Helping the homeless pets of Florida
I have the advantage of living in one of the wealthiest counties in Florida. Pets who find themselves homeless stand a good chance of finding another home before they are euthanized for space. This doesn't mean some are not killed, it just means our save rate overall is much higher than many counties in the state.
When an agency, any agency, announces they are going no-kill, there is much celebration but I believe the general public has no idea what this really means.
Some of the poorer counties, especially those in very rural areas, have an animal control agency but have a save rate which is very low. When the save rate in a county is 5%, it means only 5% of the animals brought in to the agency find other homes.
These counties also do not discriminate. It can be puppies and kittens, seniors or anything in between. When the time is up, it is up and the animal dies.
Many times, these small, poor counties have no way of getting the word out about their animals. They are short-staffed, have limited funds and unless there is a volunteer who is willing to take on social networking or trying to build a database of willing volunteers, the number of animals killed is staggering.
I use Facebook and this blog to feature animals who are looking for a home. This blog goes all over the United States and is read or viewed on a daily basis by 40 to 50 people. It is one of the ways I can use the computer to spread the word about rescued animals.
One of the things which continues to irritate me about people who post animals for adoption is the wording they use. When I see the words High Kill, I see red. Killing is always going to be killing and most agencies listed as High Kill Agencies are inundated with a huge number of animals and very little exposure. They have few volunteers and even less available funds.
Networking among animal welfare groups is always the way to go. Networking and sharing the animals gives them the exposure they may not have otherwise. If you are looking for a St. Bernard, and I post one which is located in Gainesville, you may take a ride up there to see the dog. If I don't post it, how are you going to know he exists?
So despite the fact many of my fellow rescuers think I should concentrate only on the homeless pets in Sarasota County, I will continue to feature all the homeless which are sent to me by someone asking for my help.
This includes many smaller counties, including Putnam, Clay, Desoto to name a few. I can't save them all. It takes us all working together to do that but I never want to think I lost one because I was too centered on Sarasota County to pay attention to the other counties in need.
When an agency, any agency, announces they are going no-kill, there is much celebration but I believe the general public has no idea what this really means.
Some of the poorer counties, especially those in very rural areas, have an animal control agency but have a save rate which is very low. When the save rate in a county is 5%, it means only 5% of the animals brought in to the agency find other homes.
These counties also do not discriminate. It can be puppies and kittens, seniors or anything in between. When the time is up, it is up and the animal dies.
Many times, these small, poor counties have no way of getting the word out about their animals. They are short-staffed, have limited funds and unless there is a volunteer who is willing to take on social networking or trying to build a database of willing volunteers, the number of animals killed is staggering.
I use Facebook and this blog to feature animals who are looking for a home. This blog goes all over the United States and is read or viewed on a daily basis by 40 to 50 people. It is one of the ways I can use the computer to spread the word about rescued animals.
One of the things which continues to irritate me about people who post animals for adoption is the wording they use. When I see the words High Kill, I see red. Killing is always going to be killing and most agencies listed as High Kill Agencies are inundated with a huge number of animals and very little exposure. They have few volunteers and even less available funds.
Networking among animal welfare groups is always the way to go. Networking and sharing the animals gives them the exposure they may not have otherwise. If you are looking for a St. Bernard, and I post one which is located in Gainesville, you may take a ride up there to see the dog. If I don't post it, how are you going to know he exists?
So despite the fact many of my fellow rescuers think I should concentrate only on the homeless pets in Sarasota County, I will continue to feature all the homeless which are sent to me by someone asking for my help.
This includes many smaller counties, including Putnam, Clay, Desoto to name a few. I can't save them all. It takes us all working together to do that but I never want to think I lost one because I was too centered on Sarasota County to pay attention to the other counties in need.
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