Veterinary Medicine - October 2007 - (Page 658)

Animal sheltering O P E E R - R E V I E W E D teers. In addition, the veterinary services may be performed by a full-time employed veterinary staff or by consultations with local practitioners when problems arise. Shelters are categorized as municipal or private shelters, rescue groups, or sanctuaries. There may be some overlap of functions, but there are also fundamental differences. Municipal shelters. Shelters that are under municipal control provide animal control services funded mostly by local taxes, dog license fees, and other specialized programs. Some municipal shelters are divisions of the city’s health, police, or sanitation departments, while others may be private agencies that accept the contract a major contributing factor to the high occurrence of disease seen in some shelters. Euthanasia is often necessary as a means of population and disease control, regardless of an animal’s adoptability. The public services provided by municipal shelters may include lost and found, adoptions, disaster relief, and nuisance, stray-animal, and rabies control. Increasingly, optional services are being offered to reduce the number of animals relinquished to shelters. These include low-cost veterinary care, such as neutering services; behavior counseling; training classes; and foster care. Many shelters offer humane education and summer camp programs that promote humane and responsible animal care by young people. ganizations frequently encountered. Rescue groups often focus on a specific breed or species and have programs that work with larger established shelters to find homes for animals that fall within their guidelines. Sanctuaries provide homes for animals that generally cannot be rehomed, and they often house those animals for life. DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS IN ANIMAL SHELTERING Animal sheltering has undergone enormous changes over the last 25 years, including an emphasis on reducing the number of healthy animals that are euthanized and making appropriate owner-pet matches. No-kill movement One of the most profound trends is the rise of the no-kill movement, which began in San Francisco in 1989 under the leadership of Richard Avanzino. The San Francisco SPCA relinquished its contract for animal control to instead work with the San Francisco municipal animal control agency to end the euthanasia of adoptable animals. This action had a far-reaching impact on the entire animal welfare movement. Many other animal sheltering agencies followed suit, leading to an often heated and ongoing philosophical debate about the use of euthanasia as a primary means of animal control. Open-admission shelters, which must accept every animal regardless of the circumstances, felt a stigma was attached to them by the no-kill shelters, which often have the means and resources other than euthanasia for managing their numbers. Despite the rift in the animal welfare community, the result of the debate has been a concerted effort by shelters and communities across the country to reduce the number of adoptable animals that are euthanized by focusing on programs that increase adoptions and reduce relinquishments and the number of unwanted animal births. Maddie’s Fund The typical animal relinquished to shelters is now thought to be an adolescent or older pet. for animal control (e.g. ASPCA in New York City and the San Francisco SPCA before they relinquished the contracts back to the cities). In some cases, municipal shelters may raise private funds to provide additional services. For the most part, municipal shelters are open admission, meaning they must admit every animal relinquished to them regardless of the number of animals already in the facility or an animal’s state of health or adoptability. Some animals may be held for a long time because they are involved in court cases, while others may be held for just a few days. Municipal shelters often must hold stray animals for a mandated period, ranging from two to seven days, so their owners may have time to reclaim them. The resultant overcrowding is Private shelters. Private shelters are often 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporations that raise funds from the public to provide services. Because they often do not have the contract for animal control, private shelters may be limitedadmission or no-kill, meaning that they do not use euthanasia as a primary means of population or disease control. Private shelters can simply close their doors to alleviate overcrowding or control disease spread. Private shelters that do not have animal control functions tend to focus on adoption and neutering services as well as humane education, animal behavior programs, and community projects. Rescue groups and sanctuaries. Rescue groups and sanctuaries round out the array of animal sheltering or- 658 October 2007 VETERINARY MEDICINE

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Veterinary Medicine - October 2007

Veterinary Medicine - October 2007 Contents Leading Off The Veterinary Medicine Interview: Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald Toxicology Brief Idea Exchange Animal Sheltering in the United States: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow The Euthanasia Problem Offer Basic Behavior Counseling for Every Pet at Every Visit Promote and Perform Early Spaying and Neutering Assist Owners in Selecting the Best Pets for their Lifestyles Champion Animal Welfare in Your Community CE Form Product Review Advertiser Index Marketplace/Classifieds Mind Over Miller

Veterinary Medicine - October 2007

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