Pets’ Broward, a nonprofit organi-
zation in Broward County, has been urging the county to fund its No Kill Resolution. Of the approximately 40,000 dogs and cats brought in to Broward shelters every year, only about 20,000 get out alive. “Broward County is having a lot of
trouble getting everyone on-board with no-kill,” Denise told us. “And, they’ve had a no-kill mandate on the books since 2012.” There are three shelters in Broward
County including Broward County Animal Care and Adoption, Abandoned Pet Rescue and Humane Society of Broward County, which boasts a new, 33,000 square-foot, air conditioned, state-of-the-art facility.
COVID-19. People stepped up to fos- ter and to adopt. Many shelters, for the first time ever, were emptied. The solu- tion will always be in the community. Shelters will need to continue to rein- force the message.” She went on to explain, “People
space is becoming more and more important in shelter redesigns. Can space be re-purposed for education? Old shelters were temporary spaces until the animals were either adopted or euthanized. Today, shelters are changing. We’re now a place that some- body comes to if they’re having a prob- lem. Perhaps struggling financially and needing assistance with food or flea and tick prevention. Maybe it’s a behavioral issue they’re having with their dog that a shelter’s training staff can help with.” What is the next phase in ani-
mal sheltering? “Figuring out how to get that last group of organizations and communities on board so that we can save more animals,” answered Denise. How do we break through the
Denise Deisler, CEO/Executive Director, The Jacksonville Humane Society.
We asked Denise if she thought
animal shelters would ever become extinct, especially if the no-kill move- ment becomes an absolute success. “No,” she answered. “A whole new movement presented itself as a result of
number barrier of live-release numbers? “Cats. Cats. Cats,” answered Denise. “Cats are dying in shelters 2 to 1. There is not a lot of middle ground for TNR (trap, neuter, return) programs. Communities are either for it or against it. We’ve done a lot of campaign work with getting people to foster dogs ver- sus keeping them in the shelter long term. We need to create more of those programs and campaigns to save the lives of cats.” With regards to no-kill, Denise
added, “There is a middle place that we’ve yet to land on, but we’re getting closer to it. Certainly some communi- ties are doing it better than others. I dream of the day that we can become less defensive and be more about working together.”
U
The definition of no-kill from Best
Friends Animal Society: No-kill is defined as saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved. It means healing the animals who can be healed, treating behaviors that can be treated, and prioritizing safety and a high quality of life for both pets and people in our communities. No-kill also means reducing the
number of animals entering shelters through spay/neuter education and services, and increasing the number of animals leaving shelters through adoption and other programs that lead to them finding safe places to call home. When animal shelters and the communities they serve value those objectives, euthanasia is used only as a last resort, when an animal is suffering from an irreparable medical or behavioral condition. No-kill means that an end-of-life
decision for a pet is an act of mercy rather than one done for conven- ience or lack of space. When shel- ters and communities follow no-kill principles, every animal is recog- nized as an individual with a life worth saving. There are no quotas to be met or set number of animals to be killed or saved. Two defining characteristics of
a no-kill community are collabora- tion and collective responsibility. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, other government agencies and stakeholders, and community members, all committed to progressive lifesaving.
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