Stop the Killing

Reprinted here with permission from the Tompkins = County=20 SPCA.

The Tompkins County SPCA is located in Ithaca, New York. Tompkins = County SPCA=20 maintains an animal control contract with the city of Ithaca as well as = all ten=20 townships in the county. The semi rural/urban county has a population of = 100,000=20 people. Tompkins County SPCA has a full-time staff of twelve, an annual = budget=20 of $616,000 and takes in approximately 3,000 animals per year.

On = June=20 11, 2001, I started as Executive Director of the Tompkins County SPCA. = Before I=20 shared with the staff my philosophy and approach to animal sheltering, I = wanted=20 to give them an opportunity to show and tell me their own, unencumbered = by fear=20 that it would conflict with mine. What were their views of releasing = feral cats=20 after neutering? How did they temperament test dogs for aggression? = Could people=20 who surrendered animals put in a "call before euthanasia" in the event = their pet=20 could not be placed? Should we release animals to rescue groups? I could = have=20 told them what I was planning, but I wanted to see where they were, what = their=20 experience was, whether they had experiences that were different from my = own? My=20 plan was to spend the first two weeks learning how they cleaned the = kennels, fed=20 the animals, treated them for illness, tested dogs for aggression, took = animals=20 in, adopted them out, investigated cruelty complaints.

On June = 12, my=20 staff informed me that our dog kennels were full and that since a litter = of six=20 puppies just came in, I needed to decide who was going to be killed to = make=20 space. I asked for Plan B. There was none. I asked for suggestions. None = were=20 forthcoming. My plan to be the silent observer came to an end. It was = time for a=20 staff meeting.

I introduced myself formally, told them about my=20 background and experiences, and shared with them my view of what it = takes to be=20 a successful shelter. Success, I said, is defined by how many animals go = home=20 alive, period. Of course, we want to make sure they are going into = responsible,=20 loving homes-anything less would mean that the animal would come right = back,=20 taking us further away from, not closer, to our goals. I told them that = hard=20 work was expected to make sure we saved them, but hard work was not = enough. At=20 the end of the day, everyone would be measured by results. The rest = would fall=20 into place: community support, new resources, and the programs that = follow. To=20 get the results, we needed the desire to succeed, the creativity to come = up with=20 solutions, and the flexibility to implement them.

As a former = prosecutor,=20 I learned in the courtroom that context matters greatly. That concepts = like=20 "truth," "guilt," "reasonable doubt," were often meaningless = abstractions devoid=20 of a clear, articulable concept. Who can forget the famous quip "if it = doesn't=20 fit, you must acquit?" Jurors can grasp that. So, without context, = "desire,"=20 "flexibility," "creativity" were meaningless abstractions, the kind of = jargon=20 batted around by self-help gurus. So I used the full cages scenario to = provide=20 context to these concepts: What will we do with the puppies? Should we = kill dogs=20 to make room? Do we have foster homes? Is there something we haven't = tried? I=20 got nowhere. "We don't have anywhere to put them." "We don't have any = foster=20 parents who would take dogs or puppies." "This is how we have always = done it."=20 Day two and my experiment with trying to build consensus came to an=20 end.

"Volunteers do not bring home a paycheck," I said. "They do = what=20 they do for the sheer love of the animals and for no other reason. If = they throw=20 up their hands and say 'there is nothing we can do,' I will accept it = from=20 them." I looked around at the blank stares. "Staff," I continued, "are = paid to=20 save lives. If they throw up their hands and say 'there is nothing we = can do,' I=20 may as well eliminate their position and use the money more = constructively to=20 either hire someone who will find a solution or for something else like=20 temporary boarding space at a local kennel. So, what are we going to do = with the=20 puppies that doesn't involve killing animals?"

And a solution was = found:=20 horse troughs for puppies in the lobby next to the front desk. What = better way=20 to showcase those little gems, keep a loving vigil over them while they = play and=20 sleep and ensure much needed socialization during their tender critical = period?=20 This simple change - giving staff responsibility for finding = alternatives to=20 killing - has since resulted in many such innovations, but the process = took=20 time.

