Latest on MJJC
- Latest Michael Jackson News
- Click Here to Join Our Community
- Follow us on Twitter
- Wanna talk Michael? Come join the chat rooms
- The Michael Jackson Chart Watch
- Become an MJJC Patron
- Join the Premium Member Group and Get Lot's of Extra's
- Major Love Prayer - Worldwide Monthly Prayer Every 25th
- MJJC Exclusive Q&A - We talk to the family and those in and around Michael
- Join us in the Chat Rooms
- Find us on Facebook
To Catlovers
- Thread starter MIST
- Start date
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,318
- Points
- 83
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70966278" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
North Shore Animal League America recently rescued blind Kitna and her four tiny kittens from uncertain futures at an overcrowded municipal shelter.
Kitna and her kittens were originally discovered in a junkyard, with the devoted mother nursing her newborns. A Good Samaritan brought the family to a shelter.
Sadly, Kitna is blind, and that put the sweet cat in grave danger of being destroyed, and it also meant her kittens’ future was uncertain. Overcrowded municipal shelters often lack the resources to care for all the animals who enter their doors, let alone those suffering from disease or disabilities.
When they arrived at Animal League America, our veterinary team determined that Kitna suffers from microphthalmia, a congenital disease characterized by a small or absent small eye. Both of Kitna’s eyes are affected, which means she is blind. It is also possible that the severity of her condition was compounded by trauma, but we will never know for sure.
Won’t you please help?
She is not apparently in any pain at this time, but it is possible that enucleation (or removal) of her eyes may be necessary in the future.
Our medical and nursery teams have been tenderly caring for Kitna and her babies, and they are deeply moved by the mother’s devotion to her young ones. Despite her disability, she is a very loving and attentive mom, and the kittens are flourishing. We are diligently working to help Kitna stay strong.
Once the kittens are weaned and Kitna is ready, we will keep our life-saving promise to help them all find loving homes.
http://www.animalleague.org/rescue/...-cat-and-her-four-kittens.html?autologin=true
North Shore Animal League America recently rescued blind Kitna and her four tiny kittens from uncertain futures at an overcrowded municipal shelter.
Kitna and her kittens were originally discovered in a junkyard, with the devoted mother nursing her newborns. A Good Samaritan brought the family to a shelter.
Sadly, Kitna is blind, and that put the sweet cat in grave danger of being destroyed, and it also meant her kittens’ future was uncertain. Overcrowded municipal shelters often lack the resources to care for all the animals who enter their doors, let alone those suffering from disease or disabilities.
When they arrived at Animal League America, our veterinary team determined that Kitna suffers from microphthalmia, a congenital disease characterized by a small or absent small eye. Both of Kitna’s eyes are affected, which means she is blind. It is also possible that the severity of her condition was compounded by trauma, but we will never know for sure.
Won’t you please help?
She is not apparently in any pain at this time, but it is possible that enucleation (or removal) of her eyes may be necessary in the future.
Our medical and nursery teams have been tenderly caring for Kitna and her babies, and they are deeply moved by the mother’s devotion to her young ones. Despite her disability, she is a very loving and attentive mom, and the kittens are flourishing. We are diligently working to help Kitna stay strong.
Once the kittens are weaned and Kitna is ready, we will keep our life-saving promise to help them all find loving homes.
http://www.animalleague.org/rescue/...-cat-and-her-four-kittens.html?autologin=true
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
![url]](http://[url]https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q71/643874_565709796808969_994062622_n.jpg[/url])
:wub:
:wub:
Last edited:
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,318
- Points
- 83
No Kill Conference 2013 brought together animal lovers from 45 states and 11 countries to the George Washington School of Law in Washington D.C. The most successful shelter directors, animal lawyers, shelter veterinarians and shelter reformers nationwide shared insights and strategies to end the systematic killing of animals in our nation’s pounds and shelters. The attendees heard from directors of open admission shelters with save rates of better as high as 99%. They heard from lawyers who have passed laws making it illegal for shelters to kill animals in a wide variety of contexts and who have successfully saved the lives of animals who shelters were determined to kill. They heard from veterinarians who are pushing the envelope and saving animals who would have been considered non-rehabilitatable just a few short years ago. And they heard from reformers who have succeeded in passing laws to end the needless killing of animals in their community. In the keynote address, I welcomed attendees, shared our movement’s successes, described the increase in No Kill communities throughout the United States and indeed the world, and laid out the vision of the conference: The No Kill revolution is on the march.
Welcome. You are among friends here. And they are all available to you to share in this great revolution that is taking place in communities across the country. Here, you will find directors who are saving nine out of ten animals entering the shelters they oversee. They have heard and rejected the excuses of why every community can’t do the same. Here, you will find animal lawyers who are litigating and legislating an animal’s right to live. Here, you will find animal activists who are challenging the killing in their communities and winning. Here, you will find shelter veterinarians who are saving animals who would have been labeled “non-rehabilitatable” just a few, short years ago.
A little more than a decade ago, No Kill was a dream. There was not a single No Kill community. Today, animals in roughly 500 cities and towns across America are cared for by shelters saving between 90% and as high as 99% of animals. In 2012, more than one new community per week crossed that threshold. The No Kill revolution is on the march.
This weekend, we will celebrate that achievement together. Because here, you will also find a reflection of yourself. People who share your values, who believe—as you do—that killing animals is never an act of kindness, when those animals are not suffering. Beyond celebration, our goal is to give you the tools to create similar success in your own hometown.
It doesn’t matter if you are a shelter director, a volunteer, a rescuer, an activist, or you define yourself simply, as animal lover. If you have a commitment to making No Kill a reality in your community, you will succeed. You just have to give yourself permission to try.
Every year at the No Kill Conference, I use my keynote to remind people that our movement is not unique. I use my keynote to highlight people in history who have made great changes. Using their example to shine a light on what we can accomplish in our time and in our own movement. People like Martin Luther King, champion of civil rights. People like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the voice of women’s suffrage. The great abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. I remind people that they, too, faced great obstacles. That they, too, faced an entrenched and powerful status quo. That they, too, were beset by doubt and insecurity. That destiny played no role. That they made a choice. And in making that choice, they changed everything. I use their example to inspire attendees to make the same choice.
