A: Two things. First, the criticism of No Kill. Nothing was so unique about San Francisco that its success could not be replicated elsewhere, in each and every American city and county. The only difference was leadership. But instead of following San Francisco's lead, many shelters and their national allies went on the defensive. The “old guard”—the presidents and vice-presidents, the executive directors and the general counsels—ignored and/or denigrated the programs that made lifesaving success possible in San Francisco, while animals continued to be needlessly killed by the millions.

The second surprising thing is the shelters behave contrary to their missions. Instead of embracing the programs and services of the No Kill philosophy, they continue to kill in the face of lifesaving alternatives.

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