The next weekend, 70 kittens were relinquished to the = shelter,=20 above and beyond the regular cadre of incoming dogs, cats, and other = assorted=20 animals (including 16 mice left out by our dumpster). As the humane = officers=20 informed me that they had just raided a residence and were bringing in = 30 sick=20 cats, I overheard one staff member say to another "maybe now he will = euthanize=20 some animals." Back to square one. I explained that killing for space = reasons=20 was no longer an option, and again, appropriate alternatives were=20 found.

Not all staff were supportive of our newly achieved = no-kill=20 status. Over the next five months, seven of the twelve full-time = employees on=20 staff moved on, eventually replaced with new co-workers who shared our = vision of=20 a no-kill Tompkins County. In the meantime, not a single animal was = killed for=20 lack of space.

Taking the Community No-Kill

How does a traditional shelter make a community No-kill? In Tompkins = County,=20 we did it with a simple, yet highly effective three-step process:

Stop the killing.=20
Stop the killing.=20
Stop the killing.

I am not joking. No-kill starts as an act of will.

On February = 6,=20 1901, the Tompkins County SPCA was incorporated and opened its first = shelter=20 three years later. For the next one hundred years, the SPCA would act in = the=20 primary capacity of pound master for Tompkins County, a beautiful rural=20 community in Central New York. Like so many shelters with animal control = contracts, the Tompkins County SPCA would rely on the fiction that = the=20 only solution to pet overpopulation is the "blue solution," and continue = to=20 blame "irresponsible owners" for the fact that so many animals would go = out the=20 door in barrels rather than in the loving arms of families. Like so many = other=20 shelters, it never once saw the killing as its own failure to find = solutions,=20 meet its mandate, or live up to the very real but often ignored shelter = credo=20 that "every life is precious." A new Board of Directors decided to make = a=20 change. It was time to take some personal responsibility.

Next = year, the=20 Tompkins County SPCA will celebrate its 100th birthday, no small = achievement.=20 But to highlight the centennial would be an exercise in elevating form = over=20 substance compared to the real celebration: the first traditional = shelter that=20 serves as an animal control agency that takes in every stray animal and = has not=20 killed a single healthy animal, feral cat, or sick or injured treatable = animal=20 since June 11, 2001. And that includes goats, chickens, bunnies, guinea = pigs,=20 and other assorted critters, in addition to dogs and cats.

I have = worked=20 for many no-kill organizations including the San Francisco SPCA, where = the=20 concept of creating a partnership between municipal animal control and a = private=20 no-kill agency was developed. Such a model is now touted as the way of = the=20 future. Unfortunately, the model not applicable in Tompkins County = where, like=20 so many other rural/semi-urban areas, there are no other shelters in the = community. Nor are there any prospects for one-small counties do not, as = a=20 general rule, prioritize animal sheltering for public funding. Like many = other=20 rural/semi-urban communities, the Tompkins County SPCA is the only = animal=20 organization in the county, aside from a few dog or cat fanciers that = also do=20 rescue. If we were to relinquish our contracts, the alternative would be = a pick=20 up truck and someone's barn. Dogs would be slaughtered by the thousands. = We=20 would have to find another way.

Over the next five months at the = Tompkins=20 County SPCA , I developed a flurry of programs to increase the number of = homes,=20 reduce birthrates, rehabilitate injured animals, and keep animals with = their=20 loving, responsible caretakers. We plead our case before the public and = asked=20 for their help. The result?

In 2001, the death rate in Tompkins = County=20 plummeted by 78% during our peak summer season, the number of animals = sterilized=20 prior to adoption went from 10% to 100%, we went from a dozen to 140 = regular=20 volunteers, and from a handful of foster homes to 196 during our busy = summer=20 months. And the level of community giving skyrocketed. What happened? We = went=20 from excuses to answers, from blaming to solving. We went back to the=20 basics.

