That is amazing and wonderful!! It should become a model for all humane societies in this country.

Wow, from 70% to less than 1% in 3 years is incredible!

It is heartbreaking to see how many dogs have been dumped due to the economy, and while I was at the emergency vet a few months ago, we talked about how many dogs they have had to put down recently because the families decided the vet bills would be too much. What a horrible decision to have to make.

Our town has a pretty good rate, but also has a good volunteer infrastructure that staffs adoption events, open houses, etc.

The city next door is much more economically depressed, has 6-7 dogs in every kennel and gets more in every day. The worst of the worst - the aggressive, the sick, the injured, the abused. Their kill rate is pretty high and they just don't have much volunteer support or money. We took over a trunkload of old blankets and towels, and the staff was so grateful!

Hpefully things will get better, but until then, I'll keep singing the praises of rescue dogs, spay and neuter, and speak out against backyard breeding.

We have been spay-neuter preachers for years, and even moreso in last few years, since my neighbor fosters dozens of dumped unwanted kittens every spring and summer.

And then I just got into a debate with my other neighbor, who really believes "every child should get the chance to experience their cat/dog having kittens/puppies at least once in their life."

I countered with, "Every child should have to volunteer in an animal foster home, and sit up all night during the round-the-clock feedings of unweaned kittens/puppies. Every child should have to volunteer in a no kill shelter, to really understand how many puppies/kittens are filling our world."

She countered with, "Well it was ok in our case since it was a pure-breed lab, and those are easier to adopt."

I did tell her how many pure-breeds are also in these no kill shelter, cats and dogs both.

What a world we live in.

Glad there are no-kill shelters making progress. One of our cats came from a no-kill shelter that we give support to, and the other came from our neighbor's foster kittens a few years back.

I get so weary of people breeding animals so children can 'experience' a birth and puppies/kittens. I took in a dumped kitten after my daughter rescued it on a cold, rainy night. It couldn't have been more than eight or nine weeks old.

She vetted it and then invested a lot of money in it to give it a chance, and I took over the care. It was doomed from the start due to injuries sustained when it was dumped. It had not only some pelvic fractures, but neurological damage and out of pity for the quality of its life, I had to have it put down before it ever had a chance. It had two weeks of warmth, food and love. That's what happens to most kittens from un-spayed outdoor cats and a good many kittens of un-spayed indoor cats. What a waste and how heart breaking.