This year, we don’t need to look back. We don’t need to reach back to other causes in history. To a time when it looked hopeless and then someone came along who changed everything. Because this year is different. This year, we have many examples in our movement.
No longer do we have to look for inspiration from history to people who faced similar challenges and succeeded. We now have people we can look to who faced the exact challenges we face and overcame them. Not just one or two or even a dozen, we now have hundreds. People like…
Christie Banduch, who took over a city pound with a 4% save rate. A pound where 96% of all animals were killed. Thanks to Christie, they now save 92%.
Holly Henderson, who never ran a shelter. She took over Chippewa County Animal Control in Michigan, a shelter beset by killing and public acrimony. Thanks to Holly, they now save 95%.
Josh Cromer, who also never ran a shelter. He took over an animal control shelter beset by one excuse after another as to why No Kill was impossible. He finished his first year with a 95% save rate, a save rate he deemed “not good enough.”
Cheryl Schneider, who took over a county shelter serving 15 towns and cities; a shelter notorious for poor care of animals, which cost them their lives. She finished with a 94% rate of lifesaving.
Denise Jones. When officials announced they would start killing again after four years as a No Kill shelter, her rescue group stepped in to save the animals. To prevent similar crises in the future, she became the shelter’s animal control officer and didn’t waste any time. As part of her training for the position, she attended a mandatory “euthanasia” training class. When she saw they were going to practice on healthy cats, she stood up and said, “No.” Instead, she brought them back to her shelter for adoption. In addition to those cats, Shelby County finished the year with a 99% save rate.
Mitch Schneider, who didn’t believe No Kill was possible. But he was willing to try. Despite a per capita intake rate four times higher than Los Angeles, five times higher than San Francisco, and 10 times higher than New York City, Reno, NV saved 94%. This is their story:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70632980" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
In these and other communities, shelter leadership led the charge. But in many communities, shelter leadership is the problem. And it requires others to stand up. Others like…
Ryan Clinton, who knew you did not have to be in a position of power to be powerful. He stood up to a regressive pound director, to a city bureaucracy that kept saying “No,” to others who stood in his way. Austin, TX takes in 23,000 animals a year. It now saves 92% of them. This is their story
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70632197" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
Peter Masloch was an animal lover who learned about the No Kill movement. He also learned his shelter was not No Kill. In fact, it had an 85% rate of killing. One day he marched in and boldly announced, “There will be no more killing in the shelter!” and proceeded to make it come true. Allegany County, MD saves 94%.
Michael and Pam Kitkoski have a lot to smile about. Since the shelter was not doing the job, they decided they would. Rockwall Pets has one main job: find homes for the animals of the Rockwall, TX shelter. The city is averaging a 96% save rate per month.
Sabine Smith-Stull attended the Conference last year and started a rescue group determined to save each and every orphaned puppy in her city and succeeded. Then she took over the old county shelter. Todd and Patti Rumsey just wanted to walk dogs at their local shelter. They found themselves in the director’s crosshairs, the Mayor’s crosshairs, and PETA’s crosshairs because they stood up to the killing. The director told them if they didn’t back off, they wouldn’t be allowed in the shelter. Thanks to them, that regressive director is now gone. Todd and Patti are still there.
Every day, roughly 10,000 animals are killed in U.S. shelters. On June 11, Mike Fry asked shelters and rescuers across the nation to come together and adopt them out instead for Just One Day. And they did.
Boone County, KY emptied its dog kennels… From the large and confident, to the small and timid. Sometimes one at a time. Sometimes in groups of two. Over 12,000 animals were adopted. June 11, 2013 was perhaps the safest day for animals in shelters in U.S. history. 1,200 shelters and rescue groups came together. Adopters welcomed a new family member. The incinerators remained shuttered. And the morgues stayed empty.
Meet Bob, Allison, Ellie, Brian, and Valerie. Before anyone knew a No Kill community was possible, before they had a practical answer as to how you stop the killing, they knew the killing was wrong and they set out to do something about it. In the process, they created the first No Kill community.
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70634354" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
As you saw, before I arrived, the shelter in Tompkins County was typical of most shelters in the country: it had a poor public image; it killed a lot of animals; and it blamed the community for doing so. Once there, I announced the lifesaving goal to the community and asked the community for help. People from all walks of life volunteered, inspired by the goal and eager to assist. Many people adopted animals: some walked dogs, others socialized cats, veterinarians offered their services at reduced rates or free of charge, business owners offered free products as incentives to adopt. I was not timid about asking for help, and most people were incredibly generous and eager to assist. The goal of ending the killing of animals in the shelter became a community-wide effort. The people of Tompkins County opened their hearts, homes, and wallets. And overnight, by harnessing that compassion and changing the way the shelter operated, Tompkins County, New York, achieved No Kill.
It didn’t matter whether they were young, old, blind, deaf, or missing limbs. They were all guaranteed a home, and they all found one. The most amazing thing was that I didn’t have to convince anyone that this was a good idea or a worthy goal. The people of Tompkins County were ready and willing to make it a reality as soon as I got there. They just needed someone to tell them it was possible and to show them how to do it.
What can we accomplish when we give ourselves permission to try?
We can go from a 4% save rate to 92%. We can erase one day’s worth of killing across the entire U.S. by adopting out over 12,000 animals in a single day. We can go from no No Kill communities to one; from one to hundreds; from hundreds to a No Kill nation. We can successfully arrive at the brighter future we are striving for. On the road we paved that led there.
For the next two days, you will learn from the speakers as to how they did it in their cities. You will also learn how you can do it, too. Not just some of you, but all of you…
You can and you must. Because despite the No Kill movement’s great and increasing success, there are still tremendous gaps. There is still a lot of killing. There is much abuse. There is great suffering. And the animals need a champion.
They need YOU. And when you give yourself permission to stand up, the way those who I have exemplified here have done, it gives others permission to do the same. When you summon the determination to begin this vital process, others will be inspired by your example and they will stand up with you. One will become two. Two will become four. And eventually you will become unstoppable. If you are an activist, they will join your fight for a No Kill community.
If you are a shelter director or rescuer, the public will rally to your cause: they will adopt, volunteer, foster, donate, and more.
When a Pennsylvania shelter asked the public to help them save 200+ cats and kittens with FeLV and FIV. The public said YES.
