The No Kill Advocacy Center

09/03/2024

The Evanston, IL, city council will soon vote on a proposed ordinance prohibiting landlords “from denying housing to renters just because they have a dog, including a pit bull.”

Legislation of this kind is sorely needed, as landlord-imposed pet restrictions in the United States are widespread. This negatively impacts adoptions, increases relinquishment, causes homelessness (for people and animals), and results in wasteful expenditures as renters must pay a premium for housing that allows their animal companions. The No Kill Advocacy Center has long called for state and federal legislation to ban housing discrimination for families with animal companions.

Learn more: nokilladvocacycenter.org/the-toolkit/the-pets-are-family-fair-housing-act.

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08/30/2024

This month, The No Kill Advocacy Center turns 20. And we are asking our supporters to celebrate with us by sending just 20 dollars: donorbox.org/the-no-kill-advocacy-center.

In many ways, we are still a young organization. But we have accomplished a lot. When we started, mass killing in shelters was the norm. Only one community saved healthy and treatable dogs, cats, community cats, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, and other shelter animals. It didn't matter if they were young, old, blind, or missing limbs. It didn’t matter if they were healthy, sick, injured, or traumatized. They were all guaranteed a home, and they all found one. Our director created that No Kill community and we have succeeded in replicating its success in communities across the country.

The nationwide embrace of the No Kill Equation — our proven and revolutionary approach to lifesaving — is responsible for a 95% decline in U.S. killing from its high point. It has been called “the single biggest success of the modern animal protection movement.”

Please consider a birthday gift in any amount: donorbox.org/the-no-kill-advocacy-center.

Or subscribe to No Kill Sheltering, our magazine for saving lives: news.nokilladvocacycenter.org/p/summer-2024.

08/29/2024

Today is the birthday of the late Henry Bergh. To those who have seen Redemption, our free documentary about the No Kill revolution in America, Bergh needs no introduction: https://youtu.be/UzKrVYbQ3UE.

To those who haven’t, he was a 19th-century animal advocate who incorporated the nation’s first SPCA and helped launch the humane movement in North America. After getting New York to pass an anti-cruelty law, he put a copy in his pocket and took to the streets that night and every night after that for the remainder of his life — to help animals and punish abusers.

The annals of the time describe what happened next: “The driver of a cart laden with coal is whipping his horse. Passersby on the New York City street stop to gawk not so much at the weak, emaciated equine but at the tall man, elegant in top hat and spats, who is explaining to the driver that it is now against the law to beat one’s animal. Thus, America first encounters ‘The Great Meddler.’”

Although he is not well-known, we and the animals owe him a great deal. Every humane society that stands up for animals, every animal protection group that gives voice to the voiceless, and the millions of animals who have been saved thanks to the efforts of activists and rescuers are a legacy to his life. Bergh was one of the first Americans to weave the ideals of animal protection into our jurisprudence, the American psyche, and the fabric of American life.

Happy birthday, No. 211, to The Great Meddler!

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08/28/2024

The Fort Collins, CO, City Council ”voted to end retail sales of dogs and cats” in pet stores. Under the new law, pet stores can partner with rescue groups and animal shelters to have animals available: https://bit.ly/3AAq2F6.

Pet stores generally get their animals from Commercial Breeding Enterprises (CBEs), commonly called ‘puppy mills.’ CBEs engage in systematic neglect and abuse of animals, leaving severe emotional and physical scars on the victims. One in four former breeding dogs have significant health problems, are more likely to suffer from aggression, and are psychologically and emotionally shut down, compulsively staring at nothing.

Such laws are designed to do three things:

1. Encourage people to adopt/rescue;
2. Educate the community about dog and cat (and rabbit) abuse in mills;
3. Stop that abuse.

And they work: the number of commercial breeders nationally has declined by 30%, and “Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business.”

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08/27/2024

Despite a national decline in intakes, some “shelters” are adopting out fewer animals and killing more. This is a crisis of pound managers’ own making.

Specifically, these directors have made pandemic-era policies permanent. As such, they are refusing to fully open to the public. Families who try to meet animals without an appointment are turned away. The result is fewer adoptions and, consequently, increased killing.

