Not too long ago, county and city intake shelters were commonly known as the pound, and lifesaving for these animals in care was all too often not a priority. Thousands upon thousands adoptable animals were needlessly euthanized annually and shelters had a negative image of where animals went to be euthanized. Citizens and animal advocates recognized that this was not right, and things started to change for the better for these animals over the years.

Virginia has some of the best recording and tracking of animal shelter and rescue incoming and outgoing statistics as required by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). National organization like Best Friends and Petco have also emphasized how tracking this data can help direct resources and assistance to areas in need. Majority of the animal welfare organizations, shelters and rescues realized that by working together, and using the VDACS data, regions of the state that were struggling to save lives could be identified, and assistance / resources offered to improve outcomes. In 2019, the average save percentage for all Virginia animal shelters and rescues was 89%. While this is a great thing, many of us believe that we can do better, and as a state achieve an overall save percentage of over 90%. When asked, most would say that we should do everything possible to save these animals that are counting on us.

I have to believe that, like myself, people that work in the animal welfare field were drawn to it not for the great hours, or pay, but because they wanted to make a difference for animals in need. By this logic, every animal shelter should strive to save as many as possible and I would argue that if they arent, they are in the wrong line of work. So why have shelters that put a high emphasis on saving lives been vilified by some? Isnt saving lives of animals in need what we are here for? When I was hired as the Director of the Pittsylvania Pet Center I said that I thought through collaboration, hard work and community support, maintaining a save percentage of over 90% for our animals was completely achievable. I also said that we would not allow any animals to needlessly suffer, or adopt out animals that were identified as a danger to other animals or the public, and we have stuck by these core beliefs.

Critics of no kill shelters claim that no kill shelters are overcrowded, animals are needlessly suffering, dangerous animals are adopted out and the quality of care for the animals is substandard. This cannot be farther from the truth at the Pittsylvania Pet Center. I have also heard that we have a high save rate because we only take in highly adoptable animals and refuse animals in need of euthanasia by owners that cant afford to go to a veterinarian. The reality is that 50% of our animals received in 2019 were sick, or injured and we had several that needed surgery to save. We received over 30 puppies and dogs with Parvo, and over 100 cats/kittens with Panleukemia and Calici virus. We also received over 60 kittens in need of bottle feeding. While it is true that we lost several of these animals while being treated, none were left to suffer, and majority of the animals that were euthanized at the Pet center, were ones that were not responding to treatment, and we did not want them to suffer. Every life lost is mourned by our staff that gives their heart and soul to their job. Unfortunately, there are still shelters who will take animals like these in and immediately euthanize instead of trying to save them. We choose to take comfort in the fact that 95% of all of our animals received were live releases. As our outreach programs, foster families, transfer partners and community support has grown, despite the pandemic, our shelter population is actually lower than previous years and we are still seeing majority of our animals saved. We are your county shelter and we are committed to our life saving mission. The staff and volunteers of our shelter work so very hard to ensure that every animal received is treated as a member of our family, and we will never stop the fight to save every animal that we can. You can label us as no kill, but we are committed to helping the animals that need us and our community, and saving every life we can. Our citizens should expect nothing less from our shelter, and with your support, we will continue to make things better.

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Saving Lives Together | Opinion | chathamstartribune.com - Chatham Star-Tribune