VIA Nathan Winograd... On June 11, 2001, I drove into the parking lot for the first time as the new director of the shelter in Ithaca, NY. I was met at the front door by someone with five kittens he didn’t want. By handing them over to us, in his estimation he had done his duty. He had brought them to the animal shelter and they were now our responsibility. For most shelters, this is the point at which the breakdown that leads to killing occurs. The current view is that killing the kittens is, in large part, a fait accompli, and that the fault for the killing belonged to the person at the front door. It was his failure to spay his cat, his failure to make a lifetime commitment to the kittens. But this view, while endemic to the culture of animal control, is not accurate. Thankfully, on that day, the person did not live in a community whose shelter still subscribed to those views. On that day, the Tompkins County shelter explicitly rejected the policies legitimized and championed by most shelters nationwide. Clearly, killing those kittens was not going to be an option. Not surprisingly, we found all of them—and the thousands of others who passed through our doors—homes. Of course, this discussion is not meant as a defense of irresponsible people, but rather, as a segue to providing a much needed fresh perspective on issues surrounding homeless dogs and cats. It would be ideal if everyone was responsible with animals in the broadest meaning of the term; but that doesnt mean shelters must kill until everyone is. Our animal shelters could be great, and the narrative that says that when an animal is no longer wanted, tragedy must necessarily ensue, could be replaced by the understanding that when animals need a helping hand, our society ensures that they have one. The infrastructure for this is already in place. What is lacking is the will to reform the 3,000-plus kill shelters across the nation. As long as we fail to reform shelters, millions of dogs and cats will continue to needlessly lose their lives each and every year. This Saturday, I return to Ithaca, NY, ten years after leaving my job as the director of the shelter there. Join me for a screening of Redemption, a film about the No Kill revolution in America which tells the story of Ithacas transformation to No Kill and the many others that have since followed suit (Ill also be in Buffalo that evening): - Ithaca: bit.ly/1nVfQ8W - Buffalo: bit.ly/1qVbrYl Photo: Its great to be alive! in Tompkins County (the old shelter). Five kittens rescued on the street and adopted through a shelter that made the choice to stop killing. All shelters can be No Kill shelters and someday they all will be. 22 cities down and only five to go as the No Kill is Love 2014 tour winds down. After NY, there will be screenings in Houston, Los Angeles, and Tallahassee.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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