Our nation’s animal shelters are not all created equal. For an animal evicted from the family home or born into an overcrowded world where chances of seeing a golden sunset are tenuous, facilities matter. Location is everything; the better the shelter, the better a dog or cat’s chance of survival. Factor in a two-year pandemic creating staffing and funding shortages, rising transportation costs limiting transfers from beleaguered Southern shelters, and chances decrease even further. Alongside failures to spay and neuter in underserved communities and backyard breeders that increase dog and cat populations by thousands, euthanasia-by-shelter is now the leading cause of death for companion animals, writes author of Dogland, Jacki Skole.

The animal welfare movement has progressed beyond the days of prematurely ending the lives of adoptable animals in the 1970s by millions, but as with any human-caused crisis, it is one step forward, two steps back. Shelters and foster-based nonprofit rescues are regressing to 2019 levels.

Where does an animal lover begin to help? The answer lies in returning to basics: our local animal shelter.

Humane Society of Boulder Valley

The humanitarian acts of fostering and adopting express the selfless desire to honor and love a life in need that is already here. HSBV, a full- service shelter, hails from a philosophy known as Socially Conscious Animal Sheltering. Its staff and volunteers are trained in Fear Free Sheltering, giving animals as close an experience to a home as possible. The approach fills in where others lack: considering the fact that animals in shelters suffer from anxiety, lack of exercise and socialization, depression and aggression set in. A day in a shelter can become an animal’s worst nightmare. In high-euthanasia states such as California or Texas, dogs melting down from kennel-induced stress are “released” after a time – verbiage for a lethal plan to prematurely end their lives. Even more routinely, animals are euthanized for space.

This summer in San Antonio, Texas, the euthanasia list is being updated every fifteen minutes as otherwise adoptable dogs and cats are losing their lives for lack of space. Lines for owner-surrenders are out the door.

Resourced facilities are imperative for animals awaiting a chance at a happy, healthful life.

What They Do.

Animal lovers are akin to families with children, in need of community resources for support. Animal lovers’ resources, despite the want or desire, are often limited. Veterinary care and food are costly. Families suffering financial hardship or income shortfalls can avail themselves of the shelter’s Safety Net Program, giving critical support for keeping Fido homed. A bag of kibble or can of food, when the cost of purchasing such basics exceeds the limits of family economics, can mean the difference between the shelter or the family’s living room couch. Similarly, animals made homeless during the Marshall Fire were housed with HSBV, while their families waited in community facilities across town.

As will also happen with animals, illnesses and injuries happen. The family dog suffering from gastrointestinal distress or the puppy colliding with harm may require treatment or surgery. With qualifying circumstances, HSBV offers life-saving medical resources.

What’s Happening at HSBV.

On a Tuesday afternoon in June, thirty- one dogs, sixteen housecats and fifteen small animals (guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, rats and gerbils) await their furever families to walk in and give them a chance at life. Long-term residents, as Athena, a seven-year-old Lab/Rottweiler mix, waits for her trainer to take her out for a walk. Wylie, a two-year-old Pittie mix who’s spent half his life in shelters, is hoping to get noticed when people walk by to meet-and-greet the German Shepherd two-month-old rescued from Texas. Peaches, a two-year-old Boxer mix, is bounding four feet high in her kennel, while Kratos, a quiet four-year- old Pitt mix, is somberly resting in his in the hopes he’ll one day rest on the carpet in a living room of his own.

Volunteers, an interminable need, are cleaning enclosures and washing dog laundry. Other volunteers are driving up to take Riley, a five-year-old Lab mix out for a walk in Canine Cove. A trainer is taking two-year-old Ripley out of his kennel for a session, while I sit and hold Royalty, a six-month-old Doberman Pinscher mix as she crawls into my lap and tucks her head under my arm. Adoption Specialists are greeting potential adopters, while other staff members are counseling pet guardians in what’s needed to keep their animal in the family home. Is Smudges acting out over food aggression? Is Charlie running away? Perhaps a discounted (for those in need) behavior modification class may facilitate a better human-animal relationship.

And yet, still others are teaching classes to teach canine basics: Sit, stay, come, down, offering treats and praises to foster trust and healthy dog- people relationships. Some are driving up with a newly-adopted six-month- old Shepherd mutt for socializing in Puppy Class. Animals, as with children, need guidance, support and teaching. Behavioral issues are the oft-cited reason for pet relinquishment.

Last year, HSBV provided shelter to five thousand seven hundred twelve animals. So far this year, they’ve given respite to twelve hundred. Many fortunate enough to make the transport truck are arriving from overburdened shelters in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, while others come from incidents of cruelty cases or large impoundments. Southern shelters have lesser resources to provide for homeless animals, driving the need for transport to places better situated or where demand greater than where they took their first breath. Not all will make it up to the recreationally-inclined, dog-friendly State of Colorado to walk the trails of Chautauqua or recline in a backyard of Martin Acres. “Some require behavior or medical attention, all of which give rise to increased costs per animal,” says Jan McHugh Smith, Chief Executive Officer of HSBV.

And still others, have been left behind the family plan of prosperity.

Driving across town in the affluence of Boulder, it’s tempting to assume every facility is overflowing with means to provide where others are lacking. Such assumptions fall short of reality, in that HSBV relies on community donations beyond its animal adoption services and city-provided contract. Funding is needed in the face of rising demand for services. As Jan shares, “We’ve seen a 28% increase in requests for families needing financial assistance with veterinary care. Some are provided for through donations…other funds come through grants for relinquishment [of pets] prevention.”

Expansion for its veterinary clinic is estimated at $800,000, which HSBV hopes to raise by November 2022.

The national crisis ongoing for animals is desperate for compassionate, professional support. Dogs and cats are being born into a life in which too many still are saying, There’s no room for you in this world. Summertime in particular brings puppies and kittens (of which HSBV has many awaiting) in all their innocent joy and hope for life in a crowded world. Adopting and supporting our local shelter helps the plight of homeless animals, one grateful set of brown eyes at a time.

For additional information, check out https://www.boulderhumane.org/