# Need information about animal shelters



## IwishIwasaDog

I've tried searching for this, but I haven't found any answers.

The shelter situation in America bothers me. Dogs are valuable to me, they simply aren't disposable. I want to know the honest truth, straight up, hold nothing back, about whether or not it is possible for every and any shelter to be no-kill. 

I want to learn everything I can about shelters. Where can I find information on what all it takes to run a shelter, about everything involved? I want to know how they operate, costs and regulations, how animals are cared for, what kinds of initiatives there are to find homes, how the screening process works; literally, everything.

I want to dedicate my life to taking care of shelter dogs, saving their lives, and finding good homes for them, so I can't thank you enough if you can provide any information.

My only real experience is one year helping at a small no-kill, non-profit shelter that was and is able to take all the dogs outside for exercise twice a day, give them all the food, medicine, and special considerations they need, hire professional trainers, and run fundraisers and adoption drives. My perspective may be skewed.

Again, thank you!


----------



## parus

The issues and level of need faced by shelters/rescues varies a lot by region. My recommendation would be to volunteer at the local municipal animal shelter to get a realistic picture of what animals are coming in and in what numbers.

For example, where I live if you take huskies out of the picture, there's basically no homeless dog problem...there's actually more demand than supply for dogs other than huskies. But failed/old/injured sled dogs and out-of-control housepet huskies are frequently neglected and/or put down. So if a person here were to want to get into dog rescue, their starting point would be obvious.


----------



## Keechak

I personally do not feel No-kill is the answer there are some situations where I feel it is best to put a dog down. 
Imagine getting a dog in at the shelter who is human aggressive with people and has a known severe bite history who is 2 years old. Is it better to let that dog live, knowing it can never be adopted out, never interact closely with people, and live the rest of it's 10+ years in a shelter kennel run. Or is it better to euthanize that dog, putting it down from a life of no social attention and little exercise, freeing up it's kennel run to take in another dog in need who may be more adoptable.


----------



## ireth0

It really is dependant on the area. In some places there are just SO MANY strays and dogs needing homes that being 'no kill' would have to mean turning away dogs en masse. 

I also agree with Keechak that sometimes keeping a dog alive for the sake of keeping them alive when you know there won't be a home for them isn't fair to the dog, or to the other dog who COULD find a home that the shelter can't take because the non-adoptable dog is filling up a spot. 

I also volunteer at a non-profit no kill (we only pts for severe aggression or medical conditions that aren't recoverable) and we are fortunate enough to be in an area where the dog population is low enough that we can do that. However, I recognize that not all places are able to do the same because their circumstances are different.


----------



## Amaryllis

Keechak said:


> I personally do not feel No-kill is the answer there are some situations where I feel it is best to put a dog down.
> Imagine getting a dog in at the shelter who is human aggressive with people and has a known severe bite history who is 2 years old. Is it better to let that dog live, knowing it can never be adopted out, never interact closely with people, and live the rest of it's 10+ years in a shelter kennel run. Or is it better to euthanize that dog, putting it down from a life of no social attention and little exercise, freeing up it's kennel run to take in another dog in need who may be more adoptable.


No kill doesn't mean never kill any dog, it means never any adoptable dog. Human aggressive or severely ill dogs are still humanely euthanized.

Yes, I believe every shelter can be no kill. Shelters in the northeast United States have to truck dogs in from the South to keep up with demand because a huge portion of the dogs in the NE shelters are pit bulls and it's difficult to rent or get insurance with a pit bull. California's shelters regularly euth Chihuahuas due to a huge population of them, but people in other parts of the country fight over the ones that come available for adoption. If we could sort that out, we'd have very few dogs in shelters.


----------



## dagwall

Amaryllis said:


> No kill doesn't mean never kill any dog, it means never any adoptable dog. Human aggressive or severely ill dogs are still humanely euthanized.
> 
> Yes, I believe every shelter can be no kill. Shelters in the northeast United States have to truck dogs in from the South to keep up with demand because a huge portion of the dogs in the NE shelters are pit bulls and it's difficult to rent or get insurance with a pit bull. California's shelters regularly euth Chihuahuas due to a huge population of them, but people in other parts of the country fight over the ones that come available for adoption. If we could sort that out, we'd have very few dogs in shelters.


That isn't true in all cases. The group I used to volunteer with has a couple human aggressive dogs who they aren't likely to ever find a home for but they aren't going to euthanize them either.


----------



## CptJack

dagwall said:


> That isn't true in all cases. The group I used to volunteer with has a couple human aggressive dogs who they aren't likely to ever find a home for but they aren't going to euthanize them either.


Yeah, I worked with a few rescues that ultimately just filled up with extremely ill and aggressive dogs that they would never find homes for, called them a sanctuary and closed. On one hand that's nice for those dogs, but - well, the rescue stopped operating as a rescue and that's not great.

That said: Their time, money, and mission. Rescues that are privately owned can do what they want.

I don't think it's anything but awful to villianize the open admission shelters that have no choice but to take any dog surrendered to them for euthanizing though. Private rescues have the power and option to change how they run things and decide, but those kill shelters HAVE to take whatever is surrendered, in any number. Blaming them for not being able to take infinite dogs for infinite periods is just crappy.


----------



## Willowy

It's really all about money. With enough money, yes, it would be possible to have a shelter/sanctuary spot for every animal in need. Sadly, homeless animals are not high on the list of donating importance for most people. But, sure, find a way to get people to donate enough money to organizations that actually care for animals and you'd be all set.

If you're interested in the day-to-day operating of a shelter, I believe Best Friends has seminars on the subject.


----------



## gingerkid

ASCPA also offers archives webinars on the running of shelters. I've only ever watched the ones specifically about dog behavior, but most of the webinars are about running a shelter/rescue and cover topics like foster programs, types of shelter animal housing, engaging the public through social media, etc. At least some (possibly all) of the webinars are freely available.


----------



## BDB

Hello I'm just joining but I worked for a animal shelter. I was a animal control officer and worked in the field and at the shelter. It was a very big county and shelter. The shelter had over 100 indoor out door cages in 4 buildings plus the main building. I feel we need stronger animal laws for each State and their Counties. The county I worked for had a good animal ordinance but still the shelter gets full every week on a regular basis. I think education, spay and neuter and maybe a license (like a drivers license) to own and strict regulations to breed dogs should be required. The animals when arriving at shelter for impound had a picture taken and put on Pet Tango web site for owners to claim or for someone to adopted or rescue. It is a very sad situation. Even with all the technology there are not enough people to adopted the amount of dogs and cats that end up at a shelter. Funding is also a big part. Most shelters and employees are the last on the list of a county budget plan. Please feel free to message me if you would like to know more. I did this line of work off and on for years and might be able to answer and give you helpful tips for what your wanting to achieve.


----------

