The City of Austin finished 2011 with a 91% rate of lifesaving for dogs and cats, the largest community in the nation to do so. Williamson County, TX finished the year with a 91% rate as well. They join a host of other communities who have crossed the 90% threshold including Allegany County, MD, Arlington, VA, Berkeley, CA, Reno, NV, Shelby County, KY, and many, many more, and the end is nowhere in sight.
Not only are more communities saving at least 90% but many are pushing the envelope even further in three ways:
- They are increasing lifesaving past 90% and hitting save rates of 95% and even higher;
- They are bringing non-dog and cat species into their safety net including rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, and others; and,
- They are putting in place programs to save “the other 5%” such as hospice-based foster programs.
That is part of an effort I call No Kill 2.0. And it is the theme of this year’s No Kill Conference:
No Kill Conference 2012: Reaching Higher. Because saving 90% of all the animals is not enough. With new workshops on redefining “adoptable” to mean 98% of all dogs and better than 95% of all cats, and workshops on sanctuary and hospice care to save “the other 5%,” we are striving to save them all.
We are the generation that questioned the killing. We are the generation that figured out how to stop it. And we will be the generation that does.
A No Kill nation is within our reach…