The Future Looking Much Brighter Says Philadelphia Animal Care & Control....

Success attributed much in part to U.S. No Kill Declaration model.

From Susan Cosby
Director of Operations
Philadelphia Care & Control-

In December we reached a tremendous milestone of saving more than half of the entire number of animals that entered our facility.

In all of its history, PACCA has never achieved that level of life saving and we could not have reached it without your help. You have accepted the healthy, the ill, the old, the injured and the newborn, truly lives that were saved because you were there.

Even more amazing than this, in a facility that accepted 756 cats in the month of January, we did not kill a single cat simply because there was no space. Once again that is a milestone that had never before been achieved.…

In 2004, a series of articles in the Philadelphia Daily News depicted PACCA as a “house of horrors.” At the time, almost 9 out of 10 animals who entered the shelter were killed, arguably one of the worst lifesaving records in the United States.

In 2005, the City of Philadelphia hired No Kill Solutions to do a complete assessment of shelter operations and make recommendations to improve program and service delivery with a goal of creating a No Kill Philadelphia.

By implementing the recommendations of No Kill Solutions, which included the programs and services identified in the No Kill Declaration of the United States, and by thoroughly integrating principles of accountability into shelter operations, in less than one year, there have been tremendous lifesaving gains.

The work is far from finished, there is obviously a long way to go, and many homeless animals remain “at risk.” But, at the very least, we can now look optimistically to the future—a future that promises the homeless animals of Philadelphia a new beginning, instead of the end of the line.
encourage your shelter to adopt the U.S. No Kill Declaration (www.nokilldeclaration.org) today.

There is also a larger lesson here. In the 1990s, San Francisco implemented the programs and services now memorialized in the U.S. No Kill Declaration and became the first city and county in the United States to end the killing of healthy dogs and cats.

This year, it expects to save over 80% of all dogs and cats who enter its animal shelter system. Tompkins County (NY)’s save rate continues in excess of 90% of all impounded animals.

It too has enacted the philosophy and programs outlined in the Declaration. With Philadelphia’s increasing success using the No Kill Declaration model, there can be no doubt about the programs and services necessary to save lives. Encourage your shelter to adopt the U.S. No Kill Declaration (www.nokilldeclaration.org) today.

From the Desk of Susan Cosby,
Director of Operations
Philadelphia Animal Care & Control

Please visit: www.nokillsolutions.com