Kevin Horecka’s Post

BACK INTO THE CAGES THEY GO… Over the course of the next few weeks there will be a mass intake of animals being surrendered to animal shelters all across the USA. It won’t be just animals purchased from breeders either, it will be those adopted from shelters and rescue organizations, too. This is common after the holidays and the person surrendering will always make excuses for why it didn’t work out. Most of the time they are all selfish and avoidable. These aren’t the happy endings that those of us in rescue have hoped for. Everything from rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds and other species will also be inserted into an already overwhelmed shelter system, and it’s not just puppies or kittens. While it’s easy to point the finger and get angry at someone you know of hear or for this, try instead to be a solution for them. Try. Let them also know the reality of euthanasia for owner surrenders and that it’s likely it will happen. It’s never 100%, but if you can offer guidance by temporarily fostering or networking on the animals behalf for a better home by coordinating with a rescue organization, please do so. You might be the only shot the animal has. It’s going to get really overwhelming over the next week few weeks, so please keep your eyes and ears open because we all have the power to make a difference in a life. At this time of year, rescue organizations and shelters are already on high alert and bracing themselves for the inevitable and so let’s do our best to help them. Some of them will even be dealing with the trauma caused by abuse from someone in the home that they came from. Welcome to the USA!

File this under ideas I love. In the animal sheltering world, we know that it's better for most animals that if they have to be rehomed, that they are rehomed without having to go to the shelter first. Even the best shelters can be stressful for animals, and animals risk potential disease exposure. Plus, shelters and shelter staff are already stretched thin with the volume of animals they deal with with too few resources. The Williamson County Animal Shelter (Texas) has a great new approach for helping reshape rehoming behavior in their community. They have increase their rehoming fees to between $100 and $150. At first, this sounds very high, but, they do allow for discounts to that cost if pet owners go through a series of steps to attempt to rehome their pet on their own. They allow for a $20 discount if someone attempts to rehome their pet using the Adopt-a-Pet Rehome App. $10 discount if they post on social media. Another $10 if they post on their PASS program Facebook page, etc. The discounts provide an opportunity to incentivize residents to go through the process of rehoming the pet themselves. And we know, that when people do these things, it is unlikely the pet ever ends up coming to the shelter. I like the positive, incentive-based approach to reshaping rehoming behavior in their community. Great work Misty Valenta. And thanks for allowing me to share.

Good read <3

While there are a few UK rescues that take a pack approach over individual kennelling (such as the amazing Dogs 4 Rescue) I haven't come across that that engage in pairing (unless the dogs were previously bonded). However, this is something that I've seen Kristen Hassen pioneering in the US. So it's great to it covered in a mainstream UK newspaper, and backed up by further research. 1. Pairing shelter dogs together ‘could cut stress and help them find homes sooner’ – The Independent https://lnkd.in/dscXT2_N 2. Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators – Grace Hecker, Katherine Martineau, Mariah Scheskie, Rhonda Hammerslough, and Erica N. Feuerbacher (via PLOS ONE) https://lnkd.in/dnprSRyW 3. The Case for Cohousing Shelter Dogs – Outcomes Consulting https://lnkd.in/dcb9cBKr #AnimalWelfare #AnimalRescue #AnimalShelter #DogRescue #DogShelter #RescueDog #RescueDogs #AdoptDontShop

Roughly 6.5 million cats and dogs entered U.S. animal shelters in 2023, according to Shelter Animals Count–and there's not much sign of slowing. It’s no secret that people are struggling and when people struggle, so do their pets. As families seek support for housing, utilities, and food: What do people need to support their pets as well? HASS is answering that question through our Intake Triage Project this year! Read more below. https://lnkd.in/e67FsbgZ

🌈 RIP 🌈 Sharing my story gives me a higher survival rate. Pledges will help attract a rescue. Rescues cannot intake animals without fosters. A1919852 Located At: BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions Description: My name is Blair. I am a female, black and white Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix. Age: The shelter staff think I am about 5 years old. More Info: I have been at the shelter since Jan 25, 2024. I am in kennel DADOPT14. https://lnkd.in/gJF7zxkK SHELTER NOTES 02/09/24 13:15 Curled up on her bed when I approached but stood and walked up to door with tail low but wagging, ears down and licking snout. I entered kennel and reached hand to her and she winced, then once I held hand still for her to sniff she began wagging tail again and stepped closer to be pet . While petting she stood still with tail down, but when I would stop she would begin fast wagging tail and get onto my lap. Treat motivated, but did not appear to know any verbal commands while getting a new picture, would follow my hand holding treats with eyes. Please contact BARC if you can help! They cannot assist out of state adoption or foster offers. We are NOT the shelter. barcfoster@houstontx.gov barcadoptions@houstontx.gov BARC.Aid@houstontx.gov 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝗺𝐚𝐥’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐈𝐃 𝐧𝐮𝗺𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝗼𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: www.houstontx.gov/barc/ BARC Animal Shelter 3200 Carr St Houston, TX 77026 Reminder: If you are interested in helping a Code Red animal you must reach out to the Outreach office before the 1 p.m. deadline. #rescueanimals #rescuedogs #rescuedog #animalrescue #houstontx #houston #dallas #dallastx #animalwelfare #euthanasie #dogs #dogrescue #puppyrescue #puppy #fosteradog #adoptdontshop #fosteringsaveslives #fosteringsaveslives

