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Last year, the
Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA -- an
open door animal control shelter in
Virginia
-- saved nearly 9 out of 10 dogs
and 7 out of 10 cats. They think
they can do better...
Until April 2005, the
Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, an
agency which contracts for animal
control in
Charlottesville,
Virginia,
was the target of criticism for what
some in the rescue community saw as
unnecessary killing. But then it all
changed.
In their search for a new Director,
agency trustees did not hire someone
with years of sheltering experience.
In an era which has historically
been dominated by reactionary
policies, "sheltering experience"
often brings a set mindset of “how
we have always done it.” In other
words, it brings an over reliance on
killing. Instead, the Board of
Directors sought someone with
passion for the animals, and
specific skills which could be
transferred to a shelter
environment. They chose Susanne
Kogut, a lawyer with a business
background. And the results have
been dramatic.
Kogut explains:
The Charlottesville-Albemarle
SPCA changed the way it operated
and began implementing programs
advocated by No Kill Solutions.
In 2005, we saved 87% of our dog
population and 67% of our cat
population, the result of
adopting the “can do” philosophy
of No Kill Solutions. We doubled
the number of animals placed in
foster care from the previous
year. We also treated and found
homes for many sick and injured
dogs and cats, as well as older,
blind, deaf or animals with
“special needs.”
But the CASPCA thinks it can do
better. Nathan Winograd of No Kill
Solutions applauds the commitment:
Most directors would be content
with saving 9 out of 10 dogs and
7 of 10 cats. But Kogut isn't
like most directors I have met.
She embodies the spirit of No
Kill which is always demanding
improvement. We just need more
directors like her.
So far this year, 95% of the dogs
are leaving the shelter alive. If
that holds,
Charlottesville,
VA will become the
safest community in the
U.S.
for dogs. As for cats, saving 7 out
of 10 makes them the envy of most
communities in the nation. But, once
again, Kogut wants more.
Saving 95%
As Charlottesville works to save
more dogs than anyone else and widen
the safety net for cats, the secrets
to their success are not hard to
figure out. And it starts at the
top. Nathan explains:
The first step to success is
often the hardest one of all—a
hard working, compassionate
animal control or shelter
director not content to
regurgitate tired clichés or
hide behind the myth of “too
many animals, not enough homes.”
Kogut embodies that, which has
made all the difference.
Unfortunately, directors like
her are oftentimes the hardest
to demand and find. But find him
or her we must. Because the
public wants No Kill, the
animals deserve it and if it
requires regime change to get
it, we must fight for that too.
Combined with a series of programs
and services we call "The No Kill
Equation," the City of
Charlottesville
is proving that when it comes to
homeless dogs and cats, we can do
better than the two prong strategy
of failure championed by the
architects of the status quo: adopt
some and kill the rest. We can, in
fact, save 95%.
To learn more about the
Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA,
click here.
Learn more about Building a No Kill
Community by subscribing to
No
Kill Sheltering
magazine. The current issue
describes the foundations and
framework for
Charlottesville's success, outlines the No Kill
Equation, gives you the top ten
strategies for saving lives, and
explains why some communities who
are sincere in their effort to save
lives are nonetheless failing
because of a fundamental
misinterpretation of how to achieve
No Kill. To subscribe, click
here.
To make a donation in any amount to
the No Kill Advocacy Center's quest
for a No Kill nation,
click here.
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