Monday, December 30, 2013

Ask Your Local Shelter to Join No-Kill Mondays


It would be wonderful if all animal shelters were no-kill, but this concept has unfortunately not been implemented yet. Think of the lives that could be saved if shelters stopped euthanizing for just one day of the week. AnimalsVote.org has asked 2,500 shelters across the United States to stop the killing of dogs and cats for just one day of the week by joining their "No-Kill Mondays".

The program started on Monday, December 23rd and is ongoing for all Mondays throughout the year. I'm quite shocked at the number of shelters who declined joining this event. Out of 2,500 shelters who were invited to join the initiative, only 41 shelters agreed. 587 shelters said that they would not stop euthanizing pets one day of the week. The rest have not replied yet.


"Some progressive shelters in the US have taken a no-kill approach to managing pet overpopulation, many still see killing as a necessity, not an option,” explains Alex Aliksanyan, founder of AnimalsVote. “No-Kill Mondays is the first step to showing these shelters that there is another way - a peaceful way.” 

Photo via Dave Parker on Flickr

An estimated 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized in animal shelters each year. That comes down to about 11,000 pets euthanized each day. Research shows that an animal's chances of living increase each day they remain in a shelter. By stopping euthanasia for just one day, No-Kill Mondays could help save many lives. 

If you are interested in seeing the list of shelters who have agreed to join No-Kill Mondays, click here to visit AnimalsVote.org. The list of shelters who said no are also on the list. 

If you'd like to help convince your shelter to join this initiative, just find their name on the list (if they said no) and there is an option for you to send them a message and ask them to join No-Kill Mondays. 

37 comments:

  1. *´¨)
    ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ Have a Blessed and Prosperous New Year!

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  2. That is a great idea! My local shelter here in the UK is a no-kill shelter and that is why we support it, but it would be wonderful if they could all be like that. And also that there were more TNRs. x

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  3. We agree with Austin. We hope by just doing that for one day they may rethink their policy.
    Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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    1. I think that's a good idea Molly. Maybe they will see the difference!

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  4. The shelter in our area is a no kill shelter, so we are covered, but this is a great idea!

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    1. That is good Emma. There are a lot of great rescues and no-kill shelters in Austin. I think it's the largest, or close to it, no-kill city in the US. But don't quote me on that because I might be wrong... I live just outside of Austin in Round Rock and our shelter is a kill shelter. But I think they do their best to not euthanize.

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  5. We haven't heard about this program. Our local shelter is no kill but we wish all would adopt that policy.

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  6. Yes, that is terrific and we hope it leads to more no-kill days!

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  7. This is fabulous Ann! Definitely sharing! I'm a firm believer in No-Kill!

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  8. What a good start to changing the world. Lee and Phod

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  9. Very good idea!!!
    My local shelter is a no kill shelter....thankfully!
    Hope you had a great Christmas!
    Wishing you a happy new year!!
    ((husky hugz))
    "love is being owned by a husky"

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    1. Thanks guys! Glad that your shelter is no kill. Sounds like lots of people have one in their area, so that's a good thing :)

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  10. I believe all of the shelters in the Chicago area are either no-kill or low kill, the only one not is the Cook County Animal Control facility, where many shelters pull from. No kill for one day of course is important, but the problem is too many animals which needs to be stopped through spay and neuter education. Love Dolly

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    1. Hi Dolly! I'm also in Chicago and left a similar comment! I've been looking for Chicago bloggers. Nice to meet you!

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    2. Very true Miss Dolly. There are SO many people out there who still do not understand the importance of spaying/neutering. I believe most of the shelters around here are also no-kill, or very low-kill in Round Rock anyways.

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  11. What a great idea. This website, however, doesn't make it easy to find my shelter to see if they have been contacted or not. Having to scroll through 500+ that said no is too tedious. How have you all been able to find information on this site for your local shelters?

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    1. They seem to be alphabetically ordered by state I believe.

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  12. R shelter iza no kill...we hope thiz eye dea catches on....

    hope yur holly days were good two guys !

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    1. Same here Tabbies. Thanks and hope you guys have a happy new year!

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  13. This is an awesome idea. Luckily, in Chicago it seems we have a lot of no-kill, but I hope this spreads everywhere!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by :) Glad that Chicago has mostly no-kill shelters.

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  14. How sad :( I'm hoping that the new year will make them rethink.

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  15. It would be nice if all shelters could be no kill, but I am not sure how practical it is. Around here, the no kill shelters send their unadoptable animals to the local Humane Society for euthanasia. That way they can claim to be no-kill and some one else does the dirty work.

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    1. I'm sure there are plenty of shelters who do that sort of thing. But because an animal's chance of being adopted increases each day they stay in the shelter, perhaps stopping euthanasia just one day a week could help a few animals out there.

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  16. Thankfully, our local shelter (PAWS) is no-kill. We hope many more shelters will come to see that a no-kill nation is possible.

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    1. I am so glad that PAWS is no-kill :) Thank you for the time you spend helping out over there!

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  17. It is interesting what you say about an animals chances of living increases the longer they stay in the shelter. I have a vet friend who now works for one of our shelters and is responsible for implementing strategies to help anxious dogs. The whole shelter experience is so dramatically different from living with a family, and even the most lovely dog will be petrified by the noise, the isolation and the smells. Those that become cage-guarders or bark a lot, likely are euthanased without much of a second thought, but these dogs could be fine in a normal home environment with a foster carer.
    My own little dog has numerous health problems (and some might say, some personality problems too), and would not last an hour in a shelter...it is sad to think what might have happened to him if we hadn't found each other.
    This is a great initiative!

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    1. My dog also wouldn't last in a shelter I'm sure... what you say reminds me of our cat that we adopted last Spring. She was for our barn and came from the shelter's feral barn cat program. Although, she had previously been someone's pet. The shelter gave her to me because she was so "mean" and deemed unadoptable. Becoming a barn cat was her only option for survival there. It took time, but she became an extremely friendly and sweet kitty within a few months. Her transformation was amazing!

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  18. I like the idea of this, however, I agree with 2browndawgs - I know of "no-kill" shelters who send their "unadoptable" dogs to other shelters to be euthanized so they can say they are no kill. Most of the shelters in my area are "kill" shelters, though "low kill." The shelter where we adopted Jeffie and Rosie is truly no kill, however they have some dogs there who have been there for years and years. Though I'm not a supporter of euthanasia, I'm also not a supporter of a dog spending its whole life in a cage. Sigh... it is an imperfect world and I certainly don't have all the answers. Sharing your post.

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    1. I know what you mean Sue. There may not be a good answer to this problem just like so many other things in our world. Thank you for sharing!

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  19. Thank you all for supporting our No Kill Mondays initiative! We have found terrible misuse of the marquee word 'no kill' by the shelter community! So many lie and mangle the spirit just so they look like 'good guys' and continue to receive funding. I can guarantee you that many, many of the shelters that claim to be 'no kill' are anything but. If you get a chance please read the article http://www.animalsvote.org/article.jsp?ArticleID=17089.

    Thank you again, most of all to you Ann!!!

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    1. Thank you Alex for stopping by and commenting. It was my pleasure to share this important issue.

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