In a new study, researchers compared the number of dog adoptions when families were allowed to visit dogs without an appointment with the number of adoptions during hours that required an appointment.

Not surprisingly, allowing potential adopters to visit the kennels without an appointment led to an 82% increase in adoptions. This was also true of large dogs, which pound managers argue are the most challenging to adopt — and are often killed in greater numbers. Despite limited hours when people could visit the kennels without an appointment, those hours accounted for 83% of large dog adoptions.

This one change — ending pandemic-era closures by fully opening to the public without an appointment — will vastly increase adoption and significantly reduce killing.

Do “shelter” managers care enough to do so?

Learn more: https://news.nokilladvocacycenter.org/p/open-the-shelter-doors/,

08/23/2024

New York City taxpayers spent $75 million on a new shelter in Queens. And yet the animals are still neglected by staff, languishing in bloody cages with open sores, caked in f***l matter, with no access to fresh water: https://bit.ly/471XKQ8. It is not only a disgrace; it is a crime.

New York State’s anti-cruelty law, most notably Article 26, Chapter 356 of the New York Agriculture & Markets Law governing the care of impounded animals, specifies that,

“A person who, having impounded or confined any animal, refuses or neglects to supply to such animal during its confinement a sufficient supply of good and wholesome air, food, shelter and water, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.”

Likewise, Section 353, the general cruelty statute, makes such conduct illegal, regardless of whether it occurs in someone’s home or at a pound. Indeed, New York City’s 311 system specifically encourages reporting of such crimes, noting that,

“New York State law defines animal cruelty as a situation where a person causes unjustified harm, pain, or suffering to an animal or neglects an animal's care by not providing it with proper food, water, medical care, or suitable shelter.”

That describes conditions at its own Queens facility to the letter.

You can’t move staff with an OLD mindsight mired in neglect, abuse, and killing into a NEW shelter and expect different results.

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08/22/2024

Breaking: Lawsuit against CA pound that “killed more animals than any other reporting shelter in the United States.”

According to the Petition for Writ of Mandate filed in California’s Superior Court,

“The photographs above were taken by a community member visiting the San Jacinto facility of [Riverside County Department of Animal Services] RCDAS. What she saw was appalling — the dog in the picture on the left had been dead for some period of time and the dog pictured on right was laying on an excrement-covered floor with more excrement on the dog’s body…

“These disturbing photographs of animal cruelty are emblematic of the fundamental failings and pervasive deficiencies, the inertia and inaction, of RCDAS and its Director, [Erin] Gettis. RCDAS under the direction of Gettis is plagued with lack of leadership, mismanagement, budget opacity, disdain for the health and safety of animals in its custody, disinterest in working with the community and rescue organizations to place animals in homes, inertia in moving to adopt no kill policies, and a focus on killing, rather than saving, dogs and cats. This must stop.”

More information on the lawsuit: https://bit.ly/3Mh9pAY.

08/19/2024

Do you have what it takes to save lives?

Huntsville Animal Services in Alabama is looking for someone to run their animal shelter: https://bit.ly/4drW5Wn.

At its height, HAS was placing over 95% of the animals. The story of how HAS went from a kill pound to the brightest light in Alabama was the focus of “Not Rocket Science,” a book: https://bit.ly/4dQnbGx. Huntsville — the site of a NASA center that designed the Saturn V, “the rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon” — is nicknamed “Rocket City.”

Unfortunately, the former HAS director was not fully committed to the No Kill Equation, and killing rates increased. A new director has an opportunity to take the agency to new heights.

The successful candidate with a “can do” attitude, a passion for saving lives, and a commitment to getting results will have the community’s support.

Photo: Bermuda is available for adoption at Huntsville Animal Services.

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08/16/2024

On June 4, 2024, Chai, a brown and white ‘pitty-mix,’ was surrendered to Columbus Animal Care & Control Center in Georgia. The reason for surrender was listed as ‘no room.‘ After her family left, Chai watched the door, waiting for them to return. They didn’t.

Still, she was one to two years old and had her whole life ahead of her. And through the agency that is supposed to give dogs like Chai a second chance when things go wrong, she could find a worthy family — one that would give her the life she deserved. This was especially true for a dog like Chai, described on her paperwork as ‘affectionate’ and ‘playful’ and good with everyone: cats, dogs, men, women, kids, and strangers.

