Hello Followers,
Here is some background information about HOPE:
Hope is a very small animal shelter. There are around 50 cats and around 8 dogs up for adoption. Hope highly depends on volunteers to keep their organization running; therefore, it’s staff is are not highly trained animal care takers. HOPE also does not have much public media and is not currently well known in the Tucson Area.
The goal of HOPE’s organization is to raise unwanted animals in an “emotional and physical” manner, while promising not to kill any of its animals due to lack of space. This reason is why HOPE wishes to educate its audience about the reduction of euthanized pets. Since HOPE is a small, local, non-profit organization their audience is geared towards the citizens of Tucson. This audience, however, can be split into two different personas, or categories. The first persona audience consists of future pet adopters. The second persona audience consists of “pet lovers”: people who wish to help out HOPE by either donating money and supplies or volunteering.
So, why was HOPE built? Why is there a reason for this organization to exist? For starters, HOPE’s founders believe that animals should be “foster[ed] with respect”. They want no animal to be put down due to lack of space, bad behavior, or old age. They believe every animal has a second chance at life and should be raised in a healthy shelter until adopted by a family. Currently, in Tucson alone, over 30,000 dogs and cats are killed annually in various animal shelters. HOPE wants this number to drop. In order to educate Tucson citizens about the issue related to euthanized pets they built a no-kill shelter of their own. By doing this, HOPE’s goal is to influence the development of new no-kill shelters and persuade the other shelters around the area (and hopefully the state or nation) to do the same thing.
NOTE: All this information is taken from HOPE's website: http://hopeanimalshelter.net/
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A no-kill shelter is a noble idea and I believe that there is a place for at least one in every community. Because they are able to differentiate themselves from shelters that are not no-kill (double negative but better than calling them kill shelters) this gives them an advantage in obtaining donations from others who believe in the idea of never euthanizing dogs or cats.
ReplyDeleteThe costs of supporting a no-kill shelter may be much higher because they are more likely to get animals that are difficult to adopt. Health and behavior issues would have to be addressed where other shelters could ignore or eliminate. The length of stay for each animal may be significant which will reduce the number that can be accepted or require the facility to increase capacity.
I think it is unrealistic to think that someday all shelters would be no-kill. There will always be more unwanted dogs and cats then there are homes that can adopt. When 30,000 dogs and cats are euthanized each year in Tucson alone, one would have to believe that a large number of them were younger, healthy animals. Limited resources should focus on saving these animals first. A no-kill policy of any healthy animal under the age of 7 is a realistic goal.
This comes from Rene':
ReplyDeletei think HOPE will be moderately successful. there are no clear advantages to having a no-kill shelter besides the fact the people who volunteer in the shelter feel good about themselves for not euthanizing animals that probably would otherwise die. obviously having to take care of all those cats and dogs and never getting rid of them besides the occasional adoption will take a pretty significant toll on the shelter financially. the fact that they never kill any animals will probably catch up to them pretty soon money wise. no i don't think all shelters should be no kill centers. that's simply ridiculous.
1) I think HOPE can be as successful as it wants to be. It is always difficult for organizations that are just starting out, but as they gain a repute in the community and as more people adopt pets from them and spread the world around, more people will be willing to contribute. As far as advertisement, if they achieve a 501(c)(3) status to prove their non-profit state, many places will be willing to either donate ad space or give discounts. This also applies to many other things they might need. Having a few committed volunteers is generally easy to find, as I have seen this in many organizations that I have worked with. The extra volutneers can then be trained by these staff members.
ReplyDelete2. I think an advantage of having a no-kill shelter is the awareness. By going to this shelter, people will most likely find out about the statistics of the kill shelters and hopefully that will influence their decisions when adopting.
3. I don't think all shelters should be no-kill. It is unrealistic and costly. While in reality, having one no-kill shelter might not change the world, it will help in a small way and that is what counts.
This is what Coleen Defene had to say:
ReplyDeleteI am not a pet owner. This probably makes my opinion less creditable than an animal rights activist. I am familiar, however, with the shelter in my community. Without the support of a very dedicated bunch of volunteers, this "no kill" shelter would not have survived as long as it has. These individuals hold constant fund raisers and community awareness projects to ensure there will be food for the animals. (In fact, they are having a spagetti supper on Friday night.) They post weekly in the newspaper a pet of the week encouraging people to adopt. But there is never enough resources. I think that local city and county governments need to set aside dollars in their respective budgets to help these shelters. They do provide a much needed service to the community.