I’m going offline for as I get ready for the No Kill Conference on August 11-12 in Washington, D.C. I look forward to meeting over 800 No Kill advocates from 44 states and eight countries. I look forward to hearing the speakers who come from shelters with save rates as high as 98%. I look forward to the shelter veterinarians who are pushing the envelope even further. I look forward to the animal law attorneys who are protecting the rights of animals and the rights of those who love them: volunteers and rescuers. And I look forward to the advocates who have succeeded in reforming their local shelters, even when those shelters initially refused to do what was right.
Learn more and/or register by clicking here. (Registration closes August 8.)
Just One Day
On June 11, 2012, we asked shelters across the country to end the killing of animals for Just One Day by putting down their “euthanasia needles” and picking up cameras instead: to photograph and market animals. 800 organizations answered the call, finding homes for roughly 9,000 animals, erasing one day’s worth of killing healthy and treatable animals. It may have been the safest day for companion animals in shelters ever.
Those participating included some of the largest animal control shelters in the nation. In Kern County, roughly 100 animals found homes. Houston’s shelter, normally closed on Monday, opened for the day and placed 231 animals. Miami-Dade Animal Services also participated and placed 116 animals. In Amarillo, Texas, the director of animal control reported, “The parking lot has been full since 10:00 this morning, it continues to be full. I’ve never seen so many people come out here all at one time, in one day.” Seventy-eight animals went home from a South Carolina shelter. Another shelter adopted out 94 dogs and 37 cats. Florence, Alabama had “amazing results.” Morristown, Tennessee did “huge” numbers of adoptions. Indianapolis did 83. At Williamson County in Texas, “[A]doption numbers reached well over three times the norm.” Boone County Animal Shelter in Kentucky saved 57 animals. Roanoke in Virginia reported 36 adoptions by mid-day and a shelter full of potential adopters. In an Arizona shelter, 88 out of 100 dogs and 28 out of 30 cats were adopted by 11 am. In another community, they ran out of animals.
On June 11, 2013, we’re doing it again and hope to do even better. Join the Just One Day campaign by pledging your shelter or rescue group. Registration will start for Just One Day 2013 on August 10. Pledge your shelter or rescue group.
Learn more:
Take the pledge: www.justoneday.ws
Happy Birthday to the No Kill Advocacy Center
This month, the No Kill Advocacy Center turns eight. From the No Kill Advocacy Center:
We’re celebrating a birthday… Ours! And we are asking our supporters to celebrate with us by sending us just eight dollars. In many ways, we are still a young organization. But we have accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. Despite a fraction of the budget of the large national organizations, we have done what they have not: ended the killing in communities across the country. Help us build an alternative consensus to traditional sheltering models—one which is oriented toward promoting and preserving life; an alternative which seeks to create a future where every animal will be respected and cherished, and where every individual life will be protected and revered. Please consider a birthday gift to the No Kill Advocacy Center today. In celebration of our eighth birthday, we are asking for just eight dollars. To make a donation in any amount, click here.
Friendly Fire
When animal lovers learn about the cruelty and killing that are endemic in U.S. shelters, and that national animal protection organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) defend the killing and thwart efforts at shelter reform, the first and the most logical question they ask is: Why? Why are organizations which are supposed to protect animals the biggest defenders of animal abuse and killing which occurs daily in our nation’s so-called shelters?
Exploring the historical, sociological and financial motivations behind the unlikely support these shelters receive from HSUS, the ASPCA and PETA, among others, Friendly Fire answers this confounding question while telling the stories of animals who have become catalysts for change: Oreo, Ace, Patrick, Kapone, Zephyr, Hope, Scruffy, Murray and many others.
My fourth book will be released later this month.
And Then There’s Kenny
Found on the streets of Oakland at just a few days old:
This little man stole his way into our hearts:
On Friday, August 3, he turns two!
When you live with a little cat, every box is a toy. When you live with a little boy, the boxes become a village and take over your living room. The Mayor of Kenny Town welcomes you.