When a Florida shelter with a capacity of 375 found itself with 750 animals due to a hoarding bust and asked the public to help them empty the shelter the good way, the public said YES.
When an open admission shelter in New Zealand asked the public to help it end the killing overnight, the public said YES, allowing it to triple adoptions and finish the year with a stunning 99% save rate.
When an open admission shelter in Australia asked the public to help them save every motherless baby kitten, the public said YES.
When an Indiana shelter told the public it would stay open until no one was left in the building, they lined up in droves. The shelter stayed open until 10 pm and adopted out 153 animals in one day.
When you stand up, they stand up. So stand up:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70600829" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
I am not a religious person, but that does not mean I am a man without faith. The faith I hold is in the remarkable capacity of my fellow humans for change and compassion. As a species we aspire to do better, to be better. We want to leave the darkness of the cave and come into the light. And when SOMEONE comes along who illuminates a path towards that light, we are vindicated because collectively we follow them into a brighter future. That someone is YOU.
Together, we will prevail. Because we will not stop…
Until every animal…
In every city…
In every shelter…
Finds their way…
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70561182" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?page_id=166
Welcome. You are among friends here. And they are all available to you to share in this great revolution that is taking place in communities across the country. Here, you will find directors who are saving nine out of ten animals entering the shelters they oversee. They have heard and rejected the excuses of why every community can’t do the same. Here, you will find animal lawyers who are litigating and legislating an animal’s right to live. Here, you will find animal activists who are challenging the killing in their communities and winning. Here, you will find shelter veterinarians who are saving animals who would have been labeled “non-rehabilitatable” just a few, short years ago.
A little more than a decade ago, No Kill was a dream. There was not a single No Kill community. Today, animals in roughly 500 cities and towns across America are cared for by shelters saving between 90% and as high as 99% of animals. In 2012, more than one new community per week crossed that threshold. The No Kill revolution is on the march.
This weekend, we will celebrate that achievement together. Because here, you will also find a reflection of yourself. People who share your values, who believe—as you do—that killing animals is never an act of kindness, when those animals are not suffering. Beyond celebration, our goal is to give you the tools to create similar success in your own hometown.
It doesn’t matter if you are a shelter director, a volunteer, a rescuer, an activist, or you define yourself simply, as animal lover. If you have a commitment to making No Kill a reality in your community, you will succeed. You just have to give yourself permission to try.
Every year at the No Kill Conference, I use my keynote to remind people that our movement is not unique. I use my keynote to highlight people in history who have made great changes. Using their example to shine a light on what we can accomplish in our time and in our own movement. People like Martin Luther King, champion of civil rights. People like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the voice of women’s suffrage. The great abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. I remind people that they, too, faced great obstacles. That they, too, faced an entrenched and powerful status quo. That they, too, were beset by doubt and insecurity. That destiny played no role. That they made a choice. And in making that choice, they changed everything. I use their example to inspire attendees to make the same choice.
This year, we don’t need to look back. We don’t need to reach back to other causes in history. To a time when it looked hopeless and then someone came along who changed everything. Because this year is different. This year, we have many examples in our movement.
No longer do we have to look for inspiration from history to people who faced similar challenges and succeeded. We now have people we can look to who faced the exact challenges we face and overcame them. Not just one or two or even a dozen, we now have hundreds. People like…
Christie Banduch, who took over a city pound with a 4% save rate. A pound where 96% of all animals were killed. Thanks to Christie, they now save 92%.
Holly Henderson, who never ran a shelter. She took over Chippewa County Animal Control in Michigan, a shelter beset by killing and public acrimony. Thanks to Holly, they now save 95%.
Josh Cromer, who also never ran a shelter. He took over an animal control shelter beset by one excuse after another as to why No Kill was impossible. He finished his first year with a 95% save rate, a save rate he deemed “not good enough.”
Cheryl Schneider, who took over a county shelter serving 15 towns and cities; a shelter notorious for poor care of animals, which cost them their lives. She finished with a 94% rate of lifesaving.
Denise Jones. When officials announced they would start killing again after four years as a No Kill shelter, her rescue group stepped in to save the animals. To prevent similar crises in the future, she became the shelter’s animal control officer and didn’t waste any time. As part of her training for the position, she attended a mandatory “euthanasia” training class. When she saw they were going to practice on healthy cats, she stood up and said, “No.” Instead, she brought them back to her shelter for adoption. In addition to those cats, Shelby County finished the year with a 99% save rate.
Mitch Schneider, who didn’t believe No Kill was possible. But he was willing to try. Despite a per capita intake rate four times higher than Los Angeles, five times higher than San Francisco, and 10 times higher than New York City, Reno, NV saved 94%. This is their story:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70632980" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
In these and other communities, shelter leadership led the charge. But in many communities, shelter leadership is the problem. And it requires others to stand up. Others like…
Ryan Clinton, who knew you did not have to be in a position of power to be powerful. He stood up to a regressive pound director, to a city bureaucracy that kept saying “No,” to others who stood in his way. Austin, TX takes in 23,000 animals a year. It now saves 92% of them. This is their story
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70632197" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
Peter Masloch was an animal lover who learned about the No Kill movement. He also learned his shelter was not No Kill. In fact, it had an 85% rate of killing. One day he marched in and boldly announced, “There will be no more killing in the shelter!” and proceeded to make it come true. Allegany County, MD saves 94%.
Michael and Pam Kitkoski have a lot to smile about. Since the shelter was not doing the job, they decided they would. Rockwall Pets has one main job: find homes for the animals of the Rockwall, TX shelter. The city is averaging a 96% save rate per month.
Sabine Smith-Stull attended the Conference last year and started a rescue group determined to save each and every orphaned puppy in her city and succeeded. Then she took over the old county shelter. Todd and Patti Rumsey just wanted to walk dogs at their local shelter. They found themselves in the director’s crosshairs, the Mayor’s crosshairs, and PETA’s crosshairs because they stood up to the killing. The director told them if they didn’t back off, they wouldn’t be allowed in the shelter. Thanks to them, that regressive director is now gone. Todd and Patti are still there.
Every day, roughly 10,000 animals are killed in U.S. shelters. On June 11, Mike Fry asked shelters and rescuers across the nation to come together and adopt them out instead for Just One Day. And they did.
