Do your part

The best way we can all give back to our community regarding animal welfare is to do our part to be responsible pet guardians and to save lives when we can.  We do this through spaying and neutering our pets, including free-roaming cats.  We do this through adopting our pets from rescues and animal shelters/sanctuaries when we are ready to add a new furry member to our family vs. buying them from backyard breeders or pet stores/puppy mills.  Lastly, we do this by realizing that the local animal shelter should be the place of last resort for any animals we find or need to re-home.  It is better to hang onto the animal for a while and help find it a new home yourself than to add to the overburdened shelter, where most animals sadly go to die. 

Please see our Links & Resources page for rescues and animal groups in our area that you can contact when needed.  Also visit our  Animals in Need page for a listing of animals in our community that are lost, found, or seeking a new home.  From our Links & Resources page, download our Animal Resources Guide for ideas on how to deal with animal issues that arise, such as steps to take when you lose or find a pet.  Also listed in this guide are all the pet resources in our area, including trainers, groomers, supply stores, animal-welfare groups, etc.

Community transformation

Our community has a long way to go in working toward the day we save the lives of the majority of our homeless animals.  Following are the cornerstones to our community's needed transformation to more progressive approaches to animal welfare:

• Feral cat trap-neuter-return and release (TNR) programs
• High-volume, no/low-cost, and targeted spay/neuter services
• Animal-welfare groups working collaboratively to save lives above all else
• Foster care for homeless pets while they await new homes
• Comprehensive adoption programs that strive to better match people and pets and compete with other markets
• Pet retention programs to help people deal with issues with their pets and keep them instead of relinquish them
• Medical and behavior programs to nurse sick animals to health and rehabilitate issues
• Public relations/community involvement and outreach
• Volunteerism from all segments of the population
• Proactive redemption of lost animals with owners 
• Compassionate, progressive animal-welfare leadership in our Animal Control departments and animal shelter