In a recent story regarding Park County Commissioners being generous with special funding requests, it was also revealed that Park County Animal Shelter was being punished for its no-kill policies by having funding withheld. 

The article went on to say that the decision to deny funds was made after the new shelter director asked for additional money citing how they are taking a good proportion of its animals from the county and had even performed Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) services in a Powell neighborhood. 

This denial of funding is disappointing. And an unfortunate and all-too-common misunderstanding of what no-kill means when it comes to animal sheltering.  

No-kill means saving every dog or cat in a shelter who can be saved. Community safety and good quality of life for pets are guiding principles of the no-kill philosophy and are attainable when animal welfare professionals engage in best practices and protocols, like Park County Animal Shelter has done since 1996.  

Commissioner Lee Livingston went so far as to say he was opposed to the shelter getting county funds for both its no-kill policy and its program where feral cats are spayed or neutered and then released back into the same area. He said, and I quote: “I use animals, I love animals, but I just know there’s some that just shouldn’t be here any longer.” The commissioners’ statement that animals that are unlikely to be adopted take space is the opposite of what no-kill is.  

No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter, which is a meaningful and commonsense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets that are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. Shelters that meet the 90% save-rate benchmark are considered no-kill. 

TNVR is the only humane and effective way to reduce the number of community cats. With it, cats are humanely trapped, evaluated, spayed or neutered by a veterinarian, ear-tipped to show they’ve been sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and then returned to their original outdoor homes to live out their lives.  

Community cats do not fare well in shelters, as they are not adoptable to traditional homes and prefer to continue to live outside. And according to Best Friends Animal Society most recent data, 5,853 cats were brought into U.S. animal shelters each day, and 569 were killed each day. Many of them were community cats. 

The best choice for a healthy community cat is to be returned to their outdoor home.  

Commissioner Lee’s opposition makes no sense and will result in more pets being killed. 

As with most shelters across the country, Park County is struggling with overcapacity. But as noted by Park County Animal Shelter Board Vice Chair Joelyn Kelly, it is collaborating with other shelters to move animals to other parts of the country where they may have a better chance of being adopted. Additionally, as Kelly stated, the shelter is making hard decisions to euthanize those pets that are not able to be safely integrated back into the community or are too sick to be saved (the 10% allotted for in no-kill). 

Additional funding would allow Park County Animal Shelter the ability to provide more time, medical care, and if necessary, behavioral rehabilitation for the pets that need it to become ready for a new home. If Commissioner Livingston does indeed “loves animals,” one would think he’d support such efforts rather than condemn them. It’s the duty of an elected official to not let their own personal agendas, opinions and experience impact and cloud their actions. By being impartial, the commissioners can help propel the community to no-kill status, saving countless pets lives in the process. 

However, it’s important to remember that it’s not just the commission that has an impact on the lives of homeless pets in Park County. Helping shelter pets is the responsibility of residents in every community. Shelters can only create and sustain lifesaving programs if they have community support and participation.  

At Best Friends, we also have a community-driven, grassroots movement to help save more dogs and cats across the country. 

Working together with transparency and honesty is what makes true no-kill possible. 

(Michelle Dosson is the executive director, Mountain West Region, Best Friends Animal Society. She lives in Salt Lake City.)