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How a whole community became No Kill (a handout from the No Kill Conference 2010)

In 2007, Nevada Humane Society launched an ambitious no-kill initiative to make Washoe County, Nevada one of the safest communities in the United States for homeless animals. And we are succeeding. Despite a per capita intake rate higher than many communities nationwide, we were the safest community of our size for dogs in the United States and one of the safest for cats. By year’s end, 92% of all dogs and 78% of all cats found loving new homes, were reclaimed by their responsible caretakers or, in the case of feral cats, were adopted as barn cats or returned to their habitats.    Read more...

Beating the email monster

he process of answering emails can be a mammoth task; intimidating, frustrating and with dozens, if not hundreds coming in each week, they can eat away at the morale of everybody in your organisation if they turn ugly because you’re behind in your responses. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re lost for words, try these tips to make your emails sing!   Read more...

Pup's in prison reaches milestone

Queensland's innovative prisoner rehabilitation program notched up a milestone with more than 100 puppies being cared for by prisoners at Numinbah Correctional Centre   Read more...

Bird lover shares her home with dozens of discarded pets

"Unfortunately the breeders keep breeding them and the pet stores keep selling them without giving the buyer any knowledge whatsoever about how to take care of them. I mean, first off some birds have the intelligence level of a 5-year-old child." A loud, messy 5-year-old who can live for 30 or more years, needs constant attention and often misbehaves.   Read more...

Dogs' best friend

One dog. That was the plan. "It's always trouble when I come down here, because it's so hard to leave them," Jennings, a 65-year- old psychotherapist, said. "Rescuing a dog is like smoking dope or popping pills, or whatever. It's addicting. I can't stop it."    Read more...

Rescue Me

As a small number of shelters across the country adopt a "no-kill" policy, refusing to euthanize homeless animals, one of Boston's best-known shelters isn't interested in joining the movement. One emotional day inside reveals why.   Read more...

US - Maximum Bliss at the Pound

Gary Weitzman, the shelter's medical director, said that because of the calming music, fresh water and heated floors, abused and diseased animals heal faster. Staff members say they have noticed a distinct improvement in the animals' behavior and health. Adoptions are up, said adoption manager Shelley Petrasek, who credits the visible amenities with making people feel good about adopting animals.   Read more...

Rescuing cats is a dirty job

The things she's willing to do to save a cat. Get herself clawed and bitten. Stay up all night trapping. Have no life. This cat rescue business can be about as glamorous as vacationing at a landfill.   Read more...

Animal control officer's best tool? Dog biscuits...

Gumm is well equipped for his job as a King County animal control officer, but he keeps what he considers his most important gear stashed between the seats in the truck's cab: a bag of dog biscuits. "We may have to yell at the owners," Gumm said one morning last week, "but the dogs get the biscuits."   Read more...

Dog rescue group urges clampdown on breeding bull terriers

A dog rescue group in the Lothians is calling for restrictions on breeding Staffordshire bull terriers to be brought in after reporting record numbers of the animals being abandoned.   Read more...

What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?

A 7-week-old kitten weighs about a pound; its veins are the size of vermicelli. So if you're administering a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital, an anesthetic agent blue as a summer sky, you'll probably inject directly into its round, spotted belly. If you have five cages of kittens to kill this morning, you don't have time to go looking for slippery little veins.   Read more...