Boone County, KY emptied its dog kennels… From the large and confident, to the small and timid. Sometimes one at a time. Sometimes in groups of two. Over 12,000 animals were adopted. June 11, 2013 was perhaps the safest day for animals in shelters in U.S. history. 1,200 shelters and rescue groups came together. Adopters welcomed a new family member. The incinerators remained shuttered. And the morgues stayed empty.
Meet Bob, Allison, Ellie, Brian, and Valerie. Before anyone knew a No Kill community was possible, before they had a practical answer as to how you stop the killing, they knew the killing was wrong and they set out to do something about it. In the process, they created the first No Kill community.
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70634354" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
As you saw, before I arrived, the shelter in Tompkins County was typical of most shelters in the country: it had a poor public image; it killed a lot of animals; and it blamed the community for doing so. Once there, I announced the lifesaving goal to the community and asked the community for help. People from all walks of life volunteered, inspired by the goal and eager to assist. Many people adopted animals: some walked dogs, others socialized cats, veterinarians offered their services at reduced rates or free of charge, business owners offered free products as incentives to adopt. I was not timid about asking for help, and most people were incredibly generous and eager to assist. The goal of ending the killing of animals in the shelter became a community-wide effort. The people of Tompkins County opened their hearts, homes, and wallets. And overnight, by harnessing that compassion and changing the way the shelter operated, Tompkins County, New York, achieved No Kill.
It didn’t matter whether they were young, old, blind, deaf, or missing limbs. They were all guaranteed a home, and they all found one. The most amazing thing was that I didn’t have to convince anyone that this was a good idea or a worthy goal. The people of Tompkins County were ready and willing to make it a reality as soon as I got there. They just needed someone to tell them it was possible and to show them how to do it.
What can we accomplish when we give ourselves permission to try?
We can go from a 4% save rate to 92%. We can erase one day’s worth of killing across the entire U.S. by adopting out over 12,000 animals in a single day. We can go from no No Kill communities to one; from one to hundreds; from hundreds to a No Kill nation. We can successfully arrive at the brighter future we are striving for. On the road we paved that led there.
For the next two days, you will learn from the speakers as to how they did it in their cities. You will also learn how you can do it, too. Not just some of you, but all of you…
You can and you must. Because despite the No Kill movement’s great and increasing success, there are still tremendous gaps. There is still a lot of killing. There is much abuse. There is great suffering. And the animals need a champion.
They need YOU. And when you give yourself permission to stand up, the way those who I have exemplified here have done, it gives others permission to do the same. When you summon the determination to begin this vital process, others will be inspired by your example and they will stand up with you. One will become two. Two will become four. And eventually you will become unstoppable. If you are an activist, they will join your fight for a No Kill community.
If you are a shelter director or rescuer, the public will rally to your cause: they will adopt, volunteer, foster, donate, and more.
When a Pennsylvania shelter asked the public to help them save 200+ cats and kittens with FeLV and FIV. The public said YES.
When a Florida shelter with a capacity of 375 found itself with 750 animals due to a hoarding bust and asked the public to help them empty the shelter the good way, the public said YES.
When an open admission shelter in New Zealand asked the public to help it end the killing overnight, the public said YES, allowing it to triple adoptions and finish the year with a stunning 99% save rate.
When an open admission shelter in Australia asked the public to help them save every motherless baby kitten, the public said YES.
When an Indiana shelter told the public it would stay open until no one was left in the building, they lined up in droves. The shelter stayed open until 10 pm and adopted out 153 animals in one day.
When you stand up, they stand up. So stand up:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70600829" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
I am not a religious person, but that does not mean I am a man without faith. The faith I hold is in the remarkable capacity of my fellow humans for change and compassion. As a species we aspire to do better, to be better. We want to leave the darkness of the cave and come into the light. And when SOMEONE comes along who illuminates a path towards that light, we are vindicated because collectively we follow them into a brighter future. That someone is YOU.
Together, we will prevail. Because we will not stop…
Until every animal…
In every city…
In every shelter…
Finds their way…
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70561182" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?page_id=166
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
.jpg?m=1362140355)
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:lol:
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,318
- Points
- 83
Steps To No Kill
Steps for Successfully Going “No Kill”
The following is the “No Kill Equation”, which is described in further detail by Nathan Winograd in his book “Redemption”.
1. Feral Cat TNR Program – TNR most commonly stands for either “Trap, Neuter, Release” or “Trap, Neuter, Return”. This is the only proven method for lowering the numbers of feral/unowned cats in an area. Using TNR effectively sterilizes the cat colony. The current and more widely used way to deal with the feral/unowned cat population is to “catch and kill” them. This means they are not “adoptable” due to their lack of interaction with people, and so, they are killed rather than altered and allowed to live out their lives. We believe that even though these cats are not “adoptable” they should be allowed to live because TNR actually succeeds in lowering the population and these cats can live long, happy and healthy lives if left to do so after being altered. Locally (in Maryland) Community Cats Maryland is one example of an agency using TNR to work toward lowering the population without killing.
2. High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter – Quality of Life Issue – Low cost, high volume spay/neuter will quickly lead to fewer animals entering the shelter system, allowing more resources to be allocated toward saving lives.
3. Rescue Groups – An adoption or transfer to a rescue group frees up scarce cage and kennel space, reduces expenses for feeding, cleaning, killing, and improves a community’s rate of lifesaving. In an environment of millions of dogs and cats killed in shelters annually, rare is the circumstance in which a rescue group should be denied an animal.
4. Foster Care – Volunteer foster care is crucial to No Kill. Without it, saving lives is compromised. It is a low cost, and often no cost, way of increasing a shelter’s capacity, improving public relations, increasing a shelter’s public image, rehabilitating sick and injured or behaviorally challenged animals, and saving lives.
5. Comprehensive Adoption Programs – Quality of Life Issue – Adoptions are vital to an agency’s lifesaving mission. The quantity and quality of shelter adoptions is in shelter management’s hands, making lifesaving a direct function of shelter policies and practice.
6. Pet Retention –Quality of Life Issue – 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.
7. Medical and Behavior Programs – Quality of Life Issue – The shelter must put in place comprehensive vaccination, handling, cleaning, socialization, and care policies before animals get sick and rehabilitative efforts for those who come in sick, injured, unweaned, or traumatized.
