3/4 of All Phone Calls This Month Will Be About Kittens

Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America by Nathan J. Winograd
2007
Weight: 1 lb
Method of Disposal: Donate

We are in the midst of “kitten season.” It is one of the most dreaded times of the year at the animal shelter. Every other phone call is about kittens that have been found in a drain pipe, in a car, in an attic. They call saying their cat had kittens or their friend’s cat has a new litter. They cannot keep them, but they don’t want them to go to a dreaded kill shelter. They come in from one day old to 12 years old (or older), a neverending flow of cats. It is heartbreaking. 29,612 cats and dogs were euthanized last year in just five Metro Atlanta County Shelters. That is only five counties, and it does not include animals euthanized in non-county shelters or the animals that die of starvation, animal maulings, traffic-inflicted wounds, and so on. These animals deserve better. Much better.
Today I am donating Redemption. I read this book when I first began working at a no-kill shelter, and I have since seen the author speak. Nathan Winograd travels the country giving talks about how we can become a no-kill nation. He believes in the strength of a community and warns against becoming bogged down in it’s weaknesses. I am putting it in a box of donated items, but if anyone reading this blog would like it please let me know. I would be glad to let you read it before sending it off. The writing is not incredible, but the message is important. He does not focus on independent no-kill shelters, but describes the process of making county pounds no-kill—something often considered to be impossible.
Until next time, please spay/neuter your pets and ALWAYS adopt. There is no reason to buy a pet when thousands of beautiful, sweet, and healthy living creatures are killed on a daily basis. No shelter can take on the burden of pet homelessness alone. We have to come together. Volunteer answering phones in a shelter for one day—most people will leave crying.