We should all know by now that buying animals is wrong. Then why is it still happening? And why are animals still dying by the millions in shelters nationwide? Kelly Bensimon (“Real Housewives of New York”) twittered yesterday (@kikilet) “The best shelter is Animal Haven. I love those guys. Their puppies are beautiful” and then minutes later; “Anyone know a good breeder for a lab? I want to get one for the girls.” She may not be the brightest bulb in the candelabra, but she clearly knows that shelters are where homeless animals go. And yet, seconds later she gives her thumbs up to buying from a breeder. Incongruous, Ms. Bensimon. Get with it. It’s time for all of us to recognize and spread the word on adoption. Shelters will never be able to go no-kill without the abolition of breeders and pet stores. But it is up to each of us to educate everyone we know on the obvious benefits of adoption. GirlieGirlArmy posts weekly urgent dogs and cats in need here and on our facebook and twitter pages, but you can always go to your local shelter and adopt. And we hope (and pray, for the animals sake) that you do.
Today, Jessica Reid, an animal rescue expert, shares her insight on creating a no-kill nation;
Give Me Shelter: Is a No Kill Nation Possible?
From the day I started volunteering at my local shelter, I was “indoctrinated,” so to speak, with all the traditional sheltering ideas about an “irresponsible public” and “too many to save them all.” I believed as I was told and even shared those thoughts with others.
“There are so many people who simply do not care,” I’d say shaking my head with a frown as another volunteer or shelter worker would nod in agreement and shrug. “What can we do? We are left with no other choice.”
Then, a shelter employee opened my eyes. She believed there was a different answer than “save a few, kill the rest” to the question “what can we do?” She directed me to a book called “Redemption” by Nathan Winograd. I read it, feasting on every word of hope and possibility and devouring the idea of “No Kill” until it was part of me.
What is No Kill?
The true definition of the term “euthanasia” is providing a merciful death to the suffering. The traditional sheltering system has stolen this word to make it seem like a kindness to kill the animals. No Kill reclaims it. No Kill advocates, shelters, and rescues reject the idea of killing animals because they are too old, too young, the wrong color (black animals are often considered unadoptable by traditional shelters), have treatable illnesses, or for “time and space.”
Animals are only euthanized if they are truly suffering from an illness or an injury that is not treatable or if they are proven to be so aggressive they would be dangerous to the public. So yes, pet owners at home choosing dog euthanasia for their seriously ill AND aging dog could be considered as necessary to relieve both the suffering of the pet as well as the owners, but not ruthlessly putting down shelter animals because they seem like a hassle.
But there are too many, we can’t save them all, right?
As I said, I too believed this. But, after months of volunteering and experiencing, first hand, the problems at my local shelter, I began to see how and why No Kill can and should work in every city and rural area in the United States.
The truth is you cannot blame having to kill shelter animals on an “irresponsible public” or “too many animals” when a shelter doesn’t implement lifesaving and low cost programs. I personally witnessed missed opportunity after missed opportunity from alienating potential fosters to terrible customer service to rude behavior toward rescue groups. I heard the same stories from other volunteers. These were not isolated cases. These were failures of management and staff to do what they should be doing: saving lives.
It is the ultimate hypocrisy for shelters to point the finger at the public while acting as the largest killer of dogs and cats in the United States. A fact made even more egregious when you consider that shelters continue to kill animals by the millions while, by in large, ignoring the people and programs that could stop it.
The No Kill model is a simple one, but it requires the commitment of a shelter’s staff and volunteers. In fact, you, me, and anyone who cares about animals should demand it and work to educate our public officials on how it can and does work.
These are the proven steps that have worked in both rural and urban environments to becoming a No Kill community.*
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- Implement a Feral Cat TNR Progam – groups like Alley Cat Allies are already embracing Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) as a way to reduce death rates and meet obligations to public welfare. It lowers the population without killing cats who often live long and happy lives in their outdoor homes.
- High-Volume, Low Cost Spay/Neuter – this leads to fewer animals entering the shelter system, allowing more resources to be allocated toward saving lives.
- Rescue Groups – No Kill cannot work unless shelters partner with animal rescue groups. However, most shelters don’t even contact rescues even as staff kills thousands of dogs and cats.
- Foster Care – foster homes are a low to no-cost way of increasing a shelter’s capacity, improving public relations, rehabilitating sick and injured or behaviorally challenged animals, and saving lives.
- Comprehensive Adoption Programs – this means having convenient hours for working people, offsite adoptions, adoption incentives, and effective marketing.
- Pet Retention – Saving animals requires communities to develop innovative strategies for keeping people and their companion animals together. The more a community sees its shelters as a place to turn for advice and assistance, the easier this job will be.
- Medical and Behavior Programs – this includes comprehensive cleaning, handling, and vaccination protocols to keep the animals healthy. It also means behavioral assessments and rehabilitation work done by qualified behavioralists. I’ve seen first-hand the “behavioral assessments” in my local shelter which consist of kicking the kennel and seeing how a dog reacts.
- Public Relations/Community Involvement – Increasing adoptions, maximizing donations, recruiting volunteers and partnering with community agencies comes down to one thing: increasing the shelter’s exposure.
- Volunteers – Volunteers are a dedicated “army of compassion” and the backbone of a successful No Kill effort. There is never enough staff, never enough dollars to hire more staff, and always more needs than paid human resources.
- Proactive Redemptions – One of the most overlooked areas for reducing killing in animal control shelters are lost animal reclaims. Changing the way Animal Control Officers respond to picking up a stray can make a difference. Sometimes just knocking on a few doors or hanging notices in the neighborhood can mean a happy reunion with an owner.
- A Compassionate Director – A hard-working, compassionate animal control or shelter director not content to regurgitate tired cliches or hide behind the myth of “too many animals, not enough homes.”
*The above steps were summarized using information from Nathan Winograd’s website www.nokilladvocacycenter.org. Mr. Winograd has written “Redemption” which not only chronicles how traditional sheltering ideas came about but why and how the above No Kill steps work. He most recently published “Irreconcilable Differences” which is a collection of his essays and is a response to many of the naysayers about No Kill’s validity in the years since “Redemption” was published.
There will be a free No Kill seminar in Shelby County, KY, on Saturday, March 6. I’m one of the lucky ones who will be there to hear Mr. Winograd speak. There are several similar seminars scheduled in other states as well as a No Kill conference in Washington, D.C. Click this link to learn more about future seminars and conferences: http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/conference.html
Jessica Reid is currently a volunteer at Metro Animal Services, the government run animal shelter in Louisville, KY. She is former Executive Producer of TV news and current Director of Public Relations and Communications at a Louisville non-profit group. Jessica helps local shelter animals by writing grants for shelter improvements, producing a weekly “Furry Features” profiling adoptable animals, volunteering at adoption events, organizing rescues and bringing together a group of dedicated volunteers in a concentrated effort to educate public officials about the benefits of a No Kill sheltering policy. Jessica is a vegetarian who lives with four of the funniest cats on the planet and a very loving and patient husband.