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I have been reading Nathan J. Winograd’s award winning book, Redemption. I purchased a copy for myself and also got an extra copy of it and his new book, Irreconcilable Differences, for our local library. I had wanted to read the book for quite some time, but had worried it would be too sad or too negative for me to wade through.

The opposite is true. While the book does offer insights that are disturbing about animals being killed in shelters, the text is hopeful that we might some day achieve a “No Kill” nation. The book has also been an eye opening experience for me. I think I have been a bit naive about many things in the shelter and rescue world and Redemption has provided me with much that I find shocking and appalling.

It is still a sad reality that most of the cats and dogs that enter shelters are killed. And even sadder, many believe there is no other way. Winograd, who is now topping my list of heroic people (he admits, for one thing, to having 20 cats–very few people have the nerve to do that without facing a ton of criticism and looks of distaste!), created the first truly No Kill shelter in Tompkins County, New York  when he stepped in as executive director in 2001. He vocally points out what can be done to stop the killing of healthy cats and dogs including TNR programs, low cost spay and neuter clinics, foster relationships, and innovative adoption programs. Yet, still, in most shelters nationwide, animals are killed because these guidelines are not being followed and the mindset is there is nothing that can be done to stop the killing. Additionally, much of the blame for the killing is placed on the public. With poor customer service, the shelters push away the very people they must rely on to help them save animals.

Winograd, who started and is executive director of the No Kill Advocacy Center, places the blame for the deaths of millions of animals, not on the public as many shelters do, but on many of the larger organizations that could have been the leaders in saving our beloved shelter companions, but instead pushed for more and more killing as the only solution.

While I have never been a strong supporter of many of the larger organizations such as PETA or The Humane Society of The United States (HSUS), preferring instead to do my charitable giving closer to home by supporting our two local humane societies in Union and Madison Counties (both of which I want to acknowledge follow Winograd’s beliefs of trying to find homes for all animals), I was still disheartened to learn that neither of these organizations have been strong supporters of the No Kill movement. 

In fact, I had stopped supporting PETA in any way after I learned that they did not believe in Trap-Neuter-Return, the reason for Black and Orange’s existence. I have, however, worked with Nancy Peterson of the HSUS on feral cat issues after she emailed me and told me of the HSUS’s new focus on feral cats. The HSUS now provides informational books, pamphlets, and links to help those doing TNR in their communities. The HSUS recently got on board a few years ago about TNR and feral cats and now have a very nice site devoted exclusively to feral cat issues.

And now HSUS is also on board about No Kill. 

In a blog on Care2, Sharon Seltzer with the rescue group, Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary, writes about a change in the goals for the Humane Society of the United States. They now are advocating a “No Kill Community.” Read Sharon’s blog here: New Goal for HSUS

To read Wayne Pacelle’s blog on a new “No Kill Community,” in which he interviews Robin Starr, CEO of the Richmond SPCA, begin with: Part One, “No Kill: Q & A with Robin Starr, Richmond SPCA.”

You can read the follow ups in Part Two and Part Three.

Pacelle, who is the CEO of the HSUS, has met much criticism from Winograd. 

Winograd offers his view on Wayne Pacelle’s new take on a “No Kill Community” in a recent blog entry called, “Going Rogue.” Most of what Winograd writes shows the inconsistencies in what Pacelle has said in the past and what he is saying now. “Going Rogue” gives a lot of insight into the mindset of Pacelle and the HSUS.

I have to say, though, that I am thrilled that Pacelle and the HSUS are finally pushing for a date when all animals in shelters that can be saved will be. The HSUS is so large that once they begin advocating for anything, it is not long before change comes. And Pacelle, who I heard talk at the beginning of November, is a very winning and charismatic speaker who can be very persuasive.

I have often heard that no shelter can really call itself “No Kill.” What people always say is that, of course, shelters have to kill sick and injured animals, so they cannot truly be completely “No Kill.” Winograd is not advocating allowing an animal to suffer. He does say that shelters should do all they can to help every animal unless there truly is nothing that can be done. Our two humane societies are on board with that aspect. They treat heartworm positive dogs and mend broken legs and evaluate animals thoroughly before giving up on them. A No Kill shelter is one that only kills an animal for the same reasons that an owner would have their beloved pet euthanized. They do not do it for space, for convenience, because there are too many black cats in the shelter, or because they are “saving animals from a fate worse than death.” 

I believe in No Kill and helping every animal have a chance at a happy home. Now that the HSUS is on board with what many of the smaller rescues and shelters have always believed, I hope we will see the kind of world Nathan Winograd has pushed for.

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