The Keys to Our Success

There is no magic formula to saving lives in Tompkins County. We = started with=20 a commitment: to stop the killing of healthy and treatable animals. To = make the=20 dream a reality required accountability, services that get results, and = the=20 community's help. These are the programs that worked for us:

Volunteers. When I arrived in Tompkins County, the then-shelter = manager=20 informed me that it was her view that "volunteers were more trouble = than they=20 were worth." That view would be simply ludicrous if it were not so = disturbing.=20 We increased our volunteer core to 140 from about 10-by asking people = for=20 their help, and telling them what their help would accomplish.=20
Foster Homes. Foster parents are free to adopt their own animals = or find=20 homes for them. If I trust them to bottle feed baby kittens for four = weeks=20 around the clock, I am going to trust them to place them with loving,=20 responsible caretakers-after we spay or neuter them.=20
Off site adoptions. The Tompkins County SPCA attends every=20 neighborhood fair, grand opening, Church bazaar, community event, or = simply=20 sets up shop at corner malls, stores, and neighborhoods. Over 10% of = all our=20 adoptions occur off-site and the number is steadily increasing. Once = the=20 community began to learn about the lives being saved at the TC SPCA, = the=20 offers to help by hosting events began pouring in.=20
Public Access Hours. The Tompkins County SPCA is open seven days a = week=20 until 5:30 pm giving working people an opportunity to reclaim lost = pets or=20 find new ones.=20
Pre-Release Sterilization. No animal goes home unaltered so that = we do not=20 contribute to overpopulation or kill the offspring of pets we = ourselves adopt=20 out.=20
Work with Local Veterinarians. We offer free and low-cost = spay/neuter=20 thanks to partnerships with local practitioners, and get vastly = discounted=20 fees on care for our sick and injured animals.=20
Get the word out. The Tompkins County SPCA is either on the = radio,=20 television or newspaper an average of 20 days out of every month = without=20 paying for a single ad. Get those press release, events, stories out = daily!=20
Ask for help. Once you give us support, we will be unrelenting. = You can=20 say no, but we will always ask. And people generally always give. Ask, = ask,=20 ask. We speak at community groups and always end by asking them "to = support=20 our lifesaving work by opening your hearts and wallets to the needy = animals=20 who make their way to the shelter."=20
Treat volunteers and staff at the end of the day, but only for a = job well=20 done. Hard work alone doesn't save lives. Hard work, effective = programs, and=20 results save lives. Reward that!=20
Come in under budget on one line-item and one line-item only: = euthanasia=20 drugs. Fundraise and meet your line-items for the rest.

But the bottom line is this: we evaluate and treat each animal as an=20 individual and stay flexible. Too many shelters lose sight of individual = animals=20 as they stay rigid with their shelter protocols, believing that these = are=20 engraved in stone. They are not. Protocols are important because they = ensure=20 accountability from staff. But protocols without flexibility can have = the=20 opposite effect: stifling innovation, causing lives to be needlessly = lost,=20 allowing shelter employees who fail to save lives to hide behind a paper = trail.

Come what may, you are only successful if the animals go = home=20 alive. The number of children reached through humane education is nice, = the=20 number of volunteer hours amassed is nice, the size of the endowment is = nice.=20 None of it amounts to much if the save rate (the percentage of animals = going=20 home alive) is not steadily increasing every year. In Tompkins County, = by sheer=20 will, hard work, creativity and flexibility, this year 9 out of every 10 = dogs=20 and 8 out of every 10 cats will go home alive!

And we did it, not = with a=20 big shelter, not with lots of money, but with a commitment to stop the = killing=20 and the flexibility to see it through. It started with six puppies in a = horse=20 trough. Today, it involves hundreds of animals in foster care, hundreds = more=20 traveling to off-site adoptions, a coalition of breed specific rescue = groups,=20 local veterinary participation, and a community that has faith in its = shelter=20 and wants to support our lifesaving results. Is each life precious as = every=20 shelter tells us? Only if we believe that at the end of the day, every = death of=20 a healthy, treatable sick or injured animal or feral cat is a profound = failure.=20 And only if the shelter director acknowledges that the responsibility = for the=20 death is his or hers alone.

=A9 Nathan Winograd
Shelter Website: Tompkins County SPCA
Email: = winograd@spcaonline.com

Nathan Winograd is the Executive Director of the = Tompkins County=20 SPCA in Ithaca, New York. Nathan has been instrumental in developing=20 groundbreaking programs for feral cats for more than ten years at = institutions=20 like Stanford University and the San Francisco SPCA. Nathan has also = worked with=20 the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Greyhound Protection League, the Palo = Alto=20 Humane Society, Farm Sanctuary, Alley Cat Allies and the ASPCA. In a = former=20 life, Nathan was a criminal prosecutor