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Orange County Animal Services Sheltering Practices and Philosophies 40 What Would It Take? By Nancy Lawson and Carrie Allan Reproduced from the January-February 2002 issue of Animal Sheltering magazine If someone were to ask ,you what it would take to stop euthanizing animals and find homes for every one of them, you would probably respond with more questions: "Which animals are we talking about? All animals? Healthy animals? Behaviorally sound animals?"Your inquiries wouldn't stop there, "In which communities? What's the timeframe? What's the starting point? How many are being euthanized now? What are we doing to ensure the end of suffering as well?" In 2QQ2, Animal Sheltering will explore the issues behind these questions and bring you a diversify of voices from the field. And whether it is the voices of people who believe in the power of the term "no kill" or the voices of those who find it divisive, the chorus is one of animal care professionals who are t ,tying to find the answers to pet homelessness in their communities. The searches have led many to focus more public attention on the true cause of the crisis-not animal control agencies and shelters, which have long stood on the front lines to battle the problem, but on communities themselves, which continue to generate more animals than responsible homes. As one shelter director has so succinctly put if, no one would ever think to blame the American Cancer Society for cancer, ,yet some members of the public and the media continue fo blame animal homelessness and euthanasia on animal shelters. The assumption is damaging to everybody working towards the day there is a home for every cat and dog.° Just as inhumane euthanasia methods and high euthanasia rates at one shelter can be twisted to cast a negative pall on all shelters, poor animal care standards, deceptive fundraising and PR practices, and hoarders masquerading as "no kills" have cast a poor light on compassionate and responsible "no kill" organizations. Because of our ongoing and highly visible debates about the words we use to define ourselves, the relationships among many organizations have been in danger of coming to a standstill. It's as though we all set out together towards the utopia we wanted to reach, only to stop halfway to argue about which route provided a faster wa,y of getting there, We're getting no closer to our destination b,y arguing, While many continue to believe that the term "no kill" can be misleading to the public, most also believe that, at ifs heart, it reflects a goal of everyone in the sheltering field: to end the need for the euthanasia of healthy, behaviorally sound animals. If we can reach a point where all organizations, regardless of their labels, are on the same page when it comes to professional standards of animal care, responsible adoption processes, financial and moral support from their