8. 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. Public relations and marketing are the foundation of a shelter’s activities and their success. To go No-Kill, the shelter must be in the public eye.
9. Volunteers – Quality of Life Issue – 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. That is where volunteers come in and make the difference between success and failure and, for the animals, life and death.
10. Proactive Redemptions – Quality of Life Issue - One of the most overlooked areas for reducing killing in animal control shelters are lost animal reclaims. Sadly, besides having pet owners fill out a lost pet report, very little effort is made in this area of shelter operations. This is unfortunate because doing so—primarily shifting from passive to a more proactive approach—has proven to have a significant impact on lifesaving and allow shelters to return a large percentage of lost animals to their families as well as garner more public support and backing for the shelter.
11. A Compassionate Director – A hard working, compassionate animal control or shelter director not content to regurgitate tired clichés or hide behind the myth of “too many animals, not enough homes.”
What Does It Mean?
The No Kill Equation focuses on alternatives to killing, bringing the focus back where it should be: life saving. Each of the programs above either help animals get OUT of shelters (rescue, foster, adoption, redemption), or they prevent animals from having to go IN to shelters in the first place (TNR, low cost spay/neuter, pet retention). Volunteers, a compassionate director, and public relations/community involvement are the key forces that tie everything together. Comprehensive, high-quality medical and behavioral programs combat two reasons animals are killed under the traditional model of animal sheltering by providing treatment and training to those who need it in order to become more adoptable.
Sometimes it seems overwhelming because there are hundreds of animals at any given time that need help. But, how many are feral cats that could be safely returned to their habitat? How many are lost pets that could be reunited with their owners? How many could be placed in the care of a rescue group? How many could go to foster care for one-on-one attention before adoption? How many wouldn’t have had to come to the shelter at all, if their struggling owners had resources made available to them, such as a pet food bank? The programs above are designed to exhaust all other options before an animal even has to stay at a shelter and be placed in a new home. This can greatly reduce the overall number of animals needing to be re-homed. Although adoption IS a crucial component of No Kill success, so are all the other programs in the No Kill Equation. Also, it is not enough to have some representation of each of these 11 components. They all have to meet a high standard if No Kill is to be achieved.
Impossible? No way!
It is all too easy to get caught in the slump of “we do all that we can already, saving more animals is just not possible, we have to kill”. One word for that: hogwash! There is always room for improvement. Usually this demands thinking outside the box. We would like to share nation-wide (and world-wide) success stories with you, and we ask you this: why not Harford County?
Across the nation, a “No Kill Community” is one that saves at least 90% of its shelter animals. 90% or more leave the shelter alive, going to rescue, foster care, new homes, returning home, etc. The following communities have open-admission (turning no animal away) shelters that save 90% or more of the animals in their care.
Reno, NV - in 2009, Nevada Humane Society and Washoe County Animal Services reported a combined save rate of 90% for dogs, 89% for cats. (NHS – 93% dogs, 95% cats, WCAS – 90.5% dogs, 89% cats). All this despite being considered one of the most economically depressed regions of the country. Amazing! Please click here to read “How We Did It!” by the Nevada Humane Society
Kansas City, KS - a partnership called “Ray of Hope” has reduced euthanasia in Kansas City, Kansas Animal Control to under 1%, and the county overall saves 97% of animals.
Ithaca, NY (Tompkins County) - Tompkins County, NY has been a no kill community for years. They continue to have a live save rate of 94% or better.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada - The City of Calgary Animal Control and Bylaw Services saves over 94% of animals.
Berkeley, CA - the Berkeley Alliance for Homeless Animals is a coalition comprised of the three largest animal welfare agencies in the Berkeley, CA area. Their combined save rate is 93%!
Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA has been No Kill since 2006 a save rate of 92% or better.
Shelby County, KY - the Shelby County No Kill Mission united local animal groups to become the first No Kill county in KY, with a save rate of at least 90%.
Valparaiso, IN - has been No Kill since 2008, with at least a 90% save rate
New Zealand - the entire country of New Zealand, led by the Royal New Zealand SPCA, is well on its way to becoming the first No Kill Nation. Although they prefer to call their mission “Saving Lives” instead of “No Kill”, they use the same programs in the “No Kill Equation” outlined above.
AND MORE!
Click here for a longer list, compiled by No Kill Houston!
What Naysayers Will Tell You, And Why We Disagree
In his book “Redemption”, Nathan Winograd shares some common arguments people have against No Kill, and we would like to in turn share them with you, along with our counter arguments. You, as a No Kill supporter, are bound to run into a naysayer at some point. Understand that naysayers will say anything to prove their point, and usually end up contradicting themselves in the process. Keep your head, don’t get emotional, and simply debate the proven steps to moving towards No Kill. Anger and emotional outbursts will only label our cause as “extremist” rather than what it is: welcoming and forwarding thinking.
“It can’t happen in a rural area” – see the above examples of Ithaca, NY / Shelby County, KY / Valparaiso, IN
“It can’t happen in an urban area” – see the above examples of Berkeley, CA / Calgary, AB / Kansas City, KS
“It can’t happen here because of money” – No Kill does not have to cost more than traditional sheltering. In fact, since most of the programs above involve getting animals OUT of shelters and preventing them from going IN, it can turn out to be the same as or less than traditional shelter. Plus, No Kill initiatives tend to get grant money and private donations more easily.
“It can’t happen here because people here don’t care about animals” – People DO care about animals. Go out any day of the week and see the people out walking their dogs or spending money on their pets. People love to talk about their pets as soon as you give them an opportunity to do so, and then you really know how deeply people care. Most people will not support a cause that they do not fully believe in. With that in mind, is it surprising that shelters NOT dedicated to saving lives do not get much community support? Give people something they believe in and an opportunity to help, and they will blow your socks off with their generosity! Let them down, and they will just save their cash and time for something else.
“It can’t happen here because there are too many animals, too few homes” – This is usually followed by “the only answer is to spay/neuter”. Spay/neuter efforts dramatically decreased the number (by the millions) of pets entering shelters in the last couple of decades. We do not intend to stop spay/neuter efforts. In fact, as you can see from the No Kill Equation above, one of the steps of no kill is to continue to increase spay/neuter, especially to target populations. We understand the importance of this. However, it is not all about spaying and neutering! That is why there are 10 other important steps to No Kill outlined above. If all those programs are in place and of a high quality, only a small portion of the animal population actually needs to be adopted, and an even smaller portion of the human population needs to step up for them!
