The Arizona Humane Society has been in the news lately due to the story about the euthanasia of Scruffy the cat.  Animal lovers in our community have responded with many questions... which shelters in the Phoenix area are no-kill?  What does no-kill mean?  How does the process work?

94,000 animals enter the shelter system each year in Maricopa County.  That is huge, the second-highest in the country (after Los Angeles County).

The vast majority of these animals are strays and owner surrenders taken in at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control and the Arizona Humane Society, the two large shelters that don't turn away any of the animals that come to them.

Because neither of these organizations can care for the huge number of animals being brought to them each day, they must make the hard decisions. They have to euthanize their least adoptable animals.

Before animals are euthanized, Maricopa County Animal Care and Control and the Humane Society send out lists of the animals in danger to the no-kill shelters, like HALO, to see if we can take any of them in before they are put to sleep.  These animals, the ones in danger of euthanasia, are the ones that HALO focuses on saving.

 Our focus is on saving these dogs and cats because they are the ones in the most danger, the ones that have no hope left other than us. As a no-kill or "limited-admission" shelter, HALO only takes in the animals that we have the resources to care for.  We rescue as many of the animals at the two big shelters who are in danger of being euthanized as we can, with kennels of adoptable animals lining every wall of our own tiny shelter.

  As a no-kill shelter, we also would never euthanize an animal for a treatable or manageable condition.  Euthanasia at HALO is a very serious decision, and  in the rare case when it absolutely must be done, there are tears from staff and volunteers every time.

But right now, the no-kill shelters like HALO can't save them all.  The Humane Society and Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, which are not no-kill shelters, euthanize approximatly 50% of the animals they take in.  That's 47,000 sweet faces each year, 17,000 of whom are put down for having a treatable issue such as being too young to be put up for adoption, having an upper respiratory infection, or being too scared. 

These animals deserved another chance at life and happiness and didn't get it.  The urgent need to help as many of them as we can is what keeps us going.

With 3,520 adoptions in 2011, HALO had more adoptions than any other no-kill shelter in Arizona.

For a more detailed explanation of the challenges our shelter system faces, see the blog written by HALO's President and CEO, Heather Allen: Top Dog Blog 

How can you help the animals?

1.  Adopt your pets from shelters rather than breeders or pet stores

2.  Spay and Neuter your animals

3.  Commit to your pets for their whole lives

4.  Volunteer and Donate to support animal rescues 

Thank you all for keeping yourself informed!

"The Dirty Scoop" on HALO's Finances and Stats

For the nerdy at heart!

We've been getting a few financial questions lately... probably because of the great news that HALO had more adoptions in 2011 than any other no-kill shelter in Arizona!  How do we do it?  Do we have a bajillion dollars?  Where does the money for vaccines, food, transportation of animals to adoption events, etc. come from?  Where does it go?

Budget: Just under $1 million (from 2010 Audit)

Staff: 27

1 President and CEO

1 Shelter Manager

2 Animal Care Manager

2 Volunteer Coordinators

1 Fundraising and PR Coordinator

2 Receptionists

18 Dog and Cat Care Specialists

Volunteers: 300

Animals Saved in 2010: 2,594

Animals Saved in 2011: 3,520

Income:

Expenses:

A Few Examples of Expenses:

Animal Care: Medication, Vaccinations, Spay/Neuter surgeries, Animal care staff, Animal transportation

Fundraising: Grantwriting, Donor services, Outreach

Administrative: Printing and processing adoption paperwork, Answering the public's phone calls

Everything we do is in service of these guys!

 One thing many people don't know is that HALO is part of a feeding program through Purina One!

HALO is one of a very select group of shelters across the country that are part of the Purina ONE® Pet Welfare Program.  Purina One generously supplies HALO with ALLof the dog food, cat food, and cat litter we need for the animals at our shelter. 

We are so fortunate that Purina One chose us for this program... and so incredibly grateful as well!

Click below to see the news story about the dog (who is a HALO adoptee) who woke his owner and alerted her that their neighbor's house was on fire.  It really drives home what we all know in our hearts, that just because a dog does not have a home does not mean that he has no value. Congrats Dunkin!  You are amazing!

http://www.azcentral.com/video/1352475796001 

We Need Small Pet Beds!

"So comfy... so sleepy..."

We're running low on the small size (18-24") pet beds, mainly for the Chihuahuas and the kitties.  We like beds like these:

-comfy for the animals

-fit nicely into our kennels

-easy to pop in the laundry

Can you please help keep the animals cozy and warm?

Beds are $9 each, or $50 for 6.  To make a donation to allow us to purchase new beds, type "beds" in the comments section on our donation page. 

If you'd like to buy bed(s) for our homeless animals and ship them to our shelter, here's some good ones up for sale online:

PetSmart

PetCo

Ryan's Pet Supplies

You can also mail them or drop them off at our shelter: 

HALO Animal Rescue

5231 N. 35th Avenue

Phoenix, AZ 85017

If more than we need to purchase fifty new beds is donated, then it will be used for spay/neuter surgeries, vaccines, medication, etc. for the animals in our care.  We truly appreciate your help, and so do our furry friends!

Thank you so much for supporting HALO's mission:

Helping Animals Live On.