No-Kill Shelters Rehabilitation for Animals

Many animals are sitting in a shelter of some sort this very second and we take our pets for granted ignoring those pets who are less fortunate. Animals should be adopted from shelters to help save their lives and make their lives also better in a number of ways. Many of the animals in shelters get put down or don’t have the funding to care for the animals in the shelters and have to then do anything in their power to get rid of the animal to prevent the idea of killing the animal. Animals don’t get the choice to be in a shelter or not, but I personally see it as in my situation of being in a treatment center for no reason but for a new placement. Animals deserve a second chance to be free again before being killed in a shelter.

The euthanasia of animals is a very problematic social issue in the world today. Approximately there are about 7.6 million companion animals that enter animal shelters each year. Of those, about 2.7 animals are euthanized, and cats have the highest rate, according to “The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” (2017). When you hear the term euthanasia in reference to animals, you think of a painless process that ends the countless suffering your pet had to endure over the span of their lives. There are many reasons for which these animals are “put to sleep.” When most pet owners put their pets to sleep it is because their pets have incurable disease, painful illness, behavioral problems and are of old age. When an animal is suffering and is no longer able to recover, this process may be the most humane thing to do. However, euthanasia turns into murder when perfectly healthy animals are killed. Since there is an overpopulation of animals there are many animals left on the street wandering alone. When there isn’t any room for all these new animals being brought in from off the streets, shelters have no other option, but to euthanize. Each year more and more dogs and cats are born and sent into shelters, but for every animal being born another one has to leave and once the animal leave they are most likely going to be euthanized. No matter the situation animals are losing their lives for no clear reason.

In the United States, about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters every year. The overpopulation of these animals and the fact that they have no homes leads to about 40% of them being euthanized (ASPCA). This is a global issue, but the root of it can be found within the local community at The Humane Society of the Ohio Valley.

Thesis: Addressing what a No Kill Shelter is and that they should have standards for using specific euthanasia methods, treating “unadoptable” animals, and evaluating the Live Release Rate will help decrease the unnecessary deaths of shelter animals around the world, especially with the help of shelter based programs.

An animal shelter is a place where stray, lost, abandoned, or surrendered animals, mostly dogs and cats and sometimes sick or wounded wildlife, are brought. Animal shelters are essential in the United States because of inattentive pet proprietorship and uncontrolled breeding of animals. People often get pets without a full understanding of the time, money, and space that they require. Regrettably, that recurrently results in pets being abandoned or abused by these owners. Apart from accountable breeders, owners should spay or neuter their pets to stop the serious overpopulation problem, which is happening in the United States. Shelters do not treat or stop the problem of unwanted pets but without them the stray pet population would be astronomical. There would be more problems with disease spread and an increased incidence of stray animal-induced injuries. A shelter should also be a domicile where animals could be benign and feel loved and taken care of; not just a drop off. The shelter in my community tries to do their best with their animals, but I feel that the shelter needs to be able to do their jobs better and for the animals to feel comfortable.

A problem has grown among animal lovers. On one side are the traditional shelters that euthanize to make space for more animals. On the other side are those that call themselves “no kill”. They represent a rage of shelters from all over the country that won’t euthanize any animal on their property. No-Kill shelters are gaining popularity in the United States, According to one source, “More than 600 shelters and that’s just a fraction. The popularity has put pressure on the other shelters to become no-kill” (Fasseas). Now there are two different sides to the story, half of the people agrees upon euthanize animals for space and the other half agrees that there should not be any kill shelters here in this area or anywhere in the country.

When Mary Ray of Woodbury, Minnesota unexpectedly passed away at her home during the winter of 2012, the last thing she would have expected was that her beloved perfectly healthy, young pet cat would be euthanized by the Woodbury Humane Society shelter instead of being sent to the home she had detailed in a note posted on her refrigerator. In retrospect, this would not have happened if the Woodbury Humane Society shelter had adopted the new and growing trend of “no-kill” philosophy for animal shelters, which simply stated, is an operating philosophy for a shelter that is based upon the premise that no healthy adoptable animal should be euthanized for any reason and that they should be sheltered until they find a loving home. The number of

No-kill means achieving a community-wide status where animals are not killed as a matter of convenience or population control. It’s about individuals and rescue partners working together in collaboration to reduce the number of animals entering shelters through low-cost spay/neuter services, implementing progressive community programs, and opening up space in local shelters by getting animals into homes through high-volume adoption strategies.

The North Shore Animal League will first discuss animal rights and how animal abuse and homelessness is at an all-time high today among animals. There will also be various pictures and statistics shown to offer the audience insight on which dog and cat breeds are the most abused and homeless. For example, due to their small size and temperament with people Chihuahuas are among one of the most abused and homeless dog breeds. The organization will then discuss their plan to remedy the issue of animal abuse and homelessness by opening up animal shelters in urban areas in Staten Island and Brooklyn to lower animal abuse and homelessness. These shelters will provide the animal’s food, water, and medicine, which are the main necessities for them to survive. By opening these new shelters, it will ensure the animal’s safety and well-being until people are ready to adopt and bring them home.

No-Kill Shelters are very different from Kill and Low-Kill Shelters. For example, Maddie’s Fund wrote that no-kill shelters save all healthy and treatable dogs and cats. They will even keep the animal until it gets adopted. Around 7.6 million dogs and cats are sent to an animal shelter every year. But only 4.9 animals are saved mostly by no-kill shelters. However, if the animal is unhealthy or untreatable, they will put it down. Also, they only take in animals that are adoptable. Pet360 stated, “They do not accept animals without appointments and have a very thorough screening process. Additionally, these shelters often will not accept animals over a certain age,

Should shelters have the ability to euthanize one animal in order to have the ability to serve more animals? The ownership of an animal is perhaps the biggest factor in euthanizing an animal. Emotional reasonings, such as determining when will it be an acceptable time for an animal to be euthanized, can be easily answered with logic that identifies the condition and future of an animal. No matter the outcome one should keep in mind the standards of an animal’s welfare in order to make the best decision

Over the centuries, animals have suffered from cruelty from humans. In the United States, animals are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle for survival. Animals have been inflicted with pain from humans for reasons other than self-defense. They have been slaughtered for their food and fur for personal gain in profit. In a majority of cases they have even been abused for someone’s own personal amusement or out of rage filled impulses. In some cases animals are found and rescued. They are given the second chance in life to experience what life should be like compared to what they once had.

Caring for and about the dogs will be top concern in finding a solution. Calming dogs should be the first thing to happen before any evaluation of their character to prevent dogs being labeled “aggressive”, “nervous”, “not good with children” all because of how they react in the shelter when they first arrive. Shelters like Richmond SPCA have turned a negative experience to a positive for both parties. Breaking the stereotype opened new doors for the potential of adoption of these animals. The benefits for these dogs coming to a no-kill is that they will be able to live the rest of their lives in

Many may ask, why waste a valuable life? Why kill when you can just save them and adopt? Animals deserve the chance to live just like any person in this world does. Over the past 20 years, animal shelter communities in the United States has been grappling with the overpopulation problem of domestic animals (Rowan). Nationally, around four million animals are killed in animal shelters each year. Of the animals killed, roughly 95% of the shelters animals and treatable and healthy (Winograd). Each year between two to four million animals are euthanized (Winograd). Normally these animals are domestic such as dogs, cats, horses, and so on. Most people like to believe that the animals are being put down because an incurable disease but that is far from the truth. You have to take in account those who are euthanized because there are not enough homes or space to

You want to have a plan in place before beginning your business or passion of running a kennel and/or cattery out of your own home.