Inspiring! Innovations in animal welfare result in happier pups, more effective rescue and adoption efforts, and enhanced veterinary care. This is a true gamechanger. https://lnkd.in/eHavH8EC

The Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) announced yesterday that they will continue emergency-only intake (limited-admission) procedures as their shelter overpopulation continues to remain well over their capacity for care. With dogs housed for months on end in pop-up crates stacked in hallways for 23.5 hours per day, they ask, “How can we decrease our occupancy rate? How can we help staff and provide them with greater support? How can we get animals the resources they need, or pet owners the resources they need so they don't have to surrender an animal?” The answer is high volume, free, spay/neuter services. The city needs to subsidize these lifesaving procedures to help their community by weaning down the dog and cat population and spay/neuter is the only way to do that. With Best Friends Animal Society having been there for the better part of a year, IACS is the latest large shelter to display a complete failure of “no-kill” policies and serves as the latest example of how Best Friends has betrayed animals and their advocates nationwide with these harmful policies. “No-kill” policies harm animals both within the shelter and outside of it when they are rejected from intake. IACS and Best Friend needs to reflect on the severe damaging effects their policies have wreaked and adopt a HQHVSN model to help dog and cat populations now and in the future. #nokillisslowkill #spayistheway #trueanimalwelfare

This week recognizes and celebrates animals that are up for adoption but have not been able to find a home! According to the ASPCA, animals are considered “Less-Adoptable” after 48 weeks in the shelter. Dogs, for example, can be considered less-adoptable based on their breed, age, a disability and even coloring. At VERGI, we work with hundreds of rescues that save animals off the streets and from shelters. They are often either very ill or injured and are brought to us to help save their lives. We have witnessed first hand what amazing pets they turn out to be! Several of our team members have also rescued and adopted pets that would be considered “less-adoptable”. With the holidays around the corner, it is quite popular for families to want to gift their families a new pet. Please consider giving a “less-adoptable” animal a chance and a loving home! And remember that we are here 24 hours to help if you experience any emergencies with your new pet! #Adoptalessadoptablepetweek #adoptdontshop #animalemergency #vergi #vergi247 #vergitotherescue #wesavelives #locallyownedandoperated #familyownedandoperated #houstonstrong #houstonheroes #heresince1977 #vergicrew #vergiisthefirstandonly #veterinaryemergencyroomgroup #wearehereforyou #herewhenyouneedus #herewhenyouneedusmost #dogs #cats #dogandcatemergencies

💛 Safe with Foster 💛 Sharing my story gives me a higher survival rate. Pledges will help attract a rescue. Rescues cannot intake animals without fosters. A1920189 Located At: BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions Description: My name is Shelly. I am a female, black and tan German Shepherd Dog mix. Age: The shelter staff think I am about 4 months old. More Info: I have been at the shelter since Jan 27, 2024. I am in kennel SOUTHB11. https://lnkd.in/gZuHztM6 Heartworm Status: Not Tested SHELTER NOTES While walking other dogs, Shelly is loudly and high-pitched barking at every dog that goes by her kennel even though her kennel is covered. Her reactivity also sets off the dogs around her. While her kennel was being cleaned, I put her in a temporary kennel at the end of my row where she barked at every dog that walked past even though I put a blanket over the kennel. With her removed, the dogs in the kennels neighboring hers were not as aroused when other dogs walked past them. When I went into her kennel to spot clean in the afternoon, she was constantly jumping on me or trying to find a way to push out of her kennel. Very hyper puppy barcfoster@houstontx.gov barcadoptions@houstontx.gov BARC.Aid@houstontx.gov 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝗺𝐚𝐥’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐈𝐃 𝐧𝐮𝗺𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝗼𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: www.houstontx.gov/barc/ BARC Animal Shelter 3200 Carr St Houston, TX 77026 Reminder: If you are interested in helping a Code Red animal you must reach out to the Outreach office before the 1 p.m. deadline. #rescueanimals #rescuedogs #rescuedog #animalrescue #houstontx #houston #dallas #dallastx #animalwelfare #euthanasie #dogs #dogrescue #puppyrescue #puppy #fosteradog #adoptdontshop #fosteringsaveslives #stoptheabuse #adoptadog #adoptacat #loveadog #choseme #loveme