The No-Kill Advocacy Center is promoting a new tool to save sheltered animals like cats, dogs and rabbits. They say:

“On behalf of our organization and our Rescue Five-0 partners, No Kill Nation, we are proud to present a step-by-step guide on how to reform an entrenched shelter which refuses to change with the changing times. In too many communities, animal control directors dig in their heels and continue killing in the face of a proven formula for lifesaving success. We want to empower YOU to do something about it. If they want a fight, we’ll help you bring it to them.”

To view and print the FREE guide click here.

Petfinder.com is asking you to do something very, very simple: Post to Facebook telling the world about a great shelter pet who shares, or has shared, your life.

They say:

* Post the pet’s name and story.
* Share your favorite memories.
* Tell everyone the best story of all: How you met and fell in love.

You can post any way you like:
* Make a status update.
* Share a photo.
* Link to a blog post or website about the pet.
* Send a Tweet to your followers (suggested Tweet below!) – Just be sure to tag The Shelter Pet Project in your post, or come over and post it to our wall, or both.

Such a simple act, yet it could encourage countless people to adopt rather than shop. So please take a minute and post a shelter animal story on your Facebook account.
If you don’t think you will remember to do it on November 30th, just do it now before you forget! You can also re-post it on November 30th!

(The word “pet” is used here to refer to the animals others might call companion animals, animal companions, furry family members, cats and dogs, etc. The word is NOT intended to support or condone the pet trade, including but not limited to puppy mills, breeders, breed registries, etc.)

“We have done everything humanly possible to save Oreo’s life; yet, as a result of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Mr. Henderson, or for other reasons we may never know, she has come to a place where she can no longer be around people or other animals. We make this decision—and others like it– with a heavy heart and a complete understanding that had she been treated with love and respect, Oreo’s fate would be much different.” – The official ASPCA statement about Oreo’s death

I appreciate the ASPCA’s emphasis on how Oreo’s abuser is far more to blame for her death than any other individual or organization, but I think the APSCA made the wrong choice. Here’s why the ASPCA’s decision to kill Oreo bothers me…

We cannot predict the future. So we shouldn’t act like we can.

Even people who disagree about whether there are “fates worse than death” can agree that we cannot predict the future with certainty. We can make reasonable guesses about the future, but we can’t know for certain if a shelter animal is better off being euthanized than being “warehoused.” Even if there are fates worse than death, we can’t always be certain that offering a painless death is truly mercy unless the animal is currently in pain.

The ASPCA “played God” by acting like they knew for certain what Oreo’s future looked like. They chose a course of action based on their limited vantage point. From their view, Oreo’s only options were isolation or death.

The reason so many animal advocates are angry about Oreo’s death is that they see hope where the ASPCA did not.

From the perspective of people who embrace a “no-kill philosophy,” there is hope for the future. Shelters can reduce or eliminate their kill rates. Healthy, adoptable animals don’t need to die. Even aggressive dogs like Oreo have a chance at rehabilitation.

In the world of foster-care for children, it’s said that a child needs twice as long to recover from neglect or abuse as the time the child spent being abused or neglected. Might it be similar with dogs? Might Oreo have required more than a few months to recover from her injuries?

It’s possible, some even argue that it’s likely, Oreo was not destined to isolation. After a year or two at a no-kill shelter with affection and boundaries, who knows what she might have been like?

Shelter killing is an expression of pessimism.

The animal movement is already fraught with so much sadness and grief that we’re desperate for hope. Burn-out in the movement is common. Stagnation and wheel-spinning is even more common. We need extraordinary stories of survival, heroic rescue efforts, and a “never give up” mentality in order to move forward. We need hope and optimism.

But shelter killing is giving up. It’s pessimistic and depressing, stemming from a viewpoint that has no hope in humanity’s ability for redemption. It’s giving up on animals and giving up on people at the same time.

The animal movement requires hope and optimism.

