In a perfect world, all animal shelters are a loving place for animals to wait while their forever families find them. The shelter should be involved in the community, make constant efforts to educate the public, and fight dog and cat overpopulation. And they can do it all effortlessly, wearing blue spandex tights and a cape. And fight crime in all their spare time.
Right?
Well, the world isn’t perfect. No person is, and no organization is. So what important things could your shelter do (or try to do) in order to be the best they can be?
- Provide a clean and comfortable home for resident pets. That includes compassionate care from skilled people. Good hygiene. Available health care for the resident pets.
- Place the animal’s welfare first in the adoption process. Screen potential adopters. Follow up with adopters to make sure the new pet is working out in their new home.
- Require spay/neuter surgery for ALL adopted animals.
- Attempt to spay/neuter all animals in residence before they are adopted.
- Work to educate the general public about issues like overpopulation, euthanasia, and responsible pet ownership. Offer training classes, or direct adopters to local trainers with positive methods.
- Support adopters and all pet owners in the area. Offer pet bereavement groups, grooming workshops, and other interactive classes. Be helpful in finding lost pets when possible.
- Provide some form of animal control/abuse investigation. This may be done in partnership with the local police. Respond to reports of stray or injured pets quickly, or direct people to a person or organization that can help.
- Create a sense of community. Invite adopters and pet owners to participate in fun events and fundraising events.
- Euthanize humanely (if it must be done).
So what’s the difference between an animal shelter and a humane society and a rescue group? At the core, any and all of these groups are working to protect and care for animals. Generally, a humane society is a privately funded organization. It is independently operated and relies on donations and fees to operate. It may be open access or limited access, depending on the decision of the organization.
An animal shelter (municipal shelter or open access shelter) is often an arm of the local government. Funding comes from the local government, and the staff may be largely made up of animal control officers. They will take in any and all strays.
A rescue group may not have a physical shelter but instead house animals at various foster homes. This is also a privately run and funded organization. More important than a name is the work that any rescue organization is doing.