Other Arguments Commonly Heard
“No Kill shelters just hoard animals, and they are kept in terrible conditions because there are so many and they refuse to kill any” – again, the No Kill Equation focuses on getting animals OUT of the shelter and preventing them from going IN. Animals should not be sitting in an overcrowded shelter, because they should be going out to foster homes, rescue groups, getting adopted, etc. as was already described above. The No Kill Equation is, at it’s core, ensuring that animals have a short stay at the shelter and leave it healthier than when it came in (and, obviously, alive). There have undoubtedly been poor examples of shelters that have hoarded animals. But the No Kill Equation does not advocate this at all. Check out this article (written by Best Friends Animal Society founder Gregory Castle) which also addresses this misconception.
“But you can’t NOT kill. You’ll have to kill SOME animals!” – Yes, we do understand that there are situations in which it truly is in the animal’s best interest to humanely euthanize it. We also understand that this is something every single pet owner has to go through with their own animals and we do not intend to make anyone feel guilty about their personal pet’s euthanasia. But,most pet owners would never even think about euthanizing a pet when a viable alternative exists. We simply wish the same for homeless animals.
http://www.nokillharford.org/about/steps-to-no-kill/
Steps for Successfully Going “No Kill”
The following is the “No Kill Equation”, which is described in further detail by Nathan Winograd in his book “Redemption”.
1. Feral Cat TNR Program – TNR most commonly stands for either “Trap, Neuter, Release” or “Trap, Neuter, Return”. This is the only proven method for lowering the numbers of feral/unowned cats in an area. Using TNR effectively sterilizes the cat colony. The current and more widely used way to deal with the feral/unowned cat population is to “catch and kill” them. This means they are not “adoptable” due to their lack of interaction with people, and so, they are killed rather than altered and allowed to live out their lives. We believe that even though these cats are not “adoptable” they should be allowed to live because TNR actually succeeds in lowering the population and these cats can live long, happy and healthy lives if left to do so after being altered. Locally (in Maryland) Community Cats Maryland is one example of an agency using TNR to work toward lowering the population without killing.
2. High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter – Quality of Life Issue – Low cost, high volume spay/neuter will quickly lead to fewer animals entering the shelter system, allowing more resources to be allocated toward saving lives.
3. Rescue Groups – An adoption or transfer to a rescue group frees up scarce cage and kennel space, reduces expenses for feeding, cleaning, killing, and improves a community’s rate of lifesaving. In an environment of millions of dogs and cats killed in shelters annually, rare is the circumstance in which a rescue group should be denied an animal.
4. Foster Care – Volunteer foster care is crucial to No Kill. Without it, saving lives is compromised. It is a low cost, and often no cost, way of increasing a shelter’s capacity, improving public relations, increasing a shelter’s public image, rehabilitating sick and injured or behaviorally challenged animals, and saving lives.
5. Comprehensive Adoption Programs – Quality of Life Issue – Adoptions are vital to an agency’s lifesaving mission. The quantity and quality of shelter adoptions is in shelter management’s hands, making lifesaving a direct function of shelter policies and practice.
6. Pet Retention –Quality of Life Issue – 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.
7. Medical and Behavior Programs – Quality of Life Issue – The shelter must put in place comprehensive vaccination, handling, cleaning, socialization, and care policies before animals get sick and rehabilitative efforts for those who come in sick, injured, unweaned, or traumatized.
8. 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. Public relations and marketing are the foundation of a shelter’s activities and their success. To go No-Kill, the shelter must be in the public eye.
9. Volunteers – Quality of Life Issue – 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. That is where volunteers come in and make the difference between success and failure and, for the animals, life and death.
10. Proactive Redemptions – Quality of Life Issue - One of the most overlooked areas for reducing killing in animal control shelters are lost animal reclaims. Sadly, besides having pet owners fill out a lost pet report, very little effort is made in this area of shelter operations. This is unfortunate because doing so—primarily shifting from passive to a more proactive approach—has proven to have a significant impact on lifesaving and allow shelters to return a large percentage of lost animals to their families as well as garner more public support and backing for the shelter.
11. A Compassionate Director – A hard working, compassionate animal control or shelter director not content to regurgitate tired clichés or hide behind the myth of “too many animals, not enough homes.”
What Does It Mean?
The No Kill Equation focuses on alternatives to killing, bringing the focus back where it should be: life saving. Each of the programs above either help animals get OUT of shelters (rescue, foster, adoption, redemption), or they prevent animals from having to go IN to shelters in the first place (TNR, low cost spay/neuter, pet retention). Volunteers, a compassionate director, and public relations/community involvement are the key forces that tie everything together. Comprehensive, high-quality medical and behavioral programs combat two reasons animals are killed under the traditional model of animal sheltering by providing treatment and training to those who need it in order to become more adoptable.
Sometimes it seems overwhelming because there are hundreds of animals at any given time that need help. But, how many are feral cats that could be safely returned to their habitat? How many are lost pets that could be reunited with their owners? How many could be placed in the care of a rescue group? How many could go to foster care for one-on-one attention before adoption? How many wouldn’t have had to come to the shelter at all, if their struggling owners had resources made available to them, such as a pet food bank? The programs above are designed to exhaust all other options before an animal even has to stay at a shelter and be placed in a new home. This can greatly reduce the overall number of animals needing to be re-homed. Although adoption IS a crucial component of No Kill success, so are all the other programs in the No Kill Equation. Also, it is not enough to have some representation of each of these 11 components. They all have to meet a high standard if No Kill is to be achieved.
Impossible? No way!
It is all too easy to get caught in the slump of “we do all that we can already, saving more animals is just not possible, we have to kill”. One word for that: hogwash! There is always room for improvement. Usually this demands thinking outside the box. We would like to share nation-wide (and world-wide) success stories with you, and we ask you this: why not Harford County?
Across the nation, a “No Kill Community” is one that saves at least 90% of its shelter animals. 90% or more leave the shelter alive, going to rescue, foster care, new homes, returning home, etc. The following communities have open-admission (turning no animal away) shelters that save 90% or more of the animals in their care.
