Give the Delaware SPCA credit: When director Anne Cavanaugh was hired in February 2008, she promised to reduce the number of animals euthanized at the shelter, and she has followed through.
The SPCA euthanized 53 percent fewer animals in 2008 at its Stanton and Georgetown shelters than in did in 2007. In 2008, the SPCA took in 5,120 animals and euthanized 28 percent, or 1,434. In 2007, 50 percent of the 6,130 animals the shelter took in were euthanized.
What changed?
In 2008, the Delaware SPCA's board changed its policy, agreeing to euthanize only animals with serious untreatable health or behavioral conditions. The board also lifted the time restriction on how long animals could be kept before they were adopted or faced euthanization. Now, some animals stay in the shelter for six months or more.
You see more scenes like the photo above of Ulises Lopez and Ana Orozco of New Castle getting help from SPCA worker Nicole Mancino as they considered adopting a cat at the Stanton shelter in February.
Credit Cavanaugh, who expects the shelter's record to improve this year, too.
"We are doing very well with dogs - only 10 percent of the dogs we took in were euthanized, despite the fact that we take in hundreds of pit bulls because of our animal control contract with the City of Wilmington," she said in a press release.
Cavanaugh says the SPCA is focusing on reducing cat euthanasia at its two shelters.
It all dovetails with a Delaware government emphasis to reduce euthanizations statewide. To pay for the spay/neuter program in Delaware, state lawmakers put in $250,000 and authorized collecting $3 from pet owners each time your dog or cat goes to the vet for a rabies shot. Your vet is required to collect the surcharge, and that money goes to spaying and neutering in low-income areas.
The premise is simple: Control the pet population - using spay/neuter - before cats and dogs breed, and you can make a dent in the homeless population.
In 2005, Delaware shelters took in 21,062 animals and 13,583 were euthanized. And before taxpayers and pet owners shout about a waste of money, consider this: In New Hampshire - after which the Delaware plan is modeled - the widespread spay/neuter approach there helped save the state's taxpayers $2.5 million a year in shelter costs.
13 comments:
Finally some good direction in DE.
For more information on reducing the pet overpopulation myth, read Redemption by Nathan J. Winograd. He has been on the Boards of small rural shelters and large city shelters and helped them become leaders ( and models) in "no kill" policies.....
It wasnt noted but should be that the Del SPCA no loner takes in stray dogs. Delaware Animal Care and Control located at the Kent County SPCA has a state wide contract.
Hooray for the new director! Now if only we could get more help for the stray cat population with TNR.
PhillyPhan - I believe that if you read the article again - DE SPCA is contracted to the city of Wilmington and takes in their strays, they also are used sometimes as a holding
site for animals picked up in New Castle County - when someone's
little terrier made the great escape, someone found him and took him there to be scanned for a microchip (which he did not have) but they kept him there and he was happily reunited the next day........I was there and saw it
done.......
Yeah, PhillyPhan - for not taking in stray dogs they sure are taking in a
lot of dogs -
The DE SPCA is also being sued for discrimination. No mention of the pending law suit has been made anywhere in the media - DE politics at work again.
Let's check the math. In 2007 6,130 in, 50% euthanized, 50% (3,065) went home. In 2008 5120 in, 1,434 euthanized, 3,686 went home. While there were 621 more animals adopted, the biggest change in the percentage they euthanize came from the fact that they took in 1,010 fewer animals. Since they stopped handling most of their animal control duties they have that luxury now.
Trust me the City of Wilmington is not happy with them and DEACC will be taking over the City of Wilmington next year and not by choice of DEACC. Its real easy not to euthanize animals when u dont take in many.
A good investigative reporter needs to do an indepth story on the recent changes at the SPCA - they are not all for the good of the animals.
Del SPCA may not take in strays, but considering the Wilmington contract and the amount of pit bulls as a result, I think they should be given credit for increasing adoption by 600+ animals. Various shelters across the state put in quite an effort with their Home for the Holidays campaigns, and they are also involved in the spay neuter efforts that it is crucial to continuing to lower the euthanasia rates.
There are always going to be negative comments about accomplishments, but maybe that blame would be better aimed at those that create the problem in dumping their animals. I'm not talking about those that find themselves in dire financial straits right now and may not have a choice, but we all know there are those that should have never owned an animal in the first place or had some crazy notion that they were going to make money breeding their pets.
I'd like to suggest all the nasty, ugly comments were written by members of other organizations in Delaware. Aren't we all in the business of saving the lives of homeless pets in Delaware? Can't we all just stop being so snarky and work together to do just that? I happen to volunteer with the SPCA and I've seen many many changes in that time-is it perfect-no, but show me one organzation where it is.
As far as taking in stray animals, it's a bidding process and Kent County asked for and won the contract. The Wilmington contract still belongs to the Delaware SPCA.
Since there has been no mention of a discrimination lawsuit against the SPCA in the news, how do you know about it unless a)you are an insider b)another organization in Delaware trying to stir up trouble or c)the person who brought forth the lawsuit?
Unless all this bickering and snarking stops, the state of Delaware is going to continue to have horrible killing statistics of animals who are perfectly adoptable.
Ok. So this shelter does have a lower rate of euthanasia. Wonderful. So they are saving money on Fatal Plus (the stuff used to euthanize and animal) but they are also not taking in just anything.
Every shelter that says that they are no kill either has a limited amount of animals that they will take in or they ship them somewhere else. I guarantee that whiel DESPCA's euthanasia has gone down Kent County SPCA's (who has the statewide contract for dog control) has gone up. You can make your shelter look wonderful buy lowering the rate of animals you kill, but that does not mean the situation is better statewide.
The credit should go where it is deserved. To those who play martyrs every day and witness the animals being caged, is a tedious task. All the kennel staff and volunteers at the S.P.C.A should be acknowledged, not segregated from the elite. They have the most important tasks. Showing love, feeding, cleaning, and grooming animals is a big part of it. Not to mention maintaining the mental state of stressed animals who refuse to eat or become sick from being kennel couped. Numbers and statistics, basically money, are important factors. When it all comes down to it, what is in the best interest for these animals? Rather than on an egotistical political scale of numbers and stats.
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