No Kill Shelter? Maybe in 5 years.

Adoptions rise as cities, shelters form partnerships to reduce euthanasia.

By Kim Campbell Thornton msnbc.com contributor updated 5:59 a.m. PT, Thurs., July 9, 2009

When the Richmond SPCA in Virginia announced plans to become a no-kill animal shelter beginning in 2002, there was one thing that CEO Robin Starr didn’t expect: vocal opposition from local rescue groups. Opponents argued that the change would mean a disproportionate amount of unadoptable animals would end up at the city’s animal control shelter — possibly leading to more. “It was sort of like we did a really good job of euthanizing animals, and it was our job, and we needed to see it as our place,” Starr said. “I just didn’t accept the notion that we were derelict in our duty if we didn’t kill animals.” So the Richmond SPCA, a private organization, entered into a partnership with Richmond Animal Care and Control, the city’s shelter, with the joint goal of ending the killing of healthy, homeless animals in the community.

The Richmond SPCA began limiting the animals it accepted, opened a spay/neuter clinic, implemented a foster care network and instituted new programs emphasizing adoption and responsible pet ownership. Richmond SPCA also created programs to help pets remain with their owners, including a pet food bank and animal behavior-training classes. Richmond Animal Care and Control, in turn, pledged to focus on public safety issues. By 2006, two years ahead of schedule, the partners had achieved their goal: an adoption rate of 75 percent or more, with no more healthy but homeless animal dying in the city. That’s up from a save rate of 56 percent in 2001.

“We’re no-kill within the organization,” Starr said. “And last year, our citywide euthanasia rate, including all animals taken in anywhere as homeless, was 19 percent, which I think puts us within the top few in the country.” In contrast, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates that approximately 60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats entering shelters are euthanized each year, mostly due to a lack of space or resources to care for them. Animals still may be euthanized when they are highly aggressive, severely injured or have an untreatable medical condition, says Jody Jones, operations manager for Richmond Animal Care and Control. However, she adds, “we have not euthanized a healthy adoptable animal since 2006.”