Unfortunately, that didn’t protect her from being killed by pound staff — and killed in a manner that was unprofessional, uncaring, cruel, and potentially illegal.

Our letter to the Mayor and Members of the Columbus Council calling for accountability and reform is here: https://bit.ly/4crVsdV.

Update: The veterinarian who defended Chai’s killing, including her killing by heartstick, has resigned.

08/12/2024

The first time many animals experience neglect and abuse is at the animal “shelter” that is supposed to protect them from it. That is certainly true for Casey, a puppy in Conroe, TX.

“The dog, who arrived at the Conroe Animal Shelter... with a severely mangled leg, was treated with what the shelter calls 'over the counter' pain medications and was never given an E-collar to keep him from further aggravating the injury.

“The puppy sat for three days in that condition and eventually chewed off his entire lower leg…”: https://bit.ly/3WZ0vxU.

The mayor promised an investigation but we know what happened because it has been happening for decades in Conroe and other pounds across the nation. We also know the solution, which the city has long refused to implement or codify into law: https://youtu.be/JCTt5JppNA8.

This is your animal “shelter.” The one that blames you for the killing.

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08/07/2024

“On June 4, 2024, Chai, a brown and white ‘pitty-mix,’ was surrendered to Columbus Animal Care & Control in Georgia. The reason for surrender was listed as ‘no room.‘ After her family left, Chai watched the door, waiting for them to return. They didn’t.

“Still, she was one to two years old and had her whole life ahead of her. And through the agency that is supposed to give dogs like Chai a second chance when things go wrong, she could find a worthy family — one that would give her the life she deserved. This was especially true for a dog like Chai, described on her paperwork as ‘affectionate’ and ‘playful,’ and good with everyone: cats, dogs, men, women, kids, and strangers...

“Unfortunately, that didn’t protect her from being killed by pound staff — and killed in a manner that was unprofessional, uncaring, cruel, and potentially illegal...

“[S]taff botched what appears to be six attempts to inject her with a lethal dose of barbiturates… before resorting to intracardiac injection — heartsticking her — a process that involves plunging a syringe through the chest wall and several layers of muscle into a dog’s heart. An animal killed by a heartstick feels extreme, severe pain (due to the amount of nerves) and then suffers a heart attack.

“To get to the heart, the needle would have to pe*****te the skin, body wall with costal musculature, costal pleura, pleural cavity, pericardial pleura, fibrous pericardium, serous pericardium, pericardial cavity, epicardium, myocardium, endocardium, ventricular chamber, and if the lung is pe*****ted, the needle must pass through the pulmonary pleura and lung tissue itself. It is so painful that Georgia law only allows it to be done when the dog is unconscious. (GA Code § 4-11-5.1(a)(3).)"

Read “The Short Life & Tragic Death of Chai”: https://bit.ly/3Aoasw0.

08/05/2024

They can call it “euthanasia” instead of killing, but it is still killing. They can call themselves a “shelter,” but when they act like a pound, they are a pound.

A shelter is a refuge, a haven. By contrast, a pound is “an enclosure maintained for confining stray or homeless animals.” To impound means to “imprison.” Act like a dog catcher, and you are a dog catcher.

And there isn’t a euphemism they can think of to enshrine into law that will apply a thick enough gloss to cover up the unvarnished and ugly truth: https://bit.ly/4dvzKGR.

Shelter (verb): to protect or shield from something harmful.

07/31/2024

Should someone “face animal cruelty charges after going against a veterinarian’s advice and refusing to euthanize her terminally ill pet”?

A Massachusetts court dismissed the cruelty case ruling that the state animal cruelty law does not include “an affirmative obligation to euthanize an animal loved and cared for by its owner.“

After prosecutors appealed, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the court and appeals court were both correct in ruling that “there was insufficient evidence of criminal intent.”

The Supreme Court stated that the Court’s “opinion should not be read to condone the conduct alleged in the complaint or take a position one way or the other regarding ‘complicated’ and ‘heartbreaking’ end of life decisions. Instead, we hold, on these facts, that the defendant committed no crime”: https://bit.ly/3LKDrgb.

