The Audacity of Hope and Compassionate Animal Shelter Leadership

The last couple years have been difficult years for the animal shelter reform advocacy. There were many voices speaking out against the No Kill movement (some more well known than others), as if working to balance public safety with saving the lives of shelter animals is somehow a bad thing. I cannot count the number of times I was tagged on social media to defend No Kill philosophies only to be told I was uninformed, clueless, naïve or just wrong. I know it can be really hard for some people to believe that change is possible and that the lives of shelter animals can be saved. So many animals have died for so long that many people have, unfortunately, become reconciled to that. But here’s the thing: you can’t say it’s not possible to save the lives of animals in a responsible way if it happens across the country. It is. Having resources helps for sure. But I believe even shelters with resource challenges can make small changes over time – with the help of an engaged public – to save lives. I also believe a time will come, perhaps years from now, when all shelters are No Kill shelters whether they use those specific words or not; the lives of healthy and treatable animals will be saved because that is what the public wants and expects.

There are certainly many progressive shelters across the country to which we can look for inspiration as we learn about the magic they perform each day for the sake of the people they serve and the animals entrusted to their care. I have chosen to highlight four municipal shelter operations located in Colorado, Texas, Alabama and Florida led by people I know and respect. I encourage anyone interested in leading their shelter in a more progressive way (or encouraging their local shelter to do better) to learn about the kinds of programs that make that possible. I don’t care what words you use to label or describe the shelter. What matters is the power of compassionate leadership driving the programs that matter. Examine the current shelter operation to learn what’s working and what isn’t. Learn about the No Kill Equation. Reach out to people who are doing great things. Change takes courage, but every life saved is a victory and a step toward a new future.

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Humane Society of Fremont County; Canon City, Colorado

The Humane Society of Fremont County holds several municipal contracts. It serves the people and pets of Fremont and Custer Cuonties; roughly 56,000 neighbors across Canon city, Florence, Coal Creek, Westcliffe and Silver Cliff (7 separate counties). The median household income is approximately 63k and approximately 15% of the population lives in poverty. The current shelter director is Doug Rae.

I consider HSFC to be one of the most progressive, if not the most, animal shelters in the country. The shelter became a No Kill facility overnight under the leadership of Doug Rae who “planted a flag” in September 2014 and never wavered in the commitment to lifesaving. The shelter has consistently maintained an incredibly high live release rate despite the pandemic and serving rural areas. As Doug told me, “Through the chaos of a global pandemic, staffing crises, decreased donations, and a rising tide of need, we never blinked. While some shelters used the pandemic as an excuse to backslide, we looked in the mirror and doubled down. Our combined live-release rate never dipped below 97%, and it often sits closer to 99%.”  The live release rates for 2021 through 2025 are shown below:

• 2021: cat 98.18%, dog 99.16%
  
• 2022: cat 96.46%, dog 99.17%
  
• 2023: cat 99.27%, dog 98.55%
  
• 2024: cat 97.39%, dog 98.50%
  
• 2025: cat 97.89%, dog 98.56%
  

Some of the programs offered by the HSFC include:

• Low-cost pet vaccination days for $25 to help the public get a series of vaccinations for much lower cost than they would otherwise pay.
• Low-cost microchipping days to help lost pets get back home faster.
• The Myron “Smitty” Smith Community Pet Food Program which provides free feed food on an emergency and supplemental basis until people can get back on their feet as well as a six-month program to help people get pet food for a limited time.
• Periodic events to keep the public engaged and emotionally invested in the operation of the shelter like “The Largest Yard Sale in Fremont County,” and the “Rescue Runway” event in which “fashion meets compassion.”

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Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter; Georgetown, Texas

The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter in Texas serves Williamson County, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander and Georgetown. The population served by the shelter is approximately 727,000 people. The median income is approximately 111k and approximately 5% of the population lives in poverty. The current shelter director is Misty Valenta, who took over leadership of the shelter following the retirement of Cheryl Schneider in May of 2020.

