A sweet Lab mix waits at a local animal shelter for a new family to love, but no one comes because the facility isn't open when working families can visit. Two beautiful calico kittens would be great pets, but they get lost in the crowd of hundreds of cats in the facility. And the shelter doesn't provide a subsidized spay/neuter program or behavioral counseling, just two of the prevention measures that could help slow the steady march of homeless pets coming in its doors.
Wanting to do more for their animals and their communities, animal care and control agencies across the country are asking The Humane Society of the United States to help improve their programs and make their facilities more welcoming to families looking for a new best friend. Agencies also want to know how to improve their management practices, animal health procedures, and adoption programs.
The HSUS Animal Services Consultation (ASC) Program is answering these calls. At a shelter's request, we assemble an expert team to provide a customized, comprehensive evaluation, including everything from animal handling to client service. We review extensive background documentation from the agency, seek comments from the community about it, visit the site to see it first-hand, and then develop short- and long-term recommendations for improving the agency's operations and animal care.
To ensure that our recommendations don't simply sit on a shelf, our team advises the shelter on setting up a task force to implement them—and we remain available to provide further help as needed.
"Basic changes in policies and procedures can result in higher quality animal care, stronger outreach programs, and improved community relations," explains Kim Intino, manager of The HSUS Animal Services Consultation Program. "The changes we recommend elevate public awareness and support, so shelters can increase spaying and neutering, increase adoption rates, and reduce the need to euthanize animals."
Since 1998 we have consulted with 25 agencies nationwide, from California to New York. Consultations generally cost between $4,000 and $20,000—depending on the size of the agency and the complexity of its programs—charged on a sliding scale based on the agency's resources. Our team conducts about six evaluations each year, but we hope to help even more agencies in the future.
Does your local shelter need a helping hand? Tell your shelter professionals about our program and encourage them to visit our website for more information at www.AnimalSheltering.org or e-mail us at asc@hsus.org. Our experts are waiting to lend a hand.
