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| Shelters for companion animals can differ in philosophy | ||||
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"The Dumb Friends League is an open door shelter. We turn no companion animal away. That is the defining difference between ours and the limited admission shelters, i.e., those that say they do not euthanize the animals they take in. (These organizations sometimes advertise themselves as "no kill" shelters.) To operate a "no kill" (hereinafter referred to as "limited admission") shelter, an organization must restrict both the type and the number of animals it will receive. It must focus on healthy, behaviorally sound animals that are the best candidates for adoption. Rapid turnover is essential, because when the cages are full, the shelter must turn away the next animal, regardless how compelling the circumstances. Very few limited admission shelters take in sick and injured animals or provide for lost or stray animals. They rarely investigate and prosecute complaints of cruelty and neglect. They often turn away older animals or those with health or behavior problems and may be unable to accept the return of unsuccessful adoptions. Although the simplicity of the limited admission shelter philosophy is appealing, reality is not that simple. Here at the League, we receive an average of 63 animals a day. We adopt 38 and return four to their owners. We shelter others for weeks, sometimes months, while we try to find new homes for them. But more keep coming every day, and only so many can be housed at a time. As a result, last year we had to euthanize 2,103 adoptable animals for which we could not find homes. Inevitably, as we reach out into the community, we hear this: "If you don't want to euthanize animals, why don't you just stop?" The answer lies in our mission: to shelter and care for them all - the helpless young kitten, mistreated pup, sick old dog and every creature in between - even if all we can offer some of them is a humane death. Our choice is to not "just stop" euthanizing. Within days, we would be full and have to close our doors. Later, we may have animals suffering from the psychological trauma of long-term confinement. Our choice is to engage in an active campaign to reduce the number of homeless animals in our community. Last year, for example, we worked for legislation that would have provided funds for spaying and neutering pets all over Colorado. We educated 22,000 children and adults about pet overpopulation. We were part of a collaborative, free spay/neuter clinic held in the Curtis Park neighborhood, and we sterilized every animal adopted from us - 8,700 in all. Our philosophy is to keep working at the root causes - to stop indiscriminate and over-breeding, educate the public about the problem, nurture the sick and socialize the ill-behaved animals we receive so that they can be adopted, and support pet owners who need help in keeping a lifelong commitment to their pets. We acknowledge the role that responsible limited-admission shelters serve. We work collaboratively with many of them. Because of their narrow scope, their success depends on having an organization like ours that is willing and able to care for every animal that comes to its doors. We honor the memory of the 2,103 lovable, adoptable dogs and cats that we had to euthanize last year. Each and every one caused us great sadness. But we will stay focused on the progress we are making. One day soon, with your help, we will reduce the euthanasia of adoptable animals to zero. And, through it all, our door will remain open." |
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| More about the Dumb Friends League: visit their web site. | ||||
| More about joining the local effort to raise funds for the Douglas County facility. | ||||
| Contact the chairperson (for the CPN efforts) by email. | ||||
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