Much like the HSFC, I consider Williamson County one of the most progressive shelters in the country.  Misty didn’t miss a beat when Cheryl passed her the baton of lifesaving in 2020, a difficult year for many tax-funded shelters. The shelter publishes an annual report; I found this statement from Misty in the most recent report reflective of her tremendous leadership: ”Welcoming people is not passive. It is active. By being present and accepting the help as it comes, we are participating in that flow of cooperation. It is an example of our belief that the shelter is not a destination but an intersection of resources. Our goal is to make each visit to our shelter a transformative one.”

The live release rates for the shelter dating back to 2020 are shown below.

• 2020-2021: dog 98%, cat 91%
  
• 2021-2022: dog 98%, cat 92%
  
• 2022-2023: dog 98%, cat 92%
  
• 2023-2024: dog 98%, cat 91%
  

Some of the programs offered by the WCRAS include:

• A Doggy Day Out program in which dogs are taken out of the shelter for the day and returned to the shelter at night. The program offers dogs the opportunity to experience different settings and engage with the public, which improves their chances of being adopted. Dogs can be taken to parks, on walks, to local events, to pet friendly cafes or to a home to hang out for a day and relieve stress.
• Free spay/neuter service for stray/feral or free-roaming cats to keep the population of community cats in check.
• Help with microchipping to help lost pets get back home faster. Microchips are only $15, and not only will WCRAS staff members implant the microchip during the appointment, but they will also register the microchip with the owner's current information.
• PetHub Tags that contain a QR code that includes contact information, multiple emergency contacts and medical information. The PetHub tag offers the convenience of a collar tag combined with the privacy feature that microchips provide but without the need for a microchip scanner. The shelter sells PetHub tags for $5.
• Vaccine clinics in which some vaccines and a microchip are free and in which rabies vaccines are provided for $5.
• Projects for both Eagle Scouts and Girl Scouts to help improve the shelter and the animals in the shelter.
• Publication of a Preventing Euthanasia List on social media as a call to action to the community in times of the highest need. Instead of presenting a list that demands action or else, the shelter presents a list to invoke action and invites the community to be co-life changers.
• Offsite adoptions at Petco, Petsmart and Tomlinson’s retail stores to take animals in need of homes out to the community to make it easier for people to adopt animals where the live and work.

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Huntsville Animal Services; Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville Animal Services in Huntsville, Alabama, is operated by the City of Huntsville. It serves all of Madison County, Alabama, except for the City of Madison which handles its own animal control and sheltering. The population served by HAS is approximately 360,000 people. The median household income is approximately 86k and approximately 10% of the population lives in poverty. The current shelter director is John Fischer.

HAS is also one of the most progressive shelters in the country thanks to John’s leadership. The shelter first began using progressive shelter programs in 2014 under the guidance of the city administrator. to drastically increase the life release rate but struggled in later years with issues related to dog behavior euthanasia and public trust.  John took over operation of the shelter in late 2024 and hit the ground running to change the culture at the shelter in less than a year by empowering his staff (whom he describes as “helpers”) and by engaging with the public in creative and positive ways. As of the end of 2024, the live release rate for both dogs and cats was 93%. The dog live release rates in January and February 2026 were 97% and 95%, respectively.

Some of the program highlights at HAS are:

• The city invests in a voucher program to provide spay/neuter services to low-income residents who live in the city and there is a corresponding program to help residents who live in county areas outside city limits (within the HAS service area). These programs have helped cut the shelter intake in half over a period of years.
• A working cat program to place spayed/neutered/vaccinated cats for free to provide “organic rodent control” for barns, breweries, sheds, garages, outbuildings and gardens.
• The city uses an interactive GIS map which shows dogs and cats picked up within the service area. Information about each animal includes an image, gender, the date impounded, primary colors and the kennel at the shelter in which the animal is housed. I wish more municipalities use this wonderful tool.
  
• Animal control officers are assigned zones in the service area to develop relationships with the public being served and to become familiar with the animals living in the zone to which they are assigned to help get lost pets back home faster.
• The shelter developed a color-coded capacity system to make it easy for the public to know about the current capacity at the shelter, so it is easy to understand when help is needed the most.

