Are No Kill Shelters, REALLY No Kill Shelters??

[mike001]

We have two HS here but we have 4 organizations that take in animals and place them in foster homes. So far it seems to be working real well. Only the very sick, or aggressive dogs are euthanized. I feel it's doing sick animals a service, they are put out of their pain. As for the aggressive dogs, no one would take a chance on one and I think it's better for the animal itself. My daughter and I foster many dogs and always find homes for them.

[Twisterdog]

"No Kill" is a term used to describe a particular shelter's policy concerning euthanasia. If a shelter is "no kill" it generally means that once an animal is accepted by the shelter, it stays there until it is adopted, whether that is a week or a month or a year.

No kill shelters are almost always private organization, perhaps affiliated with the ASPCA or the HSUS, or run by a group of people locally. Being a private organization, they are under no obligation to take animals in. If they are full, they simply say no, and turn the next animal away. They can also refuse to take an aggresive animal, for example. I've never personally heard of a "no-kill" shelter taking in animal under the guise of "no-kill", and then shipping them to a "kill" facility for euthanasia. Not saying it might not be happening somewhere, but I do not think it is common or the norm. Every shelter I've ever dealt with - and it's been a LOT over the years - simply turn the animal away at the door when they are full. They don't take them in and then ship them somewhere else. Most private shelters are so short of manpower and funding that they do well to take care of the animals they do have room for.

There are some shelters that take the "no-kill" philosophy literally, and to the extreme. They will NEVER euthanize an animal, no matter if the animal is very ill, in pain, aggresive, etc. This is wrong, IMO, and is not the intended end of the "no-kill" philosophy. Euthanasia can be a kind blessing to some animals.

Most no-kill shelters occaisionally have to euthanize an animal. That is fine if is for a valid reason, and it is not their standard policy. The fact that an occaisional animal must be euthanized does not negate the fact that the shelter is generally, and by policy, no-kill.

Most shelters that have a mandated euthanasia deadline, such as 5 days or 7 days, are city or county organizations, such as Animal Control facilities. These organizations are mostly part of the local government, and fall under the police or sheriff jurisdiction. They are mandated by law to pick up and take in every animal they find or that is brought to them. It is their job to take animals off the streets, out of abusive situations, from people who longer want them, etc. It doesn't matter if they have 20 kennels, and they currently have 60 dogs ... they MUST take the next one that comes through the door. In a situation like that, where there are far more animals than homes and space at animal control, euthanasia is the only option.

Often "kill" shelters or animal control agencies get a bad reputation ... "Those horrible people just put them to sleep there!" It is important to remember that sometimes, death is a kinder option than the alternative ... starving to death on the streets, being fought in a dog-fighting ring, dying slowly in a ditch. It is also important to remember that the people who work at 'kill' shelters are basically cleaning up the mess that society makes of our pets. It is most certainly not the fault of the animal control agency that there is a pet over-population crisis, that people treat pets like disposable trinkets, that there are tens of thousands of unaltered animals out there, churning out litter after unwanted unlitter. They are doing a difficult, heart-breaking service for society.

[Catlady711]

Well said!

"No Kill" is a term used to describe a particular shelter's policy concerning euthanasia. If a shelter is "no kill" it generally means that once an animal is accepted by the shelter, it stays there until it is adopted, whether that is a week or a month or a year.

No kill shelters are almost always private organization, perhaps affiliated with the ASPCA or the HSUS, or run by a group of people locally. Being a private organization, they are under no obligation to take animals in. If they are full, they simply say no, and turn the next animal away. They can also refuse to take an aggresive animal, for example. I've never personally heard of a "no-kill" shelter taking in animal under the guise of "no-kill", and then shipping them to a "kill" facility for euthanasia. Not saying it might not be happening somewhere, but I do not think it is common or the norm. Every shelter I've ever dealt with - and it's been a LOT over the years - simply turn the animal away at the door when they are full. They don't take them in and then ship them somewhere else. Most private shelters are so short of manpower and funding that they do well to take care of the animals they do have room for.

There are some shelters that take the "no-kill" philosophy literally, and to the extreme. They will NEVER euthanize an animal, no matter if the animal is very ill, in pain, aggresive, etc. This is wrong, IMO, and is not the intended end of the "no-kill" philosophy. Euthanasia can be a kind blessing to some animals.

Most no-kill shelters occaisionally have to euthanize an animal. That is fine if is for a valid reason, and it is not their standard policy. The fact that an occaisional animal must be euthanized does not negate the fact that the shelter is generally, and by policy, no-kill.

Most shelters that have a mandated euthanasia deadline, such as 5 days or 7 days, are city or county organizations, such as Animal Control facilities. These organizations are mostly part of the local government, and fall under the police or sheriff jurisdiction. They are mandated by law to pick up and take in every animal they find or that is brought to them. It is their job to take animals off the streets, out of abusive situations, from people who longer want them, etc. It doesn't matter if they have 20 kennels, and they currently have 60 dogs ... they MUST take the next one that comes through the door. In a situation like that, where there are far more animals than homes and space at animal control, euthanasia is the only option.

Often "kill" shelters or animal control agencies get a bad reputation ... "Those horrible people just put them to sleep there!" It is important to remember that sometimes, death is a kinder option than the alternative ... starving to death on the streets, being fought in a dog-fighting ring, dying slowly in a ditch. It is also important to remember that the people who work at 'kill' shelters are basically cleaning up the mess that society makes of our pets. It is most certainly not the fault of the animal control agency that there is a pet over-population crisis, that people treat pets like disposable trinkets, that there are tens of thousands of unaltered animals out there, churning out litter after unwanted unlitter. They are doing a difficult, heart-breaking service for society.