drains in the floors in several areas of the building have never worked…and it goes on and on…those are just the highlights. And then couple that with the above acts, all of which occurred within weeks of each other…I don’t think it was even an entire month, in which ALL those incidents occurred…and you have yourself some kind of “FLAGSHIP”!
May I also link to this article on my blog?
Ryan Clinton September 26, 2010
Thanks for your very important and insightful comment. You are of course welcome to link to our posts on your blog. Hope you come back!
Joni Solis September 27, 2010
Thank you Ryan for this article and thank you too Rosebud about the info on other shelter working and gaining ground on the no kill goal.
What kind of shelter do you want in your community? It really is up to the people to speak up and tell their leaders what they want and expect from them. We all can get closer to having a great animal shelter when we work TOGETHER with that as our aim.
Renee Werner October 1, 2010
Bravo, Ryan! Keep the faith! Keep the blog posts coming.