The evolved model for pet shelters starting to appear in a few enlightened communities across America will when it reaches full stride, finally bring an end to the euthanizing of over 4 million pets annually in America.
I chose the word “pets” versus animal as I believe we have to not only change the facility design of shelters but we have to change how we think about the issue in this country as well as the terms animals and pets. As I said we kill 4 million animals each year in our shelters. The word animals allows us to hide from the fact that these are not animals like pigs and cattle and chickens we slaughter to eat. These are our family pets. These animals have been domesticated to live with us and bring love and kindness into our homes. We love these little guys and gals. They are part of our family. We would not kill them so easily if we changed our calling them animals to calling them what they really are, our beloved family members, our pets. Pets is not a demeaning term. It is an enduring term. When we say she or he is my pet it means they are special. Pet projects mean special projects or special things. So, in most of my blogging to support our dogs and cats I use the word pet, not animal.
Back to the evolved design of “pet” shelters. Through pet friendly, eco-friendly and people friendly green building design, and with it the integration of better systems for disease-management and stress reduction, future ” Community Pet Centers” will change forever how we care for homeless pets.
Our local animal shelters, or more accurately, death shelters will then become Community Pet Centers for shelter pets and those who want to adopt, train, or exercise their own pet. Shelters will shift from being warehoused animal rescue jails to community centers to places where prevention is stronger than incarceration. The future Community Pet Centers will then transition from only finding homes for lost or surrendered pets, to community pet centers for all the community to come to. Events will be held there, pet shows, a community dog park, pet agility courses, low-cost training for behavioral issues, workshops, spay & neuter and other services to help keep our community pets in safe and loving homes, thereby avoiding being abandoned for lack of training, food or lack of spay& neuter in the first place.
The world is evolving and animal shelters must and will evolve with it.
(Monahan, S., 2013. The Evolution in Animal Shelters - Community Pet Centers [sic]. The Coming Evolution in Animal Shelters [online blog]. 18th May 2013. Available at:
https://americasdogrescuer.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/the-evolution-in-animal-shelters-pet-community-life-centers/ [Accessed on 7th January 2015].