Killing animals will never produce hope and optimism. When animal organizations like the ASPCA, PETA, and the HSUS defend killing animals, it sucks the life out of our movement. Literally.

But the past is in the past. People can change. Animal shelters can change. Animal organizations can change. There is hope. The organizations and people who currently defend shelter killing may one day sing another tune. We shouldn’t lose our hope in their ability to adapt and change.

Let’s not let our hope and optimism die with the animals killed in shelters.

Let’s keep our hope alive by proving that shelter animals have a chance in our homes and our hearts. If you have the room, time, and money, please adopt a shelter animal. If you don’t have the room, the time, or the money, please encourage your friends and family to adopt a shelter animal. Visit Petfinder or AdoptAPet to find a shelter animal near you.

Beginning today, several humorous, meaningful Public Service Announcements will be hitting the airwaves across the country. Why wait? You can watch the commercials now and even find a shelter pet of your own at The Shelter Pet Project’s website.

The Shelter Pet Project [...] is designed to encourage pet lovers to make shelters their first choice when they decide they want to add another pet to their family.

[...] watch these humorous commercials at the Shelter Pet Project website, then search for adoptable pets near you.

I support the campaign because even though the leading cause of preventable death for animals in the US is slaughterhouses, another leading cause of preventable death for animals in the US is “shelters.” Programs like The Shelter Pet Project encourage and enable shelter pet adoption and can reduce that cause of death.

So, I took a look around the website. There were things I liked and things I didn’t like.
Here is a list:

• The TV and radio ads are cute, but seriously corny. In my opinion, they’re kind of annoying. I hope they tried a few options on test audiences and chose these because they work, not because someone with money or power liked them.
• The welfarist angle annoys me, but it’s probably pretty effective at actually saving animals’ lives, so the HSUS gets a pass this time.
• The website is graphic-heavy with flash. There are lots of potential problems with flash-based websites. Ultimately, even the most user-friendly flash website excludes many web users. Generally, flash should only be used for artists’ websites. Multimedia is great on the web, but only in limited doses and never when it becomes a barrier to the message rather than an aid.
• The “Pet Personals” section: The first time I tried it, the thing just didn’t work at all. I figured out that it didn’t like my zip code. When I tried again with another zip, it worked fine.
• I wanted the option to embed the videos and audio files here and on other websites. I wonder why that option isn’t available.
• The Q & A section is good. I particularly like that they’re text, not graphic, so one could copy and paste the info and share it with a friend. But an “email this” option would be nice, too.
• That said, I was saddened by the egg question in the Q&A: “Are egg yolks safe for dogs? Eggs are frequently found in commercial dogs foods or as part of a balanced homemade diet. They’re as good for dogs as they are for humans – which is to say, in moderation and as part of a healthy diet.” Ugh! To me, it reeks of  compromise. It feels like the egg industry had input in this project. Gross!
• However, I appreciate some of the other answers. The express my perspective exactly. Such as:
  • “It’s not the size of the dog that determines if she’ll be happy in fairly small apartment or house without a yard, but the age and energy level of the dog and the amount of exercise the owner is willing and able to provide to the dog.
    Some large and giant breed dogs are much quieter and both need and want less exercise than many very small dogs. Other dogs, such as retired racing greyhounds, need far less exercise than people think they must, and prefer to spend a great deal of time lazing around on the couch. Many older dogs – starting somewhere around 8-10 years, depending on breed – are couch potatoes and very content in small apartments as long as they have plenty of companionship and enough exercise to keep them from being bored.
    If a dog’s exercise needs, both physical and mental, match the amount of exercise her new human will give her – and of course, there’s actually physically room for her in the house! – almost any size dog might be right for almost any size home. Let the dog’s individual characteristics, and yours, be your guide.”
  • “A dog who is playful, friendly, and tolerant is a great choice [for a family with children]. You’ll probably want a dog who isn’t too small to be injured by a child, or too big to inadvertently knock him down or hit him with a happy tail wag. Many very large dogs are quite gentle with children, while some small dogs, mostly out of fear of being trampled, may snap or bite at a child.
    Take into account the age and activity level of the children, as well as the dog. A child who wants to play “dress-up” is probably going to be happiest with a toy dog, while another who wants to throw the ball and splash around in the pool is likely to do best with a retriever or retriever mix.
    There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to adding the right dog to a family with children, but there’s definitely a dog out there who will fit in just fine! Just be clear on what your expectations are, and work with the shelter or rescue group to find just the right match for your family.”