Reno, NV - in 2009, Nevada Humane Society and Washoe County Animal Services reported a combined save rate of 90% for dogs, 89% for cats. (NHS – 93% dogs, 95% cats, WCAS – 90.5% dogs, 89% cats). All this despite being considered one of the most economically depressed regions of the country. Amazing! Please click here to read “How We Did It!” by the Nevada Humane Society
Kansas City, KS - a partnership called “Ray of Hope” has reduced euthanasia in Kansas City, Kansas Animal Control to under 1%, and the county overall saves 97% of animals.
Ithaca, NY (Tompkins County) - Tompkins County, NY has been a no kill community for years. They continue to have a live save rate of 94% or better.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada - The City of Calgary Animal Control and Bylaw Services saves over 94% of animals.
Berkeley, CA - the Berkeley Alliance for Homeless Animals is a coalition comprised of the three largest animal welfare agencies in the Berkeley, CA area. Their combined save rate is 93%!
Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA has been No Kill since 2006 a save rate of 92% or better.
Shelby County, KY - the Shelby County No Kill Mission united local animal groups to become the first No Kill county in KY, with a save rate of at least 90%.
Valparaiso, IN - has been No Kill since 2008, with at least a 90% save rate
New Zealand - the entire country of New Zealand, led by the Royal New Zealand SPCA, is well on its way to becoming the first No Kill Nation. Although they prefer to call their mission “Saving Lives” instead of “No Kill”, they use the same programs in the “No Kill Equation” outlined above.
AND MORE!
Click here for a longer list, compiled by No Kill Houston!
What Naysayers Will Tell You, And Why We Disagree
In his book “Redemption”, Nathan Winograd shares some common arguments people have against No Kill, and we would like to in turn share them with you, along with our counter arguments. You, as a No Kill supporter, are bound to run into a naysayer at some point. Understand that naysayers will say anything to prove their point, and usually end up contradicting themselves in the process. Keep your head, don’t get emotional, and simply debate the proven steps to moving towards No Kill. Anger and emotional outbursts will only label our cause as “extremist” rather than what it is: welcoming and forwarding thinking.
“It can’t happen in a rural area” – see the above examples of Ithaca, NY / Shelby County, KY / Valparaiso, IN
“It can’t happen in an urban area” – see the above examples of Berkeley, CA / Calgary, AB / Kansas City, KS
“It can’t happen here because of money” – No Kill does not have to cost more than traditional sheltering. In fact, since most of the programs above involve getting animals OUT of shelters and preventing them from going IN, it can turn out to be the same as or less than traditional shelter. Plus, No Kill initiatives tend to get grant money and private donations more easily.
“It can’t happen here because people here don’t care about animals” – People DO care about animals. Go out any day of the week and see the people out walking their dogs or spending money on their pets. People love to talk about their pets as soon as you give them an opportunity to do so, and then you really know how deeply people care. Most people will not support a cause that they do not fully believe in. With that in mind, is it surprising that shelters NOT dedicated to saving lives do not get much community support? Give people something they believe in and an opportunity to help, and they will blow your socks off with their generosity! Let them down, and they will just save their cash and time for something else.
“It can’t happen here because there are too many animals, too few homes” – This is usually followed by “the only answer is to spay/neuter”. Spay/neuter efforts dramatically decreased the number (by the millions) of pets entering shelters in the last couple of decades. We do not intend to stop spay/neuter efforts. In fact, as you can see from the No Kill Equation above, one of the steps of no kill is to continue to increase spay/neuter, especially to target populations. We understand the importance of this. However, it is not all about spaying and neutering! That is why there are 10 other important steps to No Kill outlined above. If all those programs are in place and of a high quality, only a small portion of the animal population actually needs to be adopted, and an even smaller portion of the human population needs to step up for them!
Other Arguments Commonly Heard
“No Kill shelters just hoard animals, and they are kept in terrible conditions because there are so many and they refuse to kill any” – again, the No Kill Equation focuses on getting animals OUT of the shelter and preventing them from going IN. Animals should not be sitting in an overcrowded shelter, because they should be going out to foster homes, rescue groups, getting adopted, etc. as was already described above. The No Kill Equation is, at it’s core, ensuring that animals have a short stay at the shelter and leave it healthier than when it came in (and, obviously, alive). There have undoubtedly been poor examples of shelters that have hoarded animals. But the No Kill Equation does not advocate this at all. Check out this article (written by Best Friends Animal Society founder Gregory Castle) which also addresses this misconception.
“But you can’t NOT kill. You’ll have to kill SOME animals!” – Yes, we do understand that there are situations in which it truly is in the animal’s best interest to humanely euthanize it. We also understand that this is something every single pet owner has to go through with their own animals and we do not intend to make anyone feel guilty about their personal pet’s euthanasia. But,most pet owners would never even think about euthanizing a pet when a viable alternative exists. We simply wish the same for homeless animals.
http://www.nokillharford.org/about/steps-to-no-kill/
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
Marilyn Monroe :wub:
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:girl_sigh:
:bugeyed
:wub:
:wub:
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,318
- Points
- 83
A Love Story
August 16, 2013
A Love Story
August 16, 2013
A number of years ago, I received a letter from a rescuer who had spent the last 50 years trying to save animals. It was clear she loves animals very deeply. But she believes she is in the minority; believes that there is a crisis of uncaring, and because of that, believes animals have to die in shelters.
I spent years in rescue, working in animal rights, and prosecuting animal abuse as a Deputy District Attorney. I, too, once shared her view. While trying to make the world a better place for animals was gratifying, being immersed in work designed to combat animal abuse meant that I was reminded of it constantly and so I became myopic, believing that most people didn’t care about animals or their suffering. I focused primarily on the bad things people did to animals, and became blind to the good. Most regrettably, I lost the ability to perceive how most people really felt about animals and with that, an accurate sense of the animal movement’s potential for success. But the growing success of the No Kill movement changed me. And it is growing.
Our success is spreading to every part of the country. And everywhere it is succeeding, it is succeeding because of people. In short, I learned that there was enough love and compassion for animals in every community to overcome the irresponsibility of the few and my heart swelled.