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07/29/2024

Is a stray kitten a “companion animal“ for purposes of animal cruelty? The Ohio Court of Appeals says “No.” Now, the state’s highest court has agreed to hear the case.

“How to categorize stray dogs and cats as well as roaming ’community cats’ that neighbors collectively care for has been a question for Ohio courts. Next week, the Supreme Court of Ohio will consider whether a stray kitten found in an apartment building’s basement is viewed as a companion animal and whether a man who poured bleach and water on the kitten can be convicted of a felony.“

The abuser “was charged with cruelty to a companion animal, which has penalties ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony. He was convicted of felony-level cruelty and sentenced to nine months in prison. The Eighth District Court of Appeals vacated his conviction, finding the stray kitten didn’t meet the definition of ‘companion animal’ under the law. The appeals court ruled that Kyles could be convicted of the misdemeanor-level cruelty that has applied to all animals since the 1800s.“

“The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Ohio, which agreed to hear the case. The case has drawn national attention“: https://bit.ly/3LHZWCk.

The appellate decision harkens back to the 19th century when the abuse of animals wasn’t concerned with protecting the animals but with protecting the “property” of those to whom the animal was connected. Killing one’s pet was not illegal because a person was deemed to have the right to do what he wanted with his “property.” Likewise, harming a homeless pet was not unlawful because there was no property interest. The animal did not matter in either scenario. While not fully embracing the 150-year-old property paradigm, the Ohio Court of Appeal nonetheless employs a standard that excuses harm unless a person was also impacted. Hopefully, the state’s highest court will reverse the decision.

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07/26/2024

Want to reform your local pound?

1. We created 30 free step-by-step guides to empower rescuers and advocates. They cover political advocacy, litigation, legislation, media, and more. Like others before you, if you use the guides and do not give up, you can successfully reform the local pound: nokilladvocacycenter.org/toolkit.

2. You can also ask questions using our AI tool: nokilladvocacycenter.org/no-kill-ai.

3. You can purchase The No Kill Companion, a reference manual for running a humane animal shelter: amazon.com/dp/B0CS996W38.

With short encyclopedia-like entries, topics include:

- The definition of No Kill;
- Costs and benefits of No Kill animal control;
- A 2024 snapshot of the No Kill movement;
- Sample assessment tools and protocols for running a municipal No Kill shelter;
- Animal protection legislation;
- Primer on various shelter issues, including temperament testing, community cats, dog behavior, and more.

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07/24/2024

Do you have what it takes to save lives?

The following communities are looking for someone to run or help run their animal shelters:

- Longview, TX: longviewtexas.gov/2186/Human-Resources

- San Antonio, TX: affionpublic.com/position/animal-care-services-director

- Sante Fe, NM: leaderfit.catsone.com/careers/20424-General/jobs/16460026-Executive-Director-Espaola-Humane/

- Scituate, MA: scituateanimalshelter.org/

The successful candidates with a “can do” attitude, a passion for saving lives, and a commitment to getting results will have the community’s support.

Photo: Kai is available for adoption at the Scituate Animal Shelter.

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07/22/2024

After dogs died of starvation last January, and others were living in filth on the verge of death in the Marlin, TX, dog pound, residents called for the arrest of the Marlin police chief, city manager, and animal control officer who oversee the facility.

Marlin’s mayor promised accountability but failed to deliver. And a promised investigation by the Falls County Sheriff’s Office has not materialized. Sheriff Joe Lopez said that the dogs were not a priority.

This month, the city completed its self-investigation but refused to publicize the findings. Unsurprisingly, city council members announced they would take “no action.”

Thankfully, there is still hope for some accountability. The Texas Department of Public Safety confirms that “The Texas Rangers are currently investigating alleged violations involving the Marlin Animal Control Facilities” and that “The investigation is active and ongoing.”

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07/19/2024

Intakes are down nationally, but killing is up. If there is a crisis in sheltering, it is a crisis of shelter managers’ own creation.

To combat this, The No Kill Advocacy Center calls on communities to comprehensively implement the programs and services of the No Kill Equation and for legislators to force them to do so by codifying these procedures into law.

If this happens, dogcatchers would become humane officers, pounds would become shelters, and animals would live instead of die. Unfortunately, regressive national groups oppose those efforts: https://bit.ly/4bSXyDr.

