The Henderson Animal Shelter is working towards a major milestone and it could help you add a new member to your family. They are 3% away from being a no-kill animal shelter.
The Humane Society states you must save 90% of animals to brand yourself as a no-kill shelter. They allow 10% leeway for really sick, injured, and aggressive animals.
Right now, the Henderson Animal Shelter is saving 87%. In 2012, they were only saving 64%.
"We've had a really big improvement in the last five years," said Senior Animal Control Officer Danielle Harney.
Officer Harney credits multiple factors to the shelter's success.
This is the first year the shelter has its own Facebook page. Clear, bright, happy pictures of the dogs and cats get posted on the Facebook page and shared dozens of times.
Officer Harney also says their volunteers are spending more time with the animals and with the potential adopters. They are scheduling meet and greets to get to know the animals. The volunteers are spending more time training the dogs and socializing the dogs to make them more adoptable. They are also educating the community about spaying and neutering which is helping lower the shelter's animal intake rate.
"I think the community has helped tremendously," she said. "The rescue groups stepping up. The volunteers working with the animals more. The community taking a better responsibility in their own pet ownership spaying and neutering."
The Henderson Animal Shelter did meet the 90% save rate in September and October but they need to average 90% for the whole year to be considered no-kill. They believe they can get to that mark soon.
November is National Senior Pet Month if you are interested in adopting a pet older than six years old, you will get him or her for 50% off.
If you are interested in adopting the gray, calm dog shown in the video, ask the shelter about Mateo. He was rescued last month but got loose and his adopter never came back to get him.
If you are interested in adopting the black dog shown in the video, ask the shelter about Bella. Bella has been at the shelter since July when she was pregnant. All of her babies found homes but Bella is still needing a forever home.