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• The shelter has a pet food bank to help families in need and periodically hosts drive-through events so people can get pet food without even getting out of their vehicle.
  
• The shelter has a robust presence on social media to market animals, utilizes billboards to communicate with the public and uses the media to help highlight not just events but times of crisis so the public can step up to help.

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Lake County Animal Shelter; Tavares, Florida

The Lake County Animal Shelter serves all of Lake County, Florida, consisting of approximately 444,000 people and covering approximately 1,157 square miles. Key cities are Mount Dora, Eustis, Tavares, Lessburg, Sorrento and Howey-in-the-Hills. Approximately 80% of the population live in urban areas while 20% live in rural areas. The median household income is approximately 73k and approximately 9% of the population lives in poverty. The current shelter director is Whitney Boylston. My dear friend and fellow animal welfare advocate, Alan Rosenberg, sang the praises of the LCAS many times on his New Jersey Animal Observer website before his untimely passing last October.

Lake County had some issues with shelter leadership for years. Following advocacy by local residents, voters elected new members to the Board of County Commissioners in 2016 who supported No Kill philosophies. The County Commission took over operation of the shelter from the sheriff on January 15, 2017, and began operating it as a No Kill facility immediately. The county has since invested in a new, modern facility to better serve the needs of both the people being served and the animals.

The live release rates dating back to 2020 are as follows:

• 2020: dogs 98%, cats 95%, other 93%
• 2021: dogs 98%, cats 94%, other 99%
• 2022: dogs 98%, cats 95%, other 98%
• 2023: dogs 97%, cats 92%, other 92%
• 2024: dogs 96%, cats 94%, other 14%*
• 2025: dogs 96%, cats 95%, other 96%

Notable programs offered by the shelter include:

• A Staycation Program in which fosters are matched with an appropriate animal and provided with supplies to take a pet on a “short getaway,” after which they are asked to share their adventures to “enhance our mission of finding forever homes for our adoptable dogs.”
• Free dog training classes teach basic obedience and build a great relationship with an adopted pet. Adopters are welcome to attend as many times as they want.
• A spay/neuter rebate program to help full-time residents with the costs of having their pets sterilized. Residents bring their pet to a licensed veterinarian to have the spay/neuter of the pet performed and then apply for a rebate of up to $50;
• A Wellness Hour to help residents get vaccines, microchipping and testing for their pets in partnership with the Lake Technical College Veterinary Assisting Program.
• Operation Community Caturday in which community cats are sterilized and vaccinated along with Caturday School to help teach residents learn more about the basics of TNR (trap, neuter, return), how to set traps, how to trap difficult cats and best practice for cat management.
• The shelter’s foster program includes a Fosterology Class for high school students seeking service hours by fostering kittens and a Foster 911 notification program to help people receive notifications when animals are in need of foster.

*Note - in 2024, the shelter had multiple bird animal cruelty cases totaling approximately 500 birds. Unfortunately, only a handful of them were able to be placed due to mandates from the state for euthanasia following positive tests for reportable diseases.

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I originally planned to write this blog as a Q&A with Doug, Misty, John and Whitney before shifting the focus to the programs I feel might inspire others. But I want to share some things Doug told me because they go to the heart of the commitment by all these amazing leaders who should inspire us all.

I planted the No Kill flag the day I started in 2014, not as a marketing brand, but as a belief system. Language matters. Integrity matters. Every last animal that crosses our doorstep is someone, not something. To me, No Kill means doing right by the animals even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard, and they need us the most. If an animal in need belonged to your daughter, your partner, or your mother, you wouldn't be asking if it's 'responsible' to save them. You’d be doing everything you could. So, we do.

I have never dreaded going to work. I love what I do with every fiber in my being. That said, I’m wicked tired of hearing other open-admission shelters say, 'No-Kill isn’t possible.' We have proven for eleven years running that it is. There are no secrets or magic spells; there’s only the choice to show up differently. Plus, how can something be impossible if it already exists?”

Amen to that. And despite what Doug says, he, Misty, John and Whitney do magic every day. I am grateful for their audacity and commitment to the communities they serve.