Understanding No-Kill

HSSM is NOT a No Kill Shelter. To become a no kill shelter, we need to become a no kill community. And that is up to you.

No-Kill is a term that is best applied to a community where no animals have to be put to sleep for reasons other than suffering or because the animal is dangerous. The goal to become a “No-Kill” community is embraced by HSSM, and every day our mission is to reach that goal by doing all of the following:

• Housing homeless animals for adoption

• Transporting homeless animals for adoption to “no-kill” communities
• Returning lost animals to owners
• Teaching our community how to care for pets and to value the lives of animals through educational programs
• Working with local, state, and national officials to improve laws and policies regarding animals
• Spaying or Neutering all adopted mammals
• Providing as much vet care as possible for shelter animals and using foster homes
• Leading trap-neuter-release efforts for feral cat colonies in our area
• Offering affordable (and sometimes free) spay/neuter surgeries, microchipping, dog training, and rabies vaccines to the public
• Bringing assistance with food, behavior problems, and other pet-related issues to the doors of pet owners using the Wag n Train Mobile Outreach Vehicle

…and so much more.

Despite all of our efforts, South Mississippi continues to have a serious overpopulation of animals– there are far more companion animals living in our area than there are people who want them. In fact, there are 2 to 3 animals competing for every available spot in our homes. In the case of cats, there are 8 or 9 cats competing for every available spot in a home. And more cats and dogs are born every day.

HSSM accepts every single companion animal that is brought to the shelter, even though we know that some are very old, very young, very sick, or very aggressive. We know that some young and healthy animals that come to the shelter will become ill from the stress of living in a shelter. We know that for every dog or cat we place in a home, ten more will come in. That is why, at this time, HSSM is NOT a “no-kill” shelter.

What is a no-kill shelter, then?

A limited-admissions shelter, sometimes called a “no-kill” shelter, does not accept all animals as HSSM does. First, because an animal may remain at a limited-admissions shelter for months or years if not adopted, these types of shelters or rescue organizations can only accept relatively small numbers of pets each year (often dozens or hundreds rather than the 16,000 HSSM took in in 2007). Limited-admissions shelters or rescue groups usually accept the most “adoptable” animals so that they can be relatively sure of finding them a home quickly. Limited-Admissions shelters may also work with rehabilitable animals or special-needs animals in very small numbers. Once a limited-admissions shelter’s kennels or foster homes are full, they cannot accept any new animals and must refer incoming animals to open-admissions shelters like HSSM.

HSSM has the capacity to comfortably hold approximately 300 animals at any given time. When larger numbers of animals are added to our population, we see dramatic increases in the number of animals who become ill at the shelter, so we cannot pack the shelter with animals above and beyond our capacity. Each week, especially during the summer, the shelter takes in 300 to 400 (or more) companion animals, meaning that we rarely have empty cages, nor do we have the space or resources to work with animals not ready for adoption because they are too young, too sick, or struggling with behavioral issues. In a typical year, HSSM will receive approximately 16,000 animals and will have to raise approximately $2,500,000 to pay for their care.

Approximately half of the animals that come to the shelter will ultimately be euthanized for one of these reasons, and until South Mississippi joins together as a community to spay and neuter pets and decrease our overpopulation of animals, the euthanasia of animals who might have been saved with time, space, and treatment will continue. The good news is that more people are making the right choice and fixing animals every year, and with your help, and through the hard work of ALL types of animal rescue organization, we can reach the goal of being able to save all the healthy, friendly, and treatable animals in South Mississippi.

Please, call our clinic or the Wag-n-Train to schedule spay and neuter surgeries or to request help with your pets today. You can move us one step closer to being Mississippi’s first-ever open-admissions shelter that is not forced to euthanize adoptable or treatable animals!