Apr 03, 2024
Shelters all around the United States are struggling, together with Austin Animal Heart and us proper right here at Austin Pets Alive!. In 2011, Austin turned a No Kill neighborhood and has remained so with growing save charges 12 months over 12 months. With the current metropolis ordinance adjustments and AAC’s newest announcement stating that tough choices could should be made for 20+ canines who volunteers say ought to by no means be in danger, it is protected to say that we’re dealing with the actual probability that Austin is dangerously near entering into the fallacious aspect of historical past.
We all know nearly all of our neighborhood members need Austin to be the most secure metropolis within the nation for shelter pets, which implies greater than holding animals alive. We all know this to be true after combing by way of the outcomes of the survey we put out earlier this 12 months and from feedback splashed on many social media posts concerning the issues we’re experiencing proper right here in Austin. We additionally know that there’s lots of blame going round and we now have been a part of that. We imagine that AAC is creating its personal issues and we’re listening to from those that suppose APA! isn’t doing sufficient to assist Austin as a result of we additionally serve animals all through Texas.
It’s true that APA! and AAC don’t all the time see eye to eye. In any case, we’re two fully completely different organizations. AAC is the government-funded metropolis shelter and APA! is a donor-funded nonprofit animal welfare group that has a contract to assist the town by taking in no less than 12% of the pets that come to them yearly. We’ve completely different missions, we soak up completely different populations of canines and cats, we even have completely different factors of view at instances relating to delivering companies and medical remedies. However right here’s the place we’re alike. We each have groups of passionate, educated employees and volunteers who really love and wish what’s greatest for the animals in our care. We each need pets to seek out adoptive properties and by no means undergo. We’re each working in a system that wasn’t made for No Kill and we’re each hurting due to it.
The present mannequin of animal sheltering wasn’t designed with lifesaving in thoughts and it additionally doesn’t serve right now’s view of the animal/human relationship. The mannequin regularly finds itself in disaster and if we don’t do one thing completely different we are going to all the time find yourself in the identical spot. The place animal sheltering is right now, threatening “onerous choices” (aka killing for area) will not be the reply. It solely causes extra ache and the issue won’t ever go away. Constructing extra shelters will not be the reply. In the event you constructed a shelter that housed 10,000 animals, I assure you that it might simply be a matter of time earlier than all 10,000 kennels are full and extra animals are lined up on the door. Rescues like APA!, that have been constructed to assist shelters, now being answerable for being a security web for our metropolis shelter by swooping in to take extra animals from Austin isn’t the reply. This ongoing disaster has additionally taught us that the idea of No Kill by itself isn’t the reply. The saving isn’t over till they’re in a house.
We all know why that is occurring and we deeply sympathize with it as we additionally battle with transferring pets quick to adoptive properties. Town selected an identification of innovation and treating every animal as a person 15 years in the past however the dedication to that identification is waning. It’s not sufficient for our metropolis to say “no kill will not be in danger” when common choices are being made to undermine it. It’s important that our metropolis authorities select who they wish to be sooner or later. Do they wish to be like all the opposite giant cities in Texas, barely hanging on to lifesaving packages or do they wish to be just like the Airbnb in a lodge world- breaking out past the historical past and right into a world the place pet guardians, shelter employees and volunteers and pets are happier, extra succesful and extra included. This received’t occur in a single day and it received’t be simple but it surely begins with a choice.
In the event you’ve been following APA! you realize that we face related struggles as AAC in some ways. And that’s the reason we’re methods to resolve issues with out altering who we’re as a company. Our identification is stable: We are going to by no means kill for area. Proper now- whereas shelters are full, together with APA!, and since we all know who we’re and what we stand for, we now have chosen to alter our enterprise mannequin – it’s not doable to simply save pets and rapidly transfer them to adopters. Our personal bottleneck is actual. We will select to simply shut our doorways and cease serving to others or we will select to alter what we accomplish that we may help different shelters much more. These adjustments will not be simple and we’re making some errors alongside the best way however there isn’t any different selection however change.
The reality is we’re debuting new ideas as a result of we’re in a very onerous scenario. That’s why you’re seeing us embarking on a rebuilding marketing campaign that may embrace a hospital, transport hub, a rehabilitation facility and a brand new foster and adopter assist middle, but it surely received’t embrace a humongous warehouse crammed with kennels. We’re additionally transferring towards a extra volunteer-and-foster centric enterprise mannequin. And we’re working onerous to equip and empower our employees to be the beginnings of a real workforce occupation the place our business traditionally has solely equipped “jobs.”
Change occurs when individuals work collectively to make it occur. I’m typically requested how the neighborhood may help past fostering and adopting. You may assist by asking our metropolis leaders to make animal points certainly one of their high priorities. It’s fairly telling that the town supervisor candidates weren’t requested a single animal query within the discussion board earlier final week.
The plea for assist from the town is the correct time to not solely step as much as assist them with the area disaster but in addition loudly advocate for, first, the identification that embodies the three legged stool of No Kill, Humane Care, and Group Security and, second, the trail to make it so. The progress made in Austin pre-COVID occurred as a result of individuals spoke up and contributed concepts and time to assist to maneuver progress.
In the event you’d like to make use of your voice to assist shelter pets in Austin, please join to be taught extra about how one can assist!
