No-Kill - Should My Animal Shelter Go for It?

                                             

No Kill – Should Our Shelter Go for It?

When the “No Kill” movement was introduced two decades ago it generated a great deal of controversy. Folks in animal welfare began taking sides for and against the concept and its claims and challenge to the industry as a whole.

The world has changed dramatically in the last several years and the “No Kill Blueprint”, articulated by Nathan Winograd in his seminal book “Redemption”, has been applied in animal shelters across the country with remarkable results.  We have assisted more and more groups dedicated to working toward the goal of saving every healthy companion animal in their care, and consistent application of the programs articulated in the “No Kill Blueprint” is the common denominator for achieving successful results.

We have witnessed success with organizations that have confidently declared themselves “No Kill” as well as organizations that have applied the “blueprint” quietly, without any formal declaration.  Results are usually positive in either case and once the community begins to realize success is at hand, a groundswell of support develops in a variety of forms – donations, volunteers, and governmental support. 

If a new shelter (or improvements to an existing shelter) is part of the community’s no kill strategy, animal shelter architects should incorporate specific building plans to match the community’s no kill vision.

More and more we are witnessing local government responding to the desire for improved conditions and outcomes.  Cooperation between humane and rescue groups working positively with animal control elevates the conversation, bringing about a more cooperative effort on behalf of the community’s stray companion animals.

Whether your organization adopts the “No Kill” moniker or not is less important than bringing to bear the strategies that ultimately produce results. After all, improving your animal shelter is less about the grand announcement that you plan to be a no kill, and more about improving the community and saving animals. 

Community Saves 42 Animals from Euthanasia

1 of 22 Cats Saved

Just when you think no one cares –

On Monday evening, July 22, WVIR ran a story about the crisis emerging at the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center.  The center had so many dogs and cats in the shelter they had run out of space and were facing having to decide which of their companion animals would have to be euthanized.

After learning of the dire situation, the staff at Shelterplanners decided to spend the day helping the community save animals!

The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia stretches from Winchester to Roanoke. Activities there are regularly covered via television broadcast to all of Central Virginia by WVIR, NBC 29 in Charlottesville some 30 miles East across the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Volunteers from the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA rose to the call and, drove 45 minutes across Afton Mountain to Lyndhurst, VA to see if they could provide some assistance – and it’s a good thing they did! 

Concerned citizens from not only the Valley but as far away as Culpeper inundated the Center with phone calls and personal visits volunteering to adopt dogs and cats to relieve the shelter’s distress. 

One volunteer transported 5 cats to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, a No Kill shelter – in all, 19 dogs, 22 cats and a bunny were adopted or transferred to foster homes and other shelters.

Overwhelmed by the response, the staff at the shelter could not keep up with the influx of calls as well as folks who simply arrived unannounced to adopt.  The volunteers from across the mountain helped the shelter staff by providing much needed aid with adoption paperwork, answering phones and helping introduce animals to their new families.

Not a single companion animal had to be euthanized!

How’s that for community involvement in animal welfare?