If you are an animal lover, you view economic turmoil with extra concern as Louisville's four-legged citizens are at risk. When times are tough for families in Louisville, you know that pets suffer as owners struggle to feed and care for them. Some make the choice to give their pet to someone else or bring it to a shelter, while others irresponsibility abandon their pet. Others fail to have their pets spayed or neutered, which contributes to a glut of unwanted puppies and kittens.
Currently, Louisville Metro Animal Services has 250 cats and 200 dogs on hand, which strains its facilities to the max. Summer is always the busiest season at the shelter as new litters and lost pets swell the numbers. Thought the shelter tries to place pets with new permanent owners, relies on foster care, and works with rescue groups to find homes, Animal Services often has to make the tough choice to euthanize unwanted animals.
This choice is unacceptable to advocates of a No-Kill approach, such as the Animal Care Society, adoption agency a for dogs and cats. Recognizing that some animals are too ill, too vicious, or otherwise too unsuitable for adoption, ACS is committed to placing 90% or more of the animals taken in and putting fewer than 10% down - even if their shelter if full. The organization handles local pet adoptions and works with rescue agencies around the country to find "forever homes" for pets. To help make more animals adoptable, ACS helps animals improve their behavior. Since many people are unable to provide for their pets, ACS maintains a pet food bank, now open at a new location at Frankfort and Mellwood.
Adopting a No-Kill policy requires a serious commitment from staff and volunteers- and serious funding. Shelby County became Kentucky's first no-kill facility in 2009; animal activists would like to see Jefferson County and other counties adopt this approach to make Kentucky the first no-kill state. Currently, Shelby County shelters are above normal capacity; unless more people step forward to adopt animals, the county might have to euthanize some animals. As shelter spokesperson Bradley King notes, "We're out of spots. We're a county run shelter. We can't say "no" to animals being brought in. We have nowhere to put animals."
This is the same position that Louisville and Jefferson County find themselves in. The County must take in aggressive, abused, and neglected animals who bear the scars and behavioral evidence of their past. ACS tries to only accepts the most adoptable animals in good health, who have been spayed or neutered and are current on their shots, and who are fairly well-behaved. All shelters are faced with the task of helping unwanted animals, but county shelters must take in the ones nobody wants.
Despite the pragmatic issues involved in running a No-Kill shelter, there is a strong movement in Louisville to have the No-Kill philosophy prevail in animal management in Jefferson County . Louisville No-Kill has formulated a strategic plan to phase in this approach that would combine public education about pet retention and care, spaying and neutering programs, affordable veterinary care, with public and private dollars. Their goal by 2015? "Through the support and creation of programs and services, collaboration, and advocacy, No Kill Louisville will build a community where no adoptable pet or feral/unowned cat is killed."
Though Louisville Metro Animal Services does not currently have a No-Kill policy, they are very aggressive in promoting adoptions. They run specials to make adopting more affordable, plus have a mobile adoption program that brings shelter animals to local community events. Until August 5th, any dog over 40 pounds can be adopted for $1 per pound! All other dogs can be adopted for $9 (with a $75 gift card donation to a retailer that sells pet supplies).
The fees to adopt animals include spay or neuter surgery, a microchip to enable later identification of lost animals, age-appropriate vaccinations and testing, a Metro Pet License, and a coupon book to Feeders Supply.
At ACS, fees begin at $50 for kittens and cat and $150 for mixed breed or large breeds of dogs and begin at $210 for pure bred and smaller dogs. Even though the fees are high, the "prices" barely cover the costs of maintaining the animals and providing health care for the time they are awaiting adoption, especially for the less adoptable pets. The organization hopes that those who adopt will be willing to pay part of the costs of the organization's commitment to relocate animals to good permanent homes.
Until the city adopts a No-Kill approach, unwanted pets are at the mercy of the shelter who takes them in and to financing issues.
For a home in a pet-friendly neighborhood in Louisville, call me, Jessica Gaines, of Louisville Gaines Real Estate.
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