Why Building a New Animal Shelter Alone Won't Save More Animals

Simply stated, we can’t build our way out of shelter overcrowding.

Sure enough, a properly sized, well designed, and well planned animal shelter is essential to maintaining healthy animals and can contribute to some extent to increased adoption rates.  All of our newly designed shelters have, but long term adoption success requires a great deal more.

Animal welfare organizations that have implemented the array of programs originally put forth by the No Kill movement have experienced significant advances in their animal save rates.  No longer a controversial set of guidelines as they were when first introduced, engaging the community in the “animal rescue mission”; investing in low cost spay neuter; partnering with rescue groups; implementing “TNR” of feral cats; promoting comprehensive adoption programs and fiercely defending the life of every animal in the shelter are now proven components of success.

We have clients looking to build new shelters that are already experiencing save rates above 90% for all of their sheltered animals – all in an older shelter in dire need of more space – consistently reminding me and the Shelterplanners’ team; it’s all about the programs, stupid!

A new animal shelter provides an attractive, stable platform from which your organization can successfully implement programs that will accomplish the goal of saving every healthy companion animal in your care.  The well designed shelter provides you with a bright, cheery, healthy environment that attracts potential adopters - but without the essential programs to keep those adoptions on track, it will be quickly overrun.