The Nebraska Humane Society is working to become a no-kill animal shelter

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Nebraska Humane Society is closer than ever to becoming a no-kill animal shelter after making changes last year.

Data from the national animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society showed that nearly 1,700 cats and dogs were euthanized in Nebraska shelters last year, more than 1,100 of them at the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha.

“It's really a difficult topic to talk about, but it's decisions that need to be made occasionally,” said Steven Elonich, vice president of public relations, marketing and internal communications for the Nebraska Humane Society.

Unlike other animal shelters, Elonich said, the NHS does not sleep because of space or time constraints, but under different circumstances.

“If you have a 17-year-old cat who has cancer, is it better to give him relief or is it better to let him spend his time suffering? “If you have a dog that has been bitten multiple times, is it better for the community if we let him out?” Elonich explained.

Over the past seven years, the NHS has increased the number of animals saved from euthanasia from 79.6 percent in 2017 to 86.4 percent in 2023, according to Best Friends Animal Society.

NEBRASKA HUMANE SOCIETY SAVINGS

Now the NHS is working to achieve 'no killing', which means saving 90 per cent of animals each year.

To help them get there, Best Friends Animal Society has placed a member of staff with the NHS for a year.

“Best friends did an embed with us in July 2023 that didn't end until June 2024. They started a number of programs and helped us with a number of programs that were already in place to help us get closer to that number,” Elonich said.

New programs include Barks and Rec. Elonich explained, “It's like renting a dog for a day.” It gets them out of the shelter, it relieves stress, it gets them in front of more people they might otherwise wouldn’t see.”

They also created daily playgroups for dogs to help them socialize and make them more adaptable.

To prevent an overabundance of cats, they launched a Community Cat Project.

“For kittens who are clearly not comfortable living in cats, we can trap, neuter, release, vaccinate and return them to where they are happiest and not have to worry about euthanasia and similar options for these cats ,” said Pam Wiese, CEO of the Nebraska Humane Society.

NHS is also trying to increase the number of adoptions and reduce the number of surrenders by offering resources such as financial support or training.

“It's about teaching people to be better pet owners, it's about offering resources to help them keep their pets through difficult times, and it's about ensuring we have best practices in place internally to ensure that pets have the best outcome when they get out here,” Elonich explained.

After a year of implementing these changes, the results are available. “It was really successful,” Elonich said.

“This year the (NHS) has had a kill ban every month except for one where there was a slight decrease, but they are doing great,” said Stacy Rogers, Best Friends Animal Society regional director for the Great Plains and Midwest.

Elonich is confident the NHS will maintain the 90% no-kill target for the remainder of 2024.

Rogers added that public support for these efforts will be key to continued success.

“Getting your community to come and take in pets when they are fed up and adopt animals. Even if you are unable to adopt or foster an animal at this time, support the shelter by spreading the word or donating,” Rogers said.

Wiese said unlike a decade ago, the NHS is now at around 80 per cent capacity, which equates to around 550 animals per day. This ensures they have room for emergency rooms and are not overwhelmed with animals.

Rogers also reminds people looking for a specific breed to always check shelters first. “I was just at a shelter this week that had poodle mixes, beagles and a pug mix, and everything that people think they wouldn't find in a shelter is there.”

Best Friends helps other animal shelters across the country become no-kill shelters. Sometimes these efforts include helping to change city ordinances to allow stray cats to live outdoors and implementing community cat programs, as in Omaha.

No-kill states include Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware. Rogers said comprehensive spay/neuter initiatives were implemented on the East Coast much earlier than the rest of the country, which helped those states achieve this status.

According to Best Friends, Texas and California are the two states with the highest euthanasia rates in the United States.

Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.