In Animal Sheltering B by Anna Cooke
uildings do not create No-Kill communities,” wrote Nathan Winograd in a recent blog post. “But, the physical shelter can be reflective of how committed the leadership is, how caring the staff, and how com- prehensive the programs. Not surprisingly, the
pound facilities in New York City are designed to warehouse and kill animals at the lowest possible cost. They are dark, dirty, inadequate, and unhygienic for animals. In other words, the buildings themselves are not conducive to the health or psycho- logical well-being of animals.”
Denise Deisler is CEO/Executive Director of The
Jacksonville Humane Society. She oversaw the design and con- struction of the $15 million dollar, 44,000 square foot facility designed by Clearwater’s Bacon Group Architects. The new shelter opened in November 2017, 10 years after a fire destroyed the original shelter. Established in 1885, the land the shelter sits on now was purchased in 1920. The City of Jacksonville became a no-kill community in a partnership between The Jacksonville Humane Society and Animal Care & Protective Services in 2014. Denise also serves on Best Friends Animal Society’s
No-Kill 2025 Steering Committee and leads the Florida lifesav- ing steering committee called Florida Leaders in Lifesaving. She implemented new initiatives that have contributed signifi- cantly to the community’s no-kill goal, and has spent the last three years traveling the state, developing relationships to put no-kill philosophies and best practices in place in other Florida communities. The Jacksonville Humane Society is funding the program as part of their strategic plan to help Florida. “I hope we’ll soon be able to add a comma and refer to it
as Florida, Leaders in Lifesaving,” Denise said when we recently spoke by phone. “We have the capacity to help other shelters and do more for the state. We’ve learned a lot while getting to be no-kill in Jacksonville in a non-judgmental and non-con- frontational way,” she added. The term ‘no-kill’ can be divisive even within the arena of
sheltering. “In the end, it’s about lifesaving,” Denise said. “Saving animals. It doesn’t matter which words are used to describe it. What matters is that it’s done. To get the trust and cooperation of the com- munities who needed our help, it meant letting go of some of the terminology that led to divisiveness and mistrust.” The team from Florida Leaders
These conditions exist in a city
that is one of the most cosmopolitan in the world and home to the wealthiest animal protection organizations in the country. In the state of Florida, thank- fully we are witnessing a trend in the designs of the new buildings being built. With urban renewal, many of the shelter properties are now located in the middle of commerce and nearby neighbor- hoods. The new building designs include a lot of open space for community gatherings. To remain relevant, these new buildings are meant to be resources rather than places to dump animals. Educating the public, especially children, on the responsibilities of pet ownership, the importance of adoption and community involvement are some of the goals and objectives of shelter leadership.
50 THE NEW BARKER
in Lifesaving spent two years working with Polk County. “Just to earn their trust to let us in the door,” said Denise. “I wanted Sheriff Grady Judd to know where his county ranked in the nation.”
In fact, Polk County is at the top of the list for killing
animals in the state of Florida, and sixth in the United States. Polk County Animal Control euthanized nearly 8,000 of the 15,000 pets they took in during 2019. “Polk is one of the ani- mal centers in Florida that struggles the most with animals dying in their care, but that’s a community issue that we want to help them with,” said Denise. “I also think Pinellas County is ready for a life-saving plan. I believe Friends of Strays is an amazing organization to work with and will greatly help the County with the process.”
www.TheNewBarker.com
A Paradigm Shift
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
