There’s a phrase that goes something along the lines of, "if you want something done, go ask the busy person." The meaning is pretty simple. Busy people are doers. If you want to get something accomplished quickly and accurately, it’s better to go to that doer than it is to someone who is not busy and who may very well lack the commitment and focus to perform the task. The busy person will carve out time to help because that’s part of who they are. In animal welfare circles,

We hear from a lot of advocates that their efforts to encourage shelter reform in their communities are viewed as “attacks,” as if the subject of animal shelter reform is personal and not about accountability. We realize that there are some communities in which a change in shelter leadership is likely the best way to reform a poorly performing shelter. We also realize that any form of constructive criticism, no matter how diplomatic, can be viewed as a personal attack. Fo

Last week we wrote about how the killing of savable pets in animal shelters disrupts and divides communities. As if on cue, and to prove our point, Pueblo, Colorado Animal Services killed a dog named Charlie who was, by all accounts, social, friendly, playful and who had rescue groups wanting him. In spite of all of that PAS killed Charlie. Understandably, people in Pueblo are P.O.'ed and are taking action. First, a new Facebook page, Reform Pueblo Animal Services, has been s

There is a common misconception about No Kill that is being spread by some of the larger animal welfare organizations: "It takes YEARS to get to No Kill in a community." Fortunately, time and again, we have seen that it does not take years to get to No Kill. Instead of taking years, it happens as if by magic seemingly overnight. Tompkins County, NY was a perfect example. As the Tompkins story goes, Nathan Winograd walked through the door of the Tompkins County SPCA on June 11

Note: The muzzle on the puppy in the above photo was added digitally. We would never do that to a puppy. As No Kill efforts around the USA continue gaining momentum, the old, regressive establishment is sinking lower in their efforts to muzzle No Kill advocates. In some cases their actions are simply disturbing and arguably Un-American. In other cases, they are violations of federal law. Before we get into the details we will say that it is clear that some people are so afrai

Redemption: The No Kill Revolution in America is the story of animal sheltering in the USA; how it was born of compassion and then lost its way. It is the story of the No Kill movement that says we can and must stop the killing of healthy and treatable pets in animal shelters. It is about heroes and villains. But, most of all, it is an uplifting and inspiring story of redemption, and of the people and animal shelters that are achieving record-level life-saving all over the Un

Anyone who understands very much about animal shelters in the USA knows that the state or local mandated stray hold period is a crucial factor in determining how many pets live or die. It is a vital lifeline for pets that end up in shelters. A simple way to prove this to be true is to examine the difference between how most animal shelters handle stray pets compared with those that are surrendered by their owners. It is pretty enlightening. Because mandatory holding periods d

Nearly every No Kill advocate shares at least one common experience: the moment they discovered their "friendly community animal shelter" wasn't so friendly. It is a lesson most people react to in very similar ways, generally following, nearly to the letter, the five stages of grief: First comes Denial, then Anger, then Bargaining, then Depression and, finally, Acceptance. To be clear, when we say "acceptance" we do not mean to suggest that when shelters kill healthy or treat

Words matter. And, the ones we choose say as much about ourselves as they do the things to which we attach them. Take, for example, the word "euthanize." It has become society's standard word for describing the ending of a life at an animal shelter, presumably, because it is done in a humane manner. Yet, ponder this: the best "state-of-the-art" method for performing this act is lethal injection. When we perform that procedure on a human, we call it an execution. Why the dif

Myth: Noun - A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology Meme: Noun - A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another Zeitgeist: Noun - The spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation In 2005 a grotesque news story broke about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Two employees for the national anima