I received this email through The No Kill Advocacy Center: Since 2020, when spaying and neutering were no longer essential surgeries, we have faced a nationwide crisis. Abandoned, unwanted, or the inability to care for pets is rising at alarming rates, causing euthanasia to rise at alarming rates. T...

07/17/2024

A Colorado court ruled that the Aurora City Council’s repeal of a pit bull ban was illegal and could only be overturned by popular vote. While the case is on appeal, the Aurora City Council voted unanimously to put the issue before voters this November. A ballot measure will ask residents to repeal the ban.

Unless the court’s ruling is reversed on appeal or voters repeal the ban, dogs who have done nothing wrong will be killed again in Aurora, CO.

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07/15/2024

People who feed stray and feral cats in Pottsville, PA, will face “up to $600 or up to 90 days in jail per offense” under a new law. In many cases, the penalty is higher than for those who neglect animals by failing to provide food, water, and shelter.

In response, the local SPCA wrote that it “was disheartened” by the new law and that “Punishing well-meaning citizens of the City of Pottsville is not the answer to this problem”: https://bit.ly/3XYgVrr.

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07/12/2024

A trial gets underway today in a Southern California courtroom over the San Diego Humane Society’s refusal to take in many stray cats. SDHS, which runs animal control for San Diego and close to a dozen other cities in the county, turns them away at the door and tells finders to release them on the street.

Although San Diego Humane Society argues that it will be forced to kill cats if required to care for them, it can become an “open admission” No Kill shelter by comprehensively implementing the No Kill Equation. SDHS takes in over $65,000,000 annually and has $126,000,000 in assets. Other communities have done it with higher per capita intake rates and lower revenues. The SDHS position also ignores that cats not only have a right to life, they have a right to rescue.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3zGT05O.

07/11/2024

What is happening in the New York City pound system? Why is cat killing rising, and why are they killing more dogs despite taking in roughly 8,000 fewer animals than they did pre-pandemic?

They reduced the days they are open for adoption, reduced adoption hours, turn away potential adopters without appointments, have cumbersome procedures prohibiting families from visiting, require multiple visits before adoption, and refuse to return phone calls from people interested in adopting.

Yet, animals are the ones paying the ultimate price: https://bit.ly/3zyg7zc.

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07/08/2024

“Starting Nov. 1, pet stores will no longer be able to sell cats and dogs in Fayette County [KY].

“The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted 12-1 Thursday to approve a ban on the sale of kittens and puppies at pet stores despite push back from two Lexington pet stores that sell pets.

“Lexington is the fourth city in Kentucky to enact a ban. Other cities with similar bans include Louisville, Elizabethtown and Radcliff.

“Those Kentucky cities are among 492 cities nationwide that have ordinances halting the retail sale of cats and dogs“: kentucky.com/news/local/counties/fayette-county/article289208064.html.

Bans on their retail sale in pet stores do three things:

1. Encourage people to adopt/rescue;

2. Educate the community about animal abuse in mills;

3. Stop that abuse.

And they work: nationally, the number of commercial breeders has declined by 30%, and “Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business.”

The Lexington pet stores announced that they will permanently close.

07/05/2024

The Summer 2024 issue of No Kill Sheltering was recently sent to members and supporters of The No Kill Advocacy Center.

The current issue covers:

- What dogs in shelters need to thrive;
- What cats in shelters need to thrive;
- Model legislation to protect animals and the people who love them;
- How to protect your animal companion from tainted pet food;
- Los Angeles runs a medieval pound where abuse and neglect are the norm;
- Meet the humane movement’s founders and the lessons they offered;
- And more.

If you are a supporter and did not receive it, contact us at nokilladvocacycenter.org/contact-us.

If you want to receive it, you can subscribe here: news.nokilladvocacycenter.org/p/summer-2024.

07/01/2024

Independence Day is a difficult holiday for dogs, wildlife, and other animals. The sound of fireworks scares them, and scared animals bolt. For dogs who then end up in “shelters” that have not embraced a culture of lifesaving, that can amount to a death sentence. Thankfully, there is growing awareness that loud fireworks lead to animal trauma, and communities are replacing them with silent ones or drone light shows.

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