[Kirska]

Sorry this post is a long one!

Our neighbors down in Austin have already accomplished no kill in their city.

In July, our largest no-kill shelter, Operation Kindness in Carrollton, through the anonymous gift of an adopter, broke ground on a new big dog run area called Bear's Den. This will double their capacity for dogs and further increase the number of dogs they can save. This is the shelter that helped saved Anabelle from death.

On August 15, the Rockwall City Council voted to make Rockwall a no-kill city. The transformation has already been underway thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers. The whole community has gotten involved and in August 2011 the city's save rate was 97%. If I am not mistaken this will be the first open intake no-kill shelter in DFW.

To say that I am really happy about the progress we've made in the last year is an understatement.

I know we have a few DFW area folks on here. I definitely encourage you guys to support the no-kill movement... volunteer or foster for OK or Rockwall, donate, spread the word, etc.

Here is the Operation Kindness website: North Texas' Oldest and Largest No-Kill Animal Shelter | Operation Kindness | Saving animals since 1976
Here is Rockwall Pets website: Rockwall Pets: Adopt a Rockwall shelter pet!

 

[dreamons]

Yay no kill. Daisy especially likes since she was a rescue. Maggie Mae and Daisy

 

[BassetHoundHank]

Yippee!
that's great!!

 

[Kirska]

I have good and bad news about this.

Yesterday the city of Dallas announced a group called Dallas Companion Animal Project with the intention of making Dallas a no-kill city. This, obviously, is great news and shows that the city supports the idea and is ready to make it happen.
http://www.dallascompanionanimalproject.org/

Bad news is this group has been publicly denounced by Nathan Winograd, whose no-kill model is the only proven effective large scale no-kill model. He claims the group is off on the wrong path and does not want his name associated with them. A different group appeared literally days before that isn't officially sanctioned by the city, but has the stamp of approval of both Winograd and one of Austin's main players in the no-kill mission, Ryan Clinton. http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=7161 for more info on that. I have been in contact with the second group and have offered to help them build a website. I think it's the best thing I can offer besides time and moral support.

Hopefully the groups can work together to reach the same goal.

 

[Mikey T]

Hopefully the groups can work together to reach the same goal.

unfortunately that is rarely the case. For whatever reason often there seems to be more moral posturing instead of doing what is best for the dogs.

 

[Kirska]

unfortunately that is rarely the case. For whatever reason often there seems to be more moral posturing instead of doing what is best for the dogs.

That is what I fear. I think we have a long tough road ahead of us.

There is no city as large as Dallas that is no-kill. 9th largest US city, 4th largest US metro area.

But considering it was only last year or so that the situation at the shelter got so bad people had to be terminated, I think we have made leaps and bounds.

 

[Kirska]

I met with the leaders of No Kill Dallas on Saturday. I am confident we have a committed group of folks moving forward with this, but it's obvious it's going to be an uphill battle. The No Kill Dallas leaders are in constant contact with both Ryan Clinton and Nathan Winograd and are committed to doing this the right way. This is not the same group as the official committee I mentioned above. I won't get into the politics but it's messy.

I also came across the numbers for the Dallas pound in the 09-10 fiscal year. Sickening to say the least. I attached them.

 

[Kirska]

Overall, 72% killed, 4% returned, 8% adopted, 13% rescued.

For dogs, 74% killed, 6% returned, 10% adopted, 6% rescued.

Embarrassing...

 

[Boomer's Mom]

What horrifying numbers.

 

[Mr. Woofus]

Overall, 72% killed, 4% returned, 8% adopted, 13% rescued.

For dogs, 74% killed, 6% returned, 10% adopted, 6% rescued.

Embarrassing...

This makes me sick and angry. Keep up the good work Kirska, I wish all of Los Angeles could be no-kill. It's a hard fight.

 

[Kirska]

Flash forward a few weeks and there is a new small group of folks starting a group with more of an "outside-in" approach, focusing on suburbs in addition to Dallas. We have varying degrees of experience in rescue, and various talents we bring to the table.

We are seeking more dedicated volunteers in DFW willing to put in the time and effort to help save the animals. Our current plan is to have a chairperson in charge of each of the suburbs we target. I will most likely head Rowlett since that is the suburb I live in and we are right next to Rockwall which has successfully implemented no kill in the city shelter.

We're not a rescue, we are an advocacy group. We will contact city council members, speak at council meetings, petition with residents, etc to bring about change on a large scale.

We meet roughly weekly in central Dallas and are almost ready to "go public" with our group. I have built a website but it's not yet ready for public release. We are not fanatics, in fact the group was formed to bring level headed folks together in order to gain more credibility. We're just tired of the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats in our area.

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to get involved.

 

[Kirska]

A purebred basset was killed at a suburb shelter yesterday. Friendly, young, and adoptable.

Very frustrating :/