Comments on: No more homeless pets and other exercises in messaging

By: Susan Fox

Susan Fox — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:00:09 +0000

B. Badger. Opinions. He haz ‘em. Actual knowledge? Not much. The following is a content-free statement with no basis in reality. It reminds of me an old saying, “All Indians walk single-file, at least the one I saw did.”

“I know the world doesn’t need more kittens. I really do know this and acknowledge it every time we have to euthanize part or a whole litter because of URIs or various medical issues….. The truth? Too many pets are euthanized. There aren’t enough good homes that won’t return them to the shelter as soon as they tire of the cat.”

By: The OTHER Pat

The OTHER Pat — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:35:42 +0000

I didn’t even need “Teh Googles”. I just clicked on the link in his name.

By: Gina Spadafori

Gina Spadafori — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:25:25 +0000

Dear “B. Badger,” Teh Googles are not your friend.

Suggestion: You not refer to an actual veterinarian — which you are not — as a “whore” elsewhere and make medical recommendations you are not in the least qualified to give. And follow that by showing up on that veterinarian’s Web site.

You have now been provided information on another subject about which you are misinformed. You can use it to correct your understanding of what “no kill” is about — and again, it’s NOT about what that single organization is doing.

What you do with that information is up to you.

By: Valerie

Valerie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:14:51 +0000

B. Badger, the TCSPCA is both No Kill and open admission, and has been since 2001. Their website is at
http://www.spcaonline.com/
The process by which the TCSPCA went from high-kill to No Kill is outlined in Redemption.

By: B. Badger

B. Badger — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:01:19 +0000

Gina, I absolutely acknowledged that a complete overhaul of our shelter/system is needed and that takes time, so clearly I’m open to that. Your need to hurl an backhanded insult is unfair and not needed when I’m trying to ask questions about what to do and examples of how various communities work. I know that’s your style when replying to comments, but I’m glad I’m not easily dissuaded from trying to work on a solution for my community by someone who wants to play the negative counterpoint. This attitude seems common in the community when you get those who are passionate about a cause, unfortunately, its hard to work them or learn from them. Currently, OHS *isn’t* working with the Portland community shelters, resuces, etc. as a whole and shelters are trying to stay afloat on their own. I’d love to help bridge those gaps but that takes TIME. Be my resource rather than my critic: what groups are you aware of in the Portland area who are trying to bridge that gap?

By: Valerie

Valerie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:09:01 +0000

Tompkins County has been No Kill since mid-2001, not 2000.

By: Christie Keith

Christie Keith — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:18:45 +0000

Tompkins County, New York has been no kill since 2000 — not just one shelter, the whole county.

Charlottseville and Albermarle County, VA. Not single shelters — the city and county respectively.

The city of Berkeley in California. Not a single shelter, the whole city.

Washoe County, NV, is almost there — saving 90+ percent of dogs and 88 percent of cats, in the face of some of the worst economic and foreclosure stats in the country. Again, not a single shelter in Washoe County, but the whole county.

No-kill is not about a single shelter’s policies. It’s about coalitions of animal control agencies, shelters, rescue groups, veterinarians, politicians and animal lovers in communities coming together to find a new way of handling that community’s homeless pets. And while some shelters and rescue groups in those coalitions are not “open door” facilities, every one of those communities has open door facilities as part of the successful system.

By: Gina Spadafori

Gina Spadafori — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:07:18 +0000

“B. Badger,” you completely missed the point: It’s not about what a single shelter does. It’s about what all stakeholders (public, private shelters, small rescuer groups, etc.) and animal lovers do as a community that is what no kill is about. And THAT’S what gets homes for those pets.

Read up: Go to Maddie’s Fund site, pick up a copy of “Redemption” and open your mind. For a person who’s trying to get into vet school, you seem to believe you already “know it all.” Not a great characteristic. You know the saying: “Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they’re open.”

By: Lis

Lis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:06:38 +0000

But the catch is, you can’t solve your community’s problem by “funnel[ing] all these less adoptable animals” elsewhere. You have to solve it at home, in your own community.

Another place to look at is Calgary.

By: LauraS

LauraS — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:45:13 +0000

The Berkeley CA community achieved no kill status in 2002. http://www.maddiesfund.org/Doc.....cation.pdf