Most people don’t know why there are high kill shelters and no kill shelters, and unless you have a need that goes unfulfilled because the county is supported by a no kill shelter you probably don’t care. However, in these dire economic times it is important for the people of Randolph County to understand exactly what your local shelter can and can’t do for you. Shelters originated because of a need to do something about pet overpopulation caused by folks that don’t understand or simply don’t care about the consequences of not spaying and neutering their pets. There are two types of shelters available to you. High kill shelters are supported by the local government in order to control pet overpopulation and problem animals and generally are only funded to control nuisance animals. They accept any animal that is brought to them. If it is adoptable, they will give it a week to make its case to anyone that walks through the shelter looking for an animal to adopt (like Action Jackson did when we walked in to the Washington County Animal Control shelter). If the animal isn’t adopted within its allotted time it is euthanized in order to make way for unending stream of animals that continue to find their way to its door. A no-kill (limited access) shelter is not supported by the government but is instead supported by volunteers and the generosity of the community at large and has limited space available to take in animals. When an animal is adopted a space opens up for another animal to take its place. If no animals are adopted in the month, then no new animals are brought into the shelter. What that means to you is that you can’t simply one day decide you can no longer take care of Rover and walk into the Randolph County Humane Society and expect them to take your animal off your hands. In addition there is a surrender fee, no matter where you take your animal, so don’t be surprised to find out that you have to pay to have someone else take over the responsibility of taking care of your animal (nothing in this life is free). Having said that there are some things you can do to improve your chances of having your animal taken into the RCHS no kill shelter, and first and foremost is have your pet fully vetted before even making that call. If your pet has heart worms there is a good chance it won’t be accepted at the RCHS because they simply can’t afford the hundreds of dollars for treatment nor the time it takes between the start of treatment and when adoption is possible. You can’t expect others to pick up the ball you dropped and run with it, so don’t get bent out of shape when you find out you have to pay for your lack of responsibility. The RCHS was founded to find homes for adoptable animals. A high kill shelter is there to take care of the problem of pet overpopulation. Both types of shelters are necessary and society cannot function without the high kill shelter because the people that make up our society have not taken responsibility for spaying and neutering their pets. Although you may feel like you’re taking the high moral ground by dropping your pet off at the RCHS because it is a no kill shelter, when they are full you have to do the best you can for your animal because abandoning them should simply not be an option. So take care of your business, vet your pets, and do your best to find a suitable home yourself. And when all else fails, say a prayer of thanksgiving there are people out there willing to take over your responsibility when you are no longer able. And never forget, it is only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.
High kill shelters may never outlive their purpose
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