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Sample Success Stories

Charlottesville, VA Reno, NV

There are now No Kill communities all over the United States, including California, Utah, Virginia, Nevada, Kentucky, Indiana, and more. Some of these communities are urban, some are rural; some are private shelters with animal control contracts, some are municipal shelters; some are in conservative parts of the country, some are in liberal communities. They share little in common demographically. But what they do share is leadership committed to saving lives. They prove that people of all walks of life want to build a better world for animals. And that it is incumbent on shelter leadership to harness that compassion and direct it towards lifesaving. Here are two sample success stories:

Charlottesville, VA

Historically, the Charlottesville SPCA was the subject of relentless public criticism for what many in the rescue community saw as poor customer service, inadequate care of animals, and unnecessary killing. In 2005, all that changed. A new director embraced our philosophy and programs, asked us to help train their staff and make recommendations on policies. And in 2006, she achieved more by saving 92 percent overall at an open admission animal control facility, better than any other community in the nation. They repeated their No Kill achievement in 2007 and 2008. To learn more, click here.

Reno, NV

Virtually overnight, and with our support and guidance, Washoe County (Reno) NV under the leadership of the Nevada Humane Society (NHS) is saving over nine out of ten dogs and almost eight out of ten cats.

Despite taking in nearly 16,000 dogs and cats, in 2007 (compared to 2006):

• The kill rate for dogs dropped 51%
• The kill rate for cats has dropped 52%

At the same time:

• The adoption rate for dogs increased 53%
• The adoption rate for cats increased 85%

The county-wide save rate (including animal control) for dogs was 92% and the save rate for cats was 78%. In 2008, the cat save rate increased to 83%. In 2009, it is 88%. They continue to save 92% of dogs.

By way of comparison, the County has a per capita intake rate over three times that of the City of Los Angeles, over four times that of San Francisco, and over two times the national average, but did a better job saving animals than all of them. Washoe County now joins only a very small handful of communities in the entire nation with a better than 90% save rate for dogs and is among the tops in the nation with cats.

But NHS is not satisfied: "Our goal is to make Washoe County the safest community for homeless dogs and cats in the United States." Roughly 9 out of 10 dogs and cats are finding a new beginning, instead of what they too often face elsewhere - the end of the line.

To read "How We Did It" click here.

Want to learn more about No Kill success? Pick up a copy of Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation & The No Kill Revolution in America.

Winner of five national book awards including a USA Book News Best Book and a Silver Medal from the Independent Publishers Association, the book has been called "powerful and inspirational," "ground-breaking," and "a must read for anyone who cares about animals."

(Please note: The book is not written by the No Kill Advocacy Center and we are not responsible for its content. This is informational only)

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