No Kill is a love story. It’s not about a romance, a friendship between two people, or how one human feels about another. It is about how 100 million individuals of one species—humans—feel about 165 million individuals from others. But it is a love story just the same. Three out of four Americans already believe it should be illegal for shelters to kill animals. Why? Because Americans truly love dogs and cats. Our job is to give voice to that love.
Conventional wisdom says animals have to die because people do not care enough about them. Conventional wisdom is wrong. Our collective experience in Tompkins County and then Reno and then Austin and now in hundreds of communities nationwide proves that the story of the eight million animals entering shelters in this nation does not have to be a tragedy. Shelters can respond humanely and compassionately without resorting to killing. These shelters can be temporary way stations for animals, providing good care and plenty of comfort until they find loving homes. And hundreds have. To do that elsewhere, shelters need to embrace the community.
Through my work in the No Kill movement, I have encountered people from all walks of life—every demographic imaginable: every age, class, culture, and political leaning—united, in spite of their other differences, by their love and concern for animals. I have witnessed, time and time again, how the public rallies to the call for reform of their local shelter, and how, with their assistance, No Kill is now succeeding in various and diverse communities across this country. These experiences have combined to erode my despair and replace it with great optimism. And I am constantly reminded of how much people truly love animals in countless little ways.
Not too long ago, I was standing next to an older gentleman at a pharmacy when I asked the clerk for lancets for my diabetic cat. Lancets are used for diabetic testing. It’s the device that punctures the skin to extract blood for monitoring. When the pharmacist asked me what kind I wanted, I said “Give me the finest you have because it is for my cat.” The gentleman turned to me, pumped his fist in the air, and said to the pharmacist: “Yes, give him the finest, because nothing is too good for our pets!” I smiled at him and said, “That is true. Nothing is too good for our pets.”
But when I said “finest,” I actually meant “fine” as in the smallest needle point or highest gauge because the blood was drawn from the cat’s ear and I did not want it to be painful. Nonetheless, experiences like that, which I encounter frequently, remind me just how widespread our love for companion animals is as a society. And it is that love that gives me faith that we will fix our broken animal shelter system.
If you remember nothing else about the No Kill philosophy, remember this: Killing an animal is not an act of love. It is an act of violence.
No Kill is love.
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?page_id=166
Killing an animal is not an act of love. It is an act of violence.
I think this is about healthy or treatable animals.
There are rescued cats in bad condition ,for some it´s possible they can be better with veterinarian care, but for some it´s to late.
You can try to help but then realise the cat is suffering and it doesn´t get better.
Then it can be an act of love to euthanize it.
And when it dies it shouldn´t be alone.
August 16, 2013
A Love Story
August 16, 2013
A number of years ago, I received a letter from a rescuer who had spent the last 50 years trying to save animals. It was clear she loves animals very deeply. But she believes she is in the minority; believes that there is a crisis of uncaring, and because of that, believes animals have to die in shelters.
I spent years in rescue, working in animal rights, and prosecuting animal abuse as a Deputy District Attorney. I, too, once shared her view. While trying to make the world a better place for animals was gratifying, being immersed in work designed to combat animal abuse meant that I was reminded of it constantly and so I became myopic, believing that most people didn’t care about animals or their suffering. I focused primarily on the bad things people did to animals, and became blind to the good. Most regrettably, I lost the ability to perceive how most people really felt about animals and with that, an accurate sense of the animal movement’s potential for success. But the growing success of the No Kill movement changed me. And it is growing.
Our success is spreading to every part of the country. And everywhere it is succeeding, it is succeeding because of people. In short, I learned that there was enough love and compassion for animals in every community to overcome the irresponsibility of the few and my heart swelled.
No Kill is a love story. It’s not about a romance, a friendship between two people, or how one human feels about another. It is about how 100 million individuals of one species—humans—feel about 165 million individuals from others. But it is a love story just the same. Three out of four Americans already believe it should be illegal for shelters to kill animals. Why? Because Americans truly love dogs and cats. Our job is to give voice to that love.
Conventional wisdom says animals have to die because people do not care enough about them. Conventional wisdom is wrong. Our collective experience in Tompkins County and then Reno and then Austin and now in hundreds of communities nationwide proves that the story of the eight million animals entering shelters in this nation does not have to be a tragedy. Shelters can respond humanely and compassionately without resorting to killing. These shelters can be temporary way stations for animals, providing good care and plenty of comfort until they find loving homes. And hundreds have. To do that elsewhere, shelters need to embrace the community.
Through my work in the No Kill movement, I have encountered people from all walks of life—every demographic imaginable: every age, class, culture, and political leaning—united, in spite of their other differences, by their love and concern for animals. I have witnessed, time and time again, how the public rallies to the call for reform of their local shelter, and how, with their assistance, No Kill is now succeeding in various and diverse communities across this country. These experiences have combined to erode my despair and replace it with great optimism. And I am constantly reminded of how much people truly love animals in countless little ways.
Not too long ago, I was standing next to an older gentleman at a pharmacy when I asked the clerk for lancets for my diabetic cat. Lancets are used for diabetic testing. It’s the device that punctures the skin to extract blood for monitoring. When the pharmacist asked me what kind I wanted, I said “Give me the finest you have because it is for my cat.” The gentleman turned to me, pumped his fist in the air, and said to the pharmacist: “Yes, give him the finest, because nothing is too good for our pets!” I smiled at him and said, “That is true. Nothing is too good for our pets.”
But when I said “finest,” I actually meant “fine” as in the smallest needle point or highest gauge because the blood was drawn from the cat’s ear and I did not want it to be painful. Nonetheless, experiences like that, which I encounter frequently, remind me just how widespread our love for companion animals is as a society. And it is that love that gives me faith that we will fix our broken animal shelter system.
If you remember nothing else about the No Kill philosophy, remember this: Killing an animal is not an act of love. It is an act of violence.
No Kill is love.
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?page_id=166
Killing an animal is not an act of love. It is an act of violence.
I think this is about healthy or treatable animals.
There are rescued cats in bad condition ,for some it´s possible they can be better with veterinarian care, but for some it´s to late.
You can try to help but then realise the cat is suffering and it doesn´t get better.
Then it can be an act of love to euthanize it.
And when it dies it shouldn´t be alone.
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub: