ANOTHER Kind of Animal Shelter - Take Notes Animal Lovers!

Overhauling the antiquated shelter mindset requires an open mind and a willingness to embrace alternative methods of "sheltering" these animals and preparing them for their forever homes. Throwing OUT some cages and throwing IN a few couches...... Watch and TAKE NOTES! :)



I know a gal in rescue that employs a similar method to house her animals. Funny thing is, her place isn't fancy but the dogs are well cared for and HAPPY! Imagine that!

Want to make things better for the animals, but don't know where to start? Three WEAPONS in this war we are raging against the high-kill shelters.

1. NO KILL 101 PRIMER
2. How to Start an Animal Sanctuary
3. A positive attitude and compassion for the animals!

Please share this post with any and every animal lover you know! Work Together FOR THE ANIMALS!

One Woman Animal Advocate Army in Kirby, TX

Photo Credit KSAT

Christie Banduch is the sole employee at the animal shelter in Kirby, TX.  Since she was hired a year ago, she has been virtually singlehandedly responsible for the180 degree turnaround in saving these animals lives. Prior to Christie's arrival the live release rate was a heartbreaking 4% and under Christie's tenure it's at 83%!

How does Christie do it? She's not only the sole animal control officer, she does EVERY JOB at that shelter because she is the only employee. This shelter is open admission and it also takes owner surrenders. The average intake is 100 dogs and cats each month, which is a LOT for one person to handle. But she is doing it!

This gal could dig up the same worn out excuses that shelter directors and board members have been using for decades, but she doesn't. She's obviously in it FOR THE ANIMALS.

She is living proof that NO KILL works! And yes, she CHANGED it overnight. By not settling for anything less, she is saving many lives. And isn't that what this is all about?

If just one person made this much difference in only the time it took her to come onboard and get to work, just think what an ARMY of Volunteers could do working together FOR THE ANIMALS! Read all about Christie here.  (And she's even got a very informative website here....an ARMY of ONE was all it took!)

And did I mention they do mobile adoption events EVERY Saturday? YES!!!

Thank you Christie Banduch for caring enough for these animals to find the better (and the ONLY) way!  The city of Kirby is hoping to hire a full-time technician for Christie next year. For now, she can always use more volunteers. (210) 661-8515 (You'll have to leave a message because there are no employees to answer the phone, but Christie WILL call you back!)  :)

The SERVICES and PROGRAMS this shelter provides:

Pet Adoption
Stray Animal Pick-up
Low-Cost Dog Training
Foster Care Program
Animal Cruelty Investigations
Humane Education Programs
Volunteer Program
Low-Cost Pet Vaccinations
SNAP Mobile Spay / Neuter

So, animal advocates of Gregg County, Texas......what are we waiting for? NO MORE EXCUSES! Let's do this FOR THE ANIMALS!

LONGVIEW TX NAY SAYERS GET OUT OF THE WAY!

This post covers two topics...

First topic: City Council meeting last night. Here are the video minutes of that meeting where a group of advocates with one elected spokesperson attended on behalf of the area animals. Start watching at 5 minutes until approximately 12 1/2 minutes.

Basically, the city council is interested ONLY in a private/public partnership. And that boils down to $. If the PRIVATE sector doesn't have half the funds ready, the Mayor says he WILL NOT ask the public to vote on a special election. Watch the minutes and take notes.

Second topic: REGARDLESS whether a new facility is built or not, if management and especially the director of the shelter are not pro NO KILL, then 80% of the animals arriving will continue to DIE! They won't be put to sleep, they will DIE!!!

Brand new facility, or not. No matter how shiny the building, or how spacious, if you aren't NO KILL then YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

Get yourself educated on what NO KILL entails. Be prepared to ask yourself some really hard questions. If you still haven't read it, here is the NO KILL 101 PRIMER. It's quick easy reading.

NO KILL is not technical. NO KILL means you have to be organized, you have to have lots of volunteers and YOU HAVE TO HAVE COMPASSION FOR THE ANIMALS! And YES, it CAN BE CHANGED OVERNIGHT! It's being done by many shelters across the United States! (AND YES, many are open admissions also!)

And yesterday, (probably while folks were attending that city council meeting) these are just 6 of the animals who were KILLED at Longview shelter. *( 

RIP Dobbie

RIP Terrance

RIP Fluff

RIP Sarge

RIP Butter and Scotch

So advocates, I'm asking you to COME TOGETHER ON THIS NO KILL and COME TOGETHER TO WORK FOR THE ANIMALS! If you're a nay sayer, you don't know what NO KILL is. And if you don't know what NO KILL is, you are of no use to these animals!

CITY COUNCIL MEETING - JULY 26 - MAKE A STAND FOR THE ANIMALS!

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER 

Advocates, volunteers, fosters, rescues....anyone who works with or advocates for the animals of Longview TX shelter.....ANYONE who wants the insane amount of killing to stop!

BE AT THE LONGVIEW CITY COUNCIL MEETING THURSDAY JULY 26th AND MAKE A STAND FOR THESE ANIMALS!

MEETING BEGINS AT 5:30 PM AT 300 COTTON ST IN LONGVIEW. PLEASE DON'T BE LATE AS DOORS WILL CLOSE PROMPTLY AT 5:30 PM.

 IF YOU'D LIKE, MEET AT THE LONGVIEW PUBLIC LIBRARY NOT LATER THAN 5:10 PM AND WALK OVER WITH THE GROUP AS A SHOW OF NUMBERS!

There are SO MANY of you that live there that are sick of the killing, but please know YOU ARE NOT ALONE! You people have the power to change things for the animals. You can work together to educate the public and show them how it's done, how they can also help the animals!

Voters are powerful people! Let city council know enough is enough......these archaic outdated methods of animal control are shameful! 

And be armed with knowledge.....

1.  The Longview shelter is a privately owned business since 1972. (40 years doing it and it still isn't working.....time for a change!!!)

 

 

2.   The Longview shelter is called the Humane Society of North East Texas, but it IS NOT a part of the National Humane Society. Many shelters just use that terminology in their name, but this shelter abides by their own rules.

 

 

3.  The shelter building is also privately owned, which is NOT a good thing for the animals. It gives way too much control to the shelter board and shelter director. For instance, even though the shelter operates primarily on taxpayer funds...since the building is privately owned...the shelter management could decide to block volunteers or even the public from coming in to take pictures of the URGENT animals.

 

 

4.   Apparently, the shelter director, Cathy Sells, resigned from her position a week ago. We don't know if she is still "working" at the shelter or gave a notice or what...but someone is still giving the KILL ORDERS. :(

 

 

5.  Please read the Longview city council minutes of last Aug 2011, there is a lot of information regarding the shelter contract with the city of Longview (including contractural figures) for anyone who is interested in changing things for the animals. It's all publicly available online at this link: http://administration.longviewtexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/city-gov/minutes-2011/8-25-11%20RS%20Minutes.pdf  pay particular attention to pages 2, 3, 5 and 6

 

 

6.  In the past two weeks despite apparently greater increases in intakes, the shelter instilled these policy changes we are aware of: no more long term fosters, no more free adoptions to military personnel, they raised the adoption fee of cats from $50 to $75........all this just makes it all the more difficult to get an animal out of that shelter alive.

 

 

7.  The shelter itself admits there is only a 30% chance of an animal getting out alive. The odds are heavily against the animal. 700 to 800 perfectly healthy animals are KILLED in Longview every month! (They aren't "sleeping"......THEY ARE DEAD!)

8.  The shelter's one-year contract with the city of Longview is coming up for renewal very very shortly! It is important that advocates keep the ball rolling FOR THE ANIMALS!

Since the meeting nearly a year ago, there has been some activity with those working to push a NO KILL, but those folks need YOU! Those ANIMALS NEED YOU! Don't let another year pass, don't let another month pass (that's 700 more animals killed per month and MORE)....make the change NOW!

 

 

9. PLEASE get yourself educated about what NO KILL is really about. I had to educate myself on NO KILL. For example, NO KILL is NOT 100% survival. But it IS 90% or more survival. Here's Nathan Winograd's definition of NO KILL.

And NO KILL is being done in communities with OPEN ADMISSIONS (like Longview)....So don't let shelter reps pull that old falsehood on you!

 

 

10.  The current contract with the city of Longview was for $162,500 per year PLUS the shelter receives free water, sewer and trash collection which adds considerable more value to the contract. Add to this the other communities served by the shelter....those individual cities pay their own $ to the shelter management. Finally, add to this the $ recieved by the shelter in adoption fees, donations of monies and supplies...it all adds up.

Did you know IT IS CHEAPER TO GO NO KILL THAN IT IS TO CONTINUE TO KILL? (Yes, a fact and yet the shelters continue their needless killings). :(

For all the current volunteers of the shelter in Longview and the EMPLOYEES of that shelter....we are NOT pointing fingers at ANYONE except for the MANAGEMENT of that shelter. Let this be your guide.

But no matter how new or shiny or large a shelter is, if the management doesn't accept the NO KILL equation, those poor animals will continue to suffer daily. And it will be OUR FAULT for allowing it to happen!

 

 

WE should all be on the ANIMALS SIDE.....THERE IS NO OTHER!

Good Luck at the meeting. Stand strong FOR THE ANIMALS! Remember these faces and names.....these are a tiny tiny fraction of the healthy adoptable animals KILLED at Longview in the past month. Just a very tiny portion...... :(  

DO IT FOR THEM! DO IT IN MEMORY OF A BELOVED ANIMAL! JUST PLEASE DO IT!

TAG TEAM ADVOCACY - It Works!

Since I began posting animals to Pet Pardons.....I have "met" online some of the absolute sweetest, kindest, most passionate people in the world. These people would give you one of their own kidneys I think...or at least they'd give one to their dog or cat if needed. These persons are literally bursting with the kind of passion that is needed in this world.

The DANGER though in this very passionate "business" of saving animals lives...is burnout. And it's very, very real. The emotional highs and lows daily, even hourly can wreck havoc upon the most stable of temperments.

Prevent burnout by teaming up with a pair of like minded advocates. Form a tag team. When one team member is beat up emotionally and can't continue on, another advocate refreshed from a different time zone perhaps can jump right in and take your place.

Go rest while you can, because we need YOU in this fight. The killing shelters are operating and slaughtering thousands of animals.....so it's imperative we WORK TOGETHER FOR THE ANIMALS!
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These 4 innocent animals were among those I posted last week to Pet Pardons from the Longview TX "shelter".....I found out today these four didn't make it out of that hell hole. Don't really know how long they've been dead because the shelter is very secretive about how they kill, when they kill. In all honesty, they were probably dead by Saturday evening. :( You see, the "shelter" is closed on Sunday and Monday and the animals photos are not updated daily on the Facebook page run by the volunteers. 

All 4 perfectly healthy, adoptable animals KILLED FOR SPACE!!!  Shame on the old school board of directors and owners of that privately-owned shelter for refusing to throw out the archaic methods...Karma IS A BITCH!!! Remember that!

RIP DOLLAR

RIP DELL

RIP MOCHA

RIP YEARN

What Can YOU Do FOR THE ANIMALS?

Photo credit

You can:

1. Visit your local animal shelter. Adopt a pet. Offer to foster. Volunteer! (if they don't have a current program for Volunteers, offer to start one.)

2. Contact a local animal rescue. Volunteer. DONATE money, supplies, pet food, labor to clean cages and exercise or groom the animals. Offer to assist with off-site adoption events.

3. Look around your neighborhood. Do you have an elderly or disabled neighbor or perhaps a relative with a pet that needs exercise, food, litterbox changed or a trip to the vet? Fresh air and exercise does a body good and it's great for the animals too.

4. Establish a pet food bank in your community for those on limited funds. No person should be forced to choose between feeding themselves or their pets. Again, let's keep these pets out of the shelters!

5. Offer to help transport an animal. Many times animals lives can be saved by merely offering a ride. Join Texas Transports on Facebook.

6. Contact YOUR local politicians and get them on board with passing animal welfare laws and making things right for these animals. (Texans...find your contact here.)

7. Be kind to the animals, because YES, kindness matters!

So, what can YOU do FOR THE ANIMALS?

Why Don't You Do Something?

"I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...the cast-offs of human society. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry. "God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?" God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly. I have done something," He replied. "I created you." ~The Animals' Savior Copyright Jim Willis 1999 ~

for everyone out there struggling to fight the old school slaughterhouses.....YOU ARE NOT ALONE!