Knowing that it's possible

Last week, Marketing Guru Seth Godin wrote a blog post noting that "All you need to know is that it's possible." In the post, he notes:

One of the under-reported stories of the internet is this: it constantly reports on what's possible. Somewhere in the world, someone is doing something that you decided couldn't be done. By calling your bluff and by pointing out the possibilities, this reporting of possibility changes everything.

You can view this as a horrible burden, one that raises the bar and eliminates any sinecure of comfort and hiding you can find, or you can enbrace it as a chance to stretch.

Most organizations forget to ask the question in the first place.

Building No Kill Communities is possible. Around the globe, there are examples of cities and shelter are showing that indeed, ending the killing of healthy dogs and cats in our nation's shelters is indeed possible.  Across the nation:

1) Shelters are opening off-site adoption facilities and doubling the number of adoptions

2) Opporating targeted, low cost spay/neuter programs that help low-income people alter their pets

3) Shelters have adopted their way to No Kill, in spite of really restrictive laws in their community 

4) Shelters ar providing outreach to 'high risk" areas - -and building relationships in these neighborhoods with helping outreach like offering free vaccinations and microchips. 

5) And ending the needless killing of healthy dogs and cats in their communities. Communities like Tompkins County, NY; Reno, NV; Charlottesville, VA; Berkeley, CA; Shelby, County, KY; and numberous others have achieved No Kill by designing programs based on programs that have had success in achieving No Kill. And here's one model that has proven itself to work.

All you need to know is that it's possible. And once you know that, there can be no excuse to blame others for why animals are killed in shelters, and we are (or at least should be) morally obligated to do everything in our power to make it happen in our shelters too.

Are people telling you it can't be done? Have they even asked the question of whether or not it can be?

It can be done. It is being done. And around the nation, there are more and more shelters that are making it happen.

Knowing it's possible is the key. It's now up to us to make it happen.

Comments

[Saving Pets]

Love it! Great post!

[Kelly Lange]

Both of your blogs today encompass everything I think and believe in!! Way to go Brent, for yet another spot on blog post!

[Joni]

El Paso TX open-door shelter goes no kill in one year - saving 90% of pets! http://ow.ly/1NEI9 #nokill #shelter #pets

[MichelleD]

Not to rain on the El Paso parade but...

"The Humane Society is an open-door shelter and since the beginning of 2010 it's also a no-kill shelter."

"sometimes if someone is bringing in an animal and we don't have room, we'll ask them, 'can you wait a couple of days"

That is not "open door". I'd like people to quit showing percentages and show us the overall save numbers. I can make percentages tell any story I want and this is exactly the kids of word play critics of No Kill jump all over.

Another ditty, look at this article and the link to "Humane Society" Bing search and guess who comes up?

[pitbull friend]

Thank you so much for another great, timely, important piece of writing, Brent!
-Ellen

[mary frances]

thank you for your prolific work and dedication - great post.

[Social Mange]

Excellent post. I love that you're breaking down the individual components of no-kill and making it understandable for the average person.

[Victoria Bolivar]

All things are possible with God and you Seth, Keep up the great work !! Victoria

[Valerie]

A shelter that asks if someone can wait a couple of days before surrendering an animal during a space crunch is still open door, assuming that they would shift things around and make room if the need to surrender the animal turned out to be a dire emergency. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a shelter asking a non-emergency surrender to wait a couple of days, as long as they determine that the animal will be safe doing so.