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Paws in Print

Fall 2001

The No-Kill Philosophy

Richard Avanzino and Angie Thomas live 1,800 miles apart and have never met, but they share a mission—saving the lives of animals. Avanzino is president of Maddies Fund, a private foundation in Alamedia California, which is spending more than $200 million to ensure that all healthy adoptable cats and dogs in animal shelters will find caring homes by 2010.

Thomas, a caterer, devotes her off-work hours searching the Dallas streets for feral and homeless cats to be trapped and sterilized before being released or placed in homes. As the number of cats she rescued grew, she banded ten friends together to create a volunteer group called KittiCo Cat Rescue.

Although their approaches differ, Avanzino and Thomas, as well as the Brookhaven Animal Rescue League, are testaments to the escalating national no-kill movement. Two decades ago, 15 to 18 million shelter animals were euthanized annually. Today, the number ranges between 5 and 8 million and is dropping, according to national statistics.

Each year, the effort to save more lives grows in numbers and strength. San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas, have no-kill laws in place. Utah is working to become the first no-kill state.

"I do believe we will be a no-kill nation by 2010," says Avanzino, who first gained national acclaim for his animal welfare innovations when he was president of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "What gives me this confidence level is that there is more collaboration between public and private organizations. There is also greater public awareness of the need to find homes for these animals."

Thomas never started out with wide-sweeping goals. She simply wanted to feed the hungry feral cats hanging around her neighborhood. That good-will gesture led her to make nightly "drive-by feedings" of homeless cats throughout the streets of Dallas. Four years ago, she realized her feedings were actually accelerating the overpopulation of cats. That’s when she began setting humane traps and taking the cats to local veterinarians to be spayed and neutered. Feral cats are returned to their colonies. Friendly cats are placed in foster homes until permanent homes can be found.

"For four years, it came out of our own pockets until we formed a non-profit organization," Thomas says. "I certainly won’t get rich or thanked by people, so why am I doing this? I believe I can make a difference in the lives of cats. I’m not trying to save the world, just as many cats as I can, one life at a time."

Her group now sterilizes about 250 cats a month, relying on public donations and veterinarian discounts to pay for medical treatments and adoptions.

Avanzino and Thomas prove that large and small efforts to save animals’ lives can succeed despite the challenges of time, money, and commitment. The crusade is difficult, but always satisfying.

Ed Sayres, president of the San Francisco SPCA, has spent more than two decades changing the role of animal shelters from places where homeless animals go to die to places of homes and second chances.

When Sayres began in the mid-1970s, there was little or no interest from corporations, veterinarians, the media, and the public in helping animal shelters save cats and dogs. Sheltered animals waited inside dark cages with damp concrete floors.

"Back then euthanasia was used as a tool to control shelter populations, and now public sentiment is that every animal’s life, whenever possible, deserves to be saved," says Sayers. "Cats and dogs are now regarded as viable members of the family. Shelters now have more support from corporations, veterinarians, and others who want to be part of the solution."

Sayres biggest challenge? Not trying to save the pet world overnight. "We first worked with the pet population we knew we could be successful with the least amount of resources and then slowly, as money and staff training increased, moved on to more challenging categories," he said.

Today the San Francisco SPCA is a model shelter with cats pampered in spacious mini-apartment featuring plexiglass show windows, outside views, toys, and furniture.

James Collins is an attorney and co-founder of Austin Pets Alive, Texas. He got no-kill laws adopted by city and county officials. "The reason there were so many homeless dogs and cats killed at our shelter was because there was not a political will to save them. One of the best ways to make political change is to show that you represent a community-based organization that comes to lawmakers with solutions that we are prepared to work on in cooperation with them rather than just problems. Plus, we encourage volunteers and don’t charge membership fees. It makes a difference when I can approach officials and say I’m representing 700 voters, not just myself."

Defining No-Kill

Leaders of this animal-saving movement admit the lack of a single definition for no-kill has created misunderstandings.

"The public often perceived no-kill to mean all animals in any condition. At our shelter, we initially defined it as any cat or dog that does not need any medical or behavioral intervention to be adopted," says Ed Sayres, president of the San Francisco ASPCA, which has not euthanized any sheltered animal it deems "adoptable" since 1994.

Sayres and others are now taking steps to expand the no-kill definition to include "treatable" animals—those that can be placed safely in homes after receiving medical care or behavioral training.

The broadest no-kill definition can be found at places like the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, or the South Texas Animal Sanctuary in Weslaco, Texas. Both groups care for animals whose age, disposition, or disability make them unlikely to find homes.

"The only cats and dogs we euthanize are those that are terminally sick and in pain, where it is an act of kindness to the animal to bring an end to its suffering," says Michael Mountain, outreach director for Best Friends.

(from Cat Fancy, April 2000)