By Beth Lazar
We just received a call on the Colorado Animal Welfare League number from a student doing research for a project in her Government class. She was asking to speak to one of our volunteers who was in charge of euthanizing the animals. At first I was a bit taken aback by the request. Why would anyone assume a rescue group would have anyone in charge of euthanization? After pondering it further, I came to the realization that this student either didn’t: a) read our website to see that we are a foster-based rescue group and don’t operate a shelter – thus no one would be in charge of euthanization; or b) maybe she just didn’t really understand the difference between a rescue group and a shelter.
Convinced that it had to be option b, it struck a chord that maybe many other people don’t really know the difference between shelters and rescue either and so I’m setting out to clarify this topic.
Shelters
Shelters are typically buildings that contain multiple kennels or dog runs as well as catteries that can house many unhomed animals at a time. Some municipalities operate their own shelters but many shelters operate as 501c3 non-profit organizations and are subsidized by contracts with local municipalities. These contracts provide for incoming animals picked up by local municipal animal control officers to be housed and managed by the shelter. Shelters typically offer pet lost and found services, adoption services, low cost veterinary care services, and animal surrender intake services for the communities in which they are located.
Subsidized shelters and municipal shelters are able to support a payed staff for animal care, operations and management which they also supplement with volunteers. The subsidized shelters typically have huge marketing budgets and receive large donations from wealthy benefactors and large businesses due to their visibility within the community. Municipal shelters typically operate within a very limited budget.
Unless a shelter is specifically marketed as “no-kill”, many of these large shelters will euthanize animals that remain at their shelter too long or that are deemed as unadoptable by the staff.
Adoption fees at shelters are typically low as the shelter itself operates primarily from subsidized government contracts (or the local government itself in the case of municipal shelters) rather than the fees themselves. Adoptions done through shelters appear to the adoptive family as easier because the shelter staff is less concerned with placing the animal in the appropriate home based on the needs of the family and the personality of the animal.
Shelters will typically receive animals from animal control officers, seizures in animal welfare cases, and surrenders from local owners.
While filling a crucial need due to the perception that domesticated animals are somewhat disposable in our society, shelter life can have an adverse impact on the personality of a dog or cat. Many animals will forget any house training they have after spending weeks in a kennel in addition to losing basic social skills from lack of interaction with people.
Rescues
Rescue groups were created by necessity with the intention of pulling animals targeted for euthanization from shelters in order to give them substantially more time to find a new home. Rescue groups typically operate as 501c3 non-profit organizations staffed primarily by volunteers.
Many rescue organizations operate by providing foster homes for the animals in their program until they can find the animal their new forever home. Foster care prior to rehoming a shelter dog is imperative to re-introduce the animals to living in a house, re-setting expectations for their behavior, and re-socializing them with people. Without this reintroduction to appropriate behavior, many animals that have been sheltered or have been living stray would be considered unacceptable by their new families and be returned to the rescue.
Rescue adoption fees are typically higher than those found in shelter adoptions because rescues rely on adoption fees and donations to cover their expenses which may include: transportation, veterinary care, food, vaccinations, and spay/neuter. The adoption process varies per rescue, but many rescues will have extensive interviews with the prospective adopter and some may require home visits prior to adoption to ensure the animal is placed in an appropriate home and won’t be returned into the system.
Rescue groups will typically pull animals from local shelters or may assist other local and non-local rescue groups by taking their animals into the organization. Some rescue groups are breed-specific and will only accept pure-bred or mixed animals of a single breed, some will only accept puppies, some will only accept pure-bred animals and some will help any breeds. Many rescue organizations will not accept surrendered animals direct from owners as they feel it is the owner’s responsibility to rehome any animal they are essentially disposing into the system.
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Although your article is appreciated, much of the information is incorrect or skewed.
Commnet one, The subsidized shelters have huge marketing budgets and recieve large donations from wealthy benefactors and large businesses, Incorrect statement this may be for the huge shelters in large cities, but certainly not for small community humane societies. Our budget was always thread bear with no marketing fund and the two highest categories in our financilas were payroll and animal care (medications, surgeries, vaccinations etc). And that was with staff making bearly above minimum wage.
Comment two: Shelter staff is less concerned with placing the animals in the appropriate home based on the needs of the family and personality of the animal. This comment is so far off base I am not sure where to begin. Our first priority is to place the animal the the best home possible for the animal and the family. A family that will make the fur baby a family member and keep the animal for the rest of its life. OPur adoption process included an interview, meet and greet with all family members, references and home check in neccessary.
And here is a thought, how many rescues end up having to euthanize animals because of temperament after not evaluating the dog and it has bitten someone two to three times, or attacked another animal. This is not reported many times but it does happen, Not all animals can be saved or adopted, that is just simply a fact today. Thousands of great family animals with great tempermenst are being euthanized because we are trying to save so many that cannot be turned into a safe family pet. When the “no kiil” facilities or rescues have no space and a waiting list, where and what does the general public expect open addmittance facilites to do. They try to choose sick and suffering or non adotable dogs to euthanize first, They run ads in the paper, they do what they can to get the dogs placed for a adoption with events and marketing. Many shelters work with rescue organization and have successful rescue programs. There is not a third alternative for the animals. Many many rescues that do not have foster homes board long term in kennels. No Kill shelters and rescues, for the lack of space stop accepting animals. Open addmittance facilites do not. Most are mandated by state law that they must take in the animal. So a small shelter takes in 7 animals per day, a large shelter 50-60 animals per day, ther is only so much space, so many animals being reclaimed and adopted or rescued.
The animal rescue community is asking the public to give us the answer. You dont want animals euthanized, then neuter and spay your pet. Stop puppy mills and back yard breeding and stop giving up your animals like you are trading in your cell phone.