The Cedar Bend Humane Society’s Co-Directors say there’s a lot to be proud of during 2012, largely due to increased community support. Donations to the Waterloo-based humane society doubled last year and adoptions were up by ten percent.
I stopped out at the humane society to clear up some misconceptions and get the real numbers.
Co-Director Kristy Gardner shared some intake, adoption and euthanasia numbers for 2012. The CBHS “handles” approximately 12,000 animals a year. That number includes animals that never make it from the field to the shelter for various reasons (including wildlife rescues and already deceased animals that control officers are called out to properly dispose of).
The total number of cats and dogs actually entering the shelter last year was 5,171. The number of cats/dogs adopted out was 1,319, 842 cats/dogs were returned to their owners, there were 162 euthanasia requests from the public and the total number cats/dogs euthanized in 20-12 was 1,867. That number is broken down by animals put down for injuries & illness (453 animals), aggression (208), feral cats (629) and other (577). Other includes FLK/FIV positive and extreme age.
Some people might wonder why any animals are put down. There are two main reasons: for the health of the animal and for the safety of the community.
“The process we do is we look at the health of the animal, we look at the temperament of the animal. Do they have food aggressions, are they aggressive toward people, are they safe to put back out into the public,” said Kristy Gardner.
Just because an animal has a health issue or behavior issue does not mean it will be put down. In fact, that’s where support from the community comes in to play.
The more money donated to the shelter the more in-depth medical care it can provide to all animals. People who go through the shelter’s Volunteer Training Program can help work with animals on specific behavior issues and get that animal to the adoption floor, which recently happened with two dogs that came in.
“We had two Scottish terriers come in with very little socialization and one bit a little girl and was in a bite quarantine. Our volunteers were able to continue to work with them and socialize them,” said CBHS Volunteer Coordinator.
Shelter staffers and volunteers work extra hard to correct any bad habits, which is successful more often than not.
“But we do have animals we know if they get loose, they’re going to cause some severe damage and that’s not responsible to put them back out into the public,” said Gardner.
One misconception is that once an animal is placed on the adoption floor, it has a time limit there. That’s not true.
“Once we make the decision an animals is to be placed for adoption, it stays with us until it’s adopted,” said Gardner.
The CBHS has three main goals in place to help the most animals.
“Education, community involvement, and increase adoptions. If we can accomplish those goals, then in turn, that will cause euthanasia numbers to drop,” said Kristy Gardner.
Kristy Gardner said so many people at the shelter and in the community work hard for the animals, but the more people who join the effort the more animals can get a new home.
To adopt out even more animals, the CBHS plans to get certified in the ASPCA’s SAFER Program this summer. It’s a safety assessment process to help better determine if animals are safe for adoption and the home they’re best suited for.
Some other numbers for you from 2012 at the Cedar Bend Humane Society:
-1,031 cats/dogs were surrendered by their owners
-2,283 stray cats/dogs were brought to the shelter
-1,1,81 cats/dogs were brought in by animal control
-676 cats/dogs came in from surrounding communities
Every pet owner can help with the overall problem of pet overpopulation by spaying or neutering our animals.
Three-fourths of the animals that end up at the shelter are not spayed or neutered.
The rest of the 12,000 besides the numbers shown here are animals received from other rescues, wildlife animals, DOA wildlife, or any of the pocket pets.
Posted under In the News
This post was written by dwagner on February 2, 2013
Umm…there are 981 animals unaccounted for..where did they go? Looks like alot of animals being killed here and not sure why? 208 is alot of aggressive animals, seems sketchy to me? And what are the 577 killed for ‘other’ reasons, what reasons? Are all reputable rescues utilized to transfer animals? Is everything spayed/neutered before it leaves so not adding to the problem? Is there a TNR/barn cat program? Are foster homes utilized for kittens/puppies that may need some extra time? If the answer to any of these is no…then the shelter isn’t doing all it can. The shelter chooses to be a kill shelter by contracting with the city. We all have choices and they have made theirs about the money.
Amy — the animals aren’t unaccounted for, I simply didn’t have time in my story that aired on tv to break down every single animal. The missing ones are animals received from other rescues, wildlife animals, DOA wildlife, or any of the pocket pets.
I can try to get the exact breakdown for each and post it to my blog.
In answer to your other questions — people who adopt pets that aren’t spayed or neutered yet pay an extra $50. They get that money back when they show proof of the spay/neuter. IF you don’t get the pet spayed, the sheriff’s office can be sent to your house.
And yes, the shelter utilizes foster homes all the time. Several litters of puppies just came in that were too young for the shelter or adoption, so they stayed in foster homes until they reached the eight week mark. And I’ve known Cedar Bend to work with many rescues. When I was out there Friday, a basset hound was being transferred to a shelter that specializes in basset hounds.
Hope this helps.
THANKS!
I wasn’t asking where the missing animals came from, i was asking where they went? they show up as intakes but the numbers together don’t add up. I saw on another post that you commented Danielle, ‘what would happen to all these animals without CBHS’No one is saying there should be no shelter, change is being called for. And lets face it, there is huge room for improvement here. You didn’t answer my questions but then, how could you? Are ALL reputable, licensed and willing rescues utilized? The answer is no. They utilize just a few rescues for appearances. Petfinder shows 22 cats listed, only one with a bio and 9 of those are intact. Of the 22 dogs listed just a few have bios and 5 are intact pitties. Contracts are easy to sign and hard to enforce. Wouldn’t the $50 deposit be better spent getting the animal fixed so man hours and $ aren’t spent later cleaning up the mess? And what of those that get PG before they are altered or leave the shelter pregnant? Yes, it happens. they use foster homes ‘all the time’? Really? So no puppies or kittens too small to be adopted are ever killed? Might wanna check up on that one! CBHS directors and board have lost the focus of their true mission. They have allowed personal feelings to cloud their judgement. I hope you Danielle aren’t making the same mistake? To do nothing, to say nothing, changes nothing….