Homeless pets get second chance
It is 8 a.m. Saturday, five hours before Spokane County Regional Animal Protective Services opens to the public. Grace, a shy, well-behaved terrier mix is in the play yard for a little exercise before her four-hour truck ride. The shelter staff and volunteers agree she has been one of their favorite guests. For the last two weeks she sat quietly at her kennel door watching the parade of potential adopters pass her by.
“She looks too pitty,” explained volunteer Mags Shaffer earlier this month as she prepared Grace for her trip. Pit bulls aren’t likely to be adopted from the shelter because of their reputation for being aggressive. Rottweillers and chow mixes face the same obstacle. Due to space limits healthy dogs usually have two weeks to find a new home before they are euthanized.
Four years ago, Shaffer directed her passion for dogs toward the shelter as a volunteer but wanted to do more to save dogs whose time was running out. She turned to a regional Internet group sponsored by the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah for some ideas, and Michelle Durheim of Clayton, Wash., offered the help of her organization, Paws Across the Northwest.
The Progressive Animal Welfare Society was established to connect people involved in the animal rescue effort throughout the region and had been operating since April 2000. They joined forces and every Saturday since then Shaffer, armed with her camera, has been on a mission. She walks every dog available for adoption, spends enough time with them to be able to write a bio and takes their picture. The pictures are posted on Petfinder.com with a description, and rescue groups and shelters can peruse the postings and select a dog that will fit their organization.
People can also use the site to see pets available for adoption. Grace is one of the many success stories. Today she is on her way to Saving Animals from Euthanasia in Everett.
SAFE does not contract with a government agency, so they take only what they have room for. Also according to Gina McCaughran, director of the group, “because we are smaller, we are able to deal with some of the dog’s nonaggressive behavior issues when they are adopted and provide follow-up. We work with a smaller number of dogs so we can thoroughly screen people and their families to increase the likelihood of a suitable placement.”
Shaffer quickly admits that she would not have been able to accomplish what she has without the support and encouragement of the shelter staff. The initial efforts presented logistical challenges for SCRAPS. Shaffer adopted the animals herself and drove them to their destination. Sometimes the new owner information would get transferred when the animal was adopted. Often it would not. Nancy Hill, director of SCRAPS, stepped in and implemented a transfer system.
“We require receiving agencies to be pre-approved. They must have adoption programs compatible to ours in that they must require spay/neuter of animals before adoption and provide animal identification such as microchips and/or pet licensing or ID tag. We want to make sure every animal that leaves our facility is altered and has a traceable form if identification.” Currently there are 33 agencies/rescue groups on the Out of Area Agency transfer list.
In 2003, SCRAPS transferred 541 dogs and 489 cats to other agencies, mostly using the 45 volunteers Michelle Durheim recruited to make the two or three trips per week. But there are many stories without a happy ending. Of the 3,000 dogs and 3,850 cats put in the shelter last year, 568 dogs and 2,300 cats were euthanized. Most of them were adoptable.