Have you seen the website? What did you think?

Here are my brief notes from the meeting in Vegas:

Good news:

• Most people care about animals, they’re just ignorant about animal issues. They don’t know what they can do to make a difference. It’s up to us to teach them.
• Pacelle predicts that greyhound racing is on it’s way out. It only has a few more years left.
• HSUS plans a big ‘adopt a shelter pet’ TV commercial campaign next year with the Ad Council.

Bad news:

• The animal movement has limited resources and is forced to triage. The HSUS can’t be everything to everyone.

Some of the issues that are important in Nevada:

• Animals in shelters: Vegas has a high shelter animal kill rate largely due to low adoption rates. If we could just get more people to adopt instead of buy, we could virtually solve the problem. Just a small increase of about 10-20% could fix the problem. More info here.
• Puppymills: This is a huge problem. There are tons of stores around the valley selling puppies from puppymills. We need to ban puppymills. More info here.
• Wild horses: The majority of our nation’s wild horses live in Nevada. They are being killed needlessly. There are new humane horse population control methods available that the HSUS will help promote. More info here.
• Veganism: Eat lower on the food chain and save animals, the planet, and your health. Even part-time vegetarians can make a difference. If everyone reduced their meat consumption by 10%, that would be better than doubling the number of vegans. More info from the HSUS here.

My thoughts:

• People: I agree that most people care about animals, they’re just ignorant about animal issues and don’t know what they can do to help. They get apathetic quickly and give up easily. They don’t just need education, they need inspiration, too.
• Vegan Education: I see vegan education and meat-reduction as hand-in-hand. Even purely promoting veganism, we inspire meat-reduction. I would love to see the HSUS get more involved in that, but I do think they’re making some progress.
• Horses: I think the wild horse problem stems from the shelter animal problem: it’s a perception that humans should intervene with nature, take control, and kill populations it determines are “excess.” We’ve simply taken the concept of rounding up stray cats and dogs and killing them and applied that concept to horses. The root of the problem is not lack of adoptions, lack of resources, or anything else. The root of the problem is an acceptance of the idea that euthanasia is an acceptable solution to these kinds of problems. We MUST reject the immoral concept that killing animals can solve problems. It can’t.
• Puppymills: Honestly, I think this problem could be solved in fewer than five years if courageous people began doing video-taped open-rescue at puppymills and posting those videos online. (It might require live video capture and web streaming ala JustinTV in order to ensure no interception between video capture and public education.) I feel there are enough dog-lovers to make this type of activism 100% effective at banning puppymills. Of course, I could be wrong. Make your own decisions.
• Reactions: At the meeting, quite a few people were angry about the HSUS’s decision to work with Michael Vick. Others were angry that the HSUS isn’t involved enough in local Vegas activities. Many people were upset the HSUS wasn’t more involved in their particular issue, be it cat and dog shelters or be it vivisection or be it veganism… It’s frustrating to me to see so many caring people who work hard to save animals’ lives feel like they need support from large organizations like the HSUS in order to be effective. Obviously, the HSUS is powerful and we’d all love it if they took on our specific causes, but that’s not going to happen. We can’t sit back and wait for large organizations to steer us in the right direction, we have to take action ourselves and demand attention for the animals. Do what you can for the animal causes you’re most interested and try not to step on other animal advocates’ toes.

If you want to attend a Town Hall Meeting, go here >>

If you have attended one of these meetings, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below.