Nearly 3 million cats and dogs are euthanized at government-run animal shelters each year, according to the ASPCA. But a Virginia pound is doing its part to reduce that number and save more four-legged lives.
When Christie Peters took over as the director of the Richmond Animal Care and Control in 2013, the shelter was over capacity. The year before, they’d euthanize more than a third of their intakes in 2012, and had just an adoption rate of just 64 percent.
Peters — a mom to five rescue dogs and a three-year-old boy — worked with her staff to start new programs and practices aimed at changing those numbers.
“This comes from a place of positive progression,” she said. “You can’t just be okay with the status quo when it comes to saving animal lives.”
The changes included new hours to accommodate families looking for pets after work or on the weekends; counselors and resources to help people keep their pets, rather than giving them up; and a new owner-surrender program that allowed the shelter to more effectively manage the number of pets coming in each day, resulting in fewer euthanizations.
“The old school of thought was, ‘Bring them into the shelter, where they will get better care,’” Peters said. “The more progressive thought now is, ‘Let’s keep them out of the shelter, let’s try and help them keep their homes so they don’t become a part of the system.”
Keeping animals out of the shelter and in homes is exactly what Peters and her team have done. Currently, Richmond Animal Care and Control boasts at an adoption rate of almost 90 percent.
“When the successes come out of the changes we’ve made through saving lives, it helps propel us forward,” Peters said. “It’s a lot of hard work but we are committed to saving every life that we possibly can.”
Last year, the shelter adopted out 1,800 animals, according to Peters. She encourages anyone who is considering a new pet to get one from a shelter rather than a pet store.
“Please adopt, don’t shop, and check out your local shelter,” she said. “And don’t forget about older dogs — they have a sense of wisdom about them to know that you are saving their life.”
To learn more about pet adoption or to locate a shelter near you, visit the ASPCA website.
