Animal Shelters

 

Story Highlights

  • There are roughly 5,000 animal shelters in America
  • 5 to 7 million pets enter shelters every year
  • 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are adopted from shelters every year
  • 98% of animals that have come to Woods Humane Society have found homes

It’s a sad truth that animals get abandoned and mistreated every day. It’s even sadder that not every animal can be saved from this. While most animal shelters euthanize or put down animals for time or space, a growing number of these organizations decide against this.

Animal Shelter Facts

  • 5 to 7 million pets enter shelters every year nationwide
  • Homeless animals outnumber homeless people 5 to 1
  • 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized every year because either they cannot find homes or shelters don’t have enough room to keep them-- decreased from 12 to20 million
  • 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are adopted from shelters each year

About Woods Humane Society

Woods Humane Society, in San Luis Obispo, is one of the animal shelters that does not euthanize for time or space. This means that animals will not be put down simply because they have been at the shelter for too long or because there isn’t enough room for incoming animals. Last year approximately 98% of the animals that came to Woods were adopted.

Woods operates as a nonprofit organization. The shelter gains money mostly from donations and fundraising events. There are numerous volunteers and visitors around to socialize and play with the animals as well as a dedicated staff.

The People Behind the Animals

For most people, spending time grooming cats or bathing dogs sounds more like a chore than an optimal career path. For Hayley Richards, an animal caregiver at Woods, the benefits far outweigh any possible negatives.

“I really like animal care,” said Richards. “You get to work with the animals one on one. Yeah, it’s a grimy job, but I get to wake up in the morning and play with dogs all day.”

 Richards, a recent graduate from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, began working at Woods during the summer as a customer service representative. Now she works as an animal caregiver with her roommate Chantalle Little. While the job doesn’t have much to do with journalism, Richards is just happy to be able to help the animals that she works with.

“At Woods it feels like I’m actually making a difference,” said Richards. “It’s such a good feeling to see an animal go home for the first time.”

 Chantalle Little worked as a part-time student while enrolled at Cuesta College. She originally came to Woods to work as a volunteer.

“I’ve always worked with animals,” said Little. “So I really wanted to get back to it. When I was taking the tour to volunteer, I just kept thinking to myself ‘I want to work here.’”

Little is so close with the animals at Woods, she visits on her days off. She and Richards have even taken to fostering dogs whenever they can.

“It’s not a job,” said Little. “You get to know all the animals really well. We’re like their family.”

Kathryn Janiszewsky has been working at for a year Woods as a customer service supervisor. Before she came here, she was a walking tour guide for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

“I’ve always worked for nonprofits. I grew up Catholic and I feel like it really instilled a sense of service into me,” said Janiszewsky. “Animals just fit in really nicely with my plan. It’s like a super perk of my job.”

How You Can Get Involved:

  • Support local organizations like Woods or the ASPCA
  • Volunteer: either helping to socialize animals or fostering animals to help prepare them for adoption
  • Spay or neuter your pet, to prevent strays from getting euthanized.

Data and Statistics about animal shelters from the 2013–2014 APPA National Pet Owners Survey

 

Copyright© 2013 All Creatures Great and Small is a multimedia interactive website produced in a multimedia journalism class at California Polytechnic State University.

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