| An adoption shelter is an organization that is designed | | | | prevent so many unnecessary deaths at adoption |
| to take care of animals. They all have the same goal, | | | | shelters is to spay or neuter your pets. It is also |
| which is to ease the suffering of animals, as well as | | | | important that all pets have current identification tags |
| educate people about the responsible care of pets | | | | on them, in case they get lost. |
| and the need of spaying and neutering. The pets that | | | | Some are "no kill" shelters. They are limited in the |
| end up in adoption shelters are often abandoned, | | | | number of animals that they can house and take |
| dumped, abused, neglected, handicapped, or sick. | | | | care of, but they don't believe in the euthanasia of |
| Most of these adoption shelters are run by | | | | healthy pets. Instead, they will take care of as many |
| volunteers, and exist on donations. They do have | | | | animals as they can, but often aren't able to take |
| adoption fees, but they are very minimal, and barely | | | | new pets because of space limitations. |
| cover the costs associated with the pets. When a | | | | There is also a national organization, The Humane |
| pet is adopted from a shelter, they generally have | | | | Society of the United States (HSUS), that devotes |
| their current vaccinations and are spayed or | | | | much of it's time and resources to improving local |
| neutered. Most have a very difficult adopting | | | | adoption shelters and animal control agencies. They |
| procedure, which allows them to ensure that the | | | | have been responsible in defining national shelter |
| pets they adopt out won't be coming back. | | | | standards, guidelines, and recommendations for care |
| There are about 6 - 8 million pets that enter adoption | | | | and operations of the shelters. They also provide |
| shelters each year, and 3 - 4 million of them are | | | | direct and indirect support for spay and neuter |
| euthanized, or killed. Adoption shelters don't have any | | | | programs, the only way to prevent overpopulation. |
| maximum time limit that they hold an animal before | | | | They have given millions of dollars to the local |
| euthanizing it, however it is based on the adoptability | | | | adoption shelters and veterinary schools to launch |
| of the animal and the space available to house the | | | | spay and neuter programs for pets. In short, they |
| animal. In that time, their main goal is to keep the | | | | were the voice that was able to fight against animal |
| animal healthy and adoptable. The best way to | | | | cruelty and celebrate the human-animal bond. |