Post by Brooke on Mar 4, 2004 1:53:12 GMT -5
If you want to save the animals, you have to work together
By Joyce Mullins
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Like it or not, we're in this together.
Conventional wisdom says too many unwanted dogs and cats are an insurmountable problem and the solution is euthanasia.
Usually if I see a "conventional wisdom" in my path, I regard it as a swamp where lazy thoughts go to die, but this is a huge problem. How do you think outside the box with this one?
First, you have to believe.
Believers are everywhere in Delaware and many live in Sussex County.
I could not call all of them, but here's a sampling.
There's Ellie Mayhew, a Dewey Beach Commissioner, who thinks there is enough determination and creativity in Delaware to develop a statewide no-kill solution.
The idea of animal sanctuaries where unadoptable animals can live out their lives after being spayed or neutered has a lot of support. Teresa Figgs, of Lewes, a co-founder of Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary, is looking for land.
Feral cats are among the most difficult animal populations to save. Trap/Neuter/Return (or Release) is a creative solution. Such sanctuaries are established here and increasing. Cats that have been trapped, sterilized and vaccinated against contagious diseases are released into a controlled environment. Alice Hendry of Milton is an advocate of that practice.
D.C. Brown, of Seaford's Homeless Cat Helpers also believes in the Trap/Neuter/Return approach and sanctuaries. She stresses that everyone who wants to be a part of the solution should become educated about medical protocols to reduce the spread of disease.
Kevin Usilton, executive director of the Delaware Humane Association, the state's only no-kill shelter, should be counted as a believer.
It's true the association limits its admissions to adoptable animals, but its mobile spay/neuter van performed 1,500 operations last year. And on the grounds of its 6-acre facility in Wilmington, there is a feral cat sanctuary.
John Caldwell, director for the Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the largest humane organization in the state with facilities in Georgetown and New Castle County, is not yet a believer. He calls the support in Delaware for the no-kill movement "an honorable mission," but thinks there's not enough money to change the status quo.
The Delaware SPCA can't do it, he said, because it has contractual obligations with the state. "We enforce all the dog laws and we are chartered for the prevention of cruelty to animals for more than 130 years," he said. "People bring animals to us and through picking up stray animals, we can't be selective."
For him, it's about the numbers. A budget of "$1.5 million to $1.8 million" last year that supported the adoption of 2,341 dogs and 1,449 cats and the redemption by owners of 1,343 lost dogs could not be stretched further. A total of 2,226 dogs (913 brought in by their owners) were euthanized. A total of 3,963 cats (776 brought in by their owners) were euthanized.
The SPCA does what it does with its budget pretty much the way it has always done, but it is taking one baby step toward change. Almost as an afterthought during his interview Caldwell said, "We're allowing some rescue groups to come in and take some animals."
It's a start. More change might require legislative change.
In the end, it's about more than believing. It's about working together for change. And it's not just about the money, but what you want to do with it.
The individuals and private groups with whom I spoke are believers. If they join forces, they could qualify for some serious financial help from one of the pioneer money sources for the no-kill movement. Go online and check out www.maddiesfund.org. Also look at the work being done by New York City's ASPCA at www.aspca.org.
Joyce Mullins has worked for newspapers throughout Delaware and in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. Send feedback and ideas to jmullins03@comcast.net
Originally published Wednesday, March 3, 2004
By Joyce Mullins
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like it or not, we're in this together.
Conventional wisdom says too many unwanted dogs and cats are an insurmountable problem and the solution is euthanasia.
Usually if I see a "conventional wisdom" in my path, I regard it as a swamp where lazy thoughts go to die, but this is a huge problem. How do you think outside the box with this one?
First, you have to believe.
Believers are everywhere in Delaware and many live in Sussex County.
I could not call all of them, but here's a sampling.
There's Ellie Mayhew, a Dewey Beach Commissioner, who thinks there is enough determination and creativity in Delaware to develop a statewide no-kill solution.
The idea of animal sanctuaries where unadoptable animals can live out their lives after being spayed or neutered has a lot of support. Teresa Figgs, of Lewes, a co-founder of Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary, is looking for land.
Feral cats are among the most difficult animal populations to save. Trap/Neuter/Return (or Release) is a creative solution. Such sanctuaries are established here and increasing. Cats that have been trapped, sterilized and vaccinated against contagious diseases are released into a controlled environment. Alice Hendry of Milton is an advocate of that practice.
D.C. Brown, of Seaford's Homeless Cat Helpers also believes in the Trap/Neuter/Return approach and sanctuaries. She stresses that everyone who wants to be a part of the solution should become educated about medical protocols to reduce the spread of disease.
Kevin Usilton, executive director of the Delaware Humane Association, the state's only no-kill shelter, should be counted as a believer.
It's true the association limits its admissions to adoptable animals, but its mobile spay/neuter van performed 1,500 operations last year. And on the grounds of its 6-acre facility in Wilmington, there is a feral cat sanctuary.
John Caldwell, director for the Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the largest humane organization in the state with facilities in Georgetown and New Castle County, is not yet a believer. He calls the support in Delaware for the no-kill movement "an honorable mission," but thinks there's not enough money to change the status quo.
The Delaware SPCA can't do it, he said, because it has contractual obligations with the state. "We enforce all the dog laws and we are chartered for the prevention of cruelty to animals for more than 130 years," he said. "People bring animals to us and through picking up stray animals, we can't be selective."
For him, it's about the numbers. A budget of "$1.5 million to $1.8 million" last year that supported the adoption of 2,341 dogs and 1,449 cats and the redemption by owners of 1,343 lost dogs could not be stretched further. A total of 2,226 dogs (913 brought in by their owners) were euthanized. A total of 3,963 cats (776 brought in by their owners) were euthanized.
The SPCA does what it does with its budget pretty much the way it has always done, but it is taking one baby step toward change. Almost as an afterthought during his interview Caldwell said, "We're allowing some rescue groups to come in and take some animals."
It's a start. More change might require legislative change.
In the end, it's about more than believing. It's about working together for change. And it's not just about the money, but what you want to do with it.
The individuals and private groups with whom I spoke are believers. If they join forces, they could qualify for some serious financial help from one of the pioneer money sources for the no-kill movement. Go online and check out www.maddiesfund.org. Also look at the work being done by New York City's ASPCA at www.aspca.org.
Joyce Mullins has worked for newspapers throughout Delaware and in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. Send feedback and ideas to jmullins03@comcast.net
Originally published Wednesday, March 3, 2004