There is a pervasive defense for killing healthy and treatable animals from regressive shelters and it’s an outright lie. In a recent quote from the Denver Animal Shelter, they said: “No kills have the luxury to pick and choose what animals come into their system. Our door’s open. We serve the most vulnerable animals in the community,” That is a lie and when the shelters strive to discredit No Kill with this nonsense you must call it out. In the past I have said, they are either ignorant or lying. That time has passed. There is a Colorado No Kill open-admission shelter saving ALL healthy and treatable animals entering its shelter for nine years. There are multiple shelters in Colorado saving every healthy and treatable pet and they ARE open admission. But I want to introduce you to the Humane Society of Fremont County.
Find No Kill shelters in your community when calling this out in your local advocacy.
Before Doug Rae entered the shelter in 2014 - 1 in 2 animals entering the shelter could not expect to leave alive. If the shelter hadn’t skewed numbers by transfers in from other states it would have been even lower. The HSFC saved more than 94% of the animals in the shelter starting the day Doug took the reins. And as high as 99% on an annual basis. Since 2014, HSFC has never looked back.
Because of Mr. Rae, his staff, and volunteers, HSFC has been the most successful open-admission shelter in the state. Because of their work, thousands of animals were saved over the last ten years. If regressive shelters in Colorado were to look and model their own to the HSFC culture of lifesaving – Colorado would be a No Kill state overnight.
And HSFC is not the only one doing the job out there, other shelters are as well. Ironically, it is the large well-funded shelters in this state opposing lifesaving programs and services.
Don’t believe the lie when you see it and do not let it go unchallenged. You have a clear example here in Colorado of a No Kill Open admission shelter.
It can’t be impossible it if exists.
