The mission of the Bay Area Humane Society is to provide the best possible care and
future for companion animals in our community.
Our story begins more than 40 years ago, in the cold winter of 1958, when a small group of dedicated men and women turned their passion into a purpose. Quite simply, they loved animals. And they wanted to make our community a safer, healthier place for pets and people alike.
History Continued >> |
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Bay Area Humane Society welcomes every animal in need. We turn no companion animals away. We are defined as an “open admission” shelter.
There are other organizations that call themselves “no kill” shelters, but we find the term misleading. These organizations are more accurately defined as “limited admission” shelters, because, generally speaking, they have to restrict the number of animals they take in. They may turn away those that aren’t healthy or behaviorally sound. To operate successfully, they generally have to limit their intake to animals who can be adopted quickly.
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As an open-admission shelter, we take in ill and injured animals and those who are not immediate candidates for adoption. We receive pets that are no longer wanted, pets from people who can no longer care for them, and many stray animals.
We work hard to give second chances to every healthy or rehabilitatable animal, and we do a very good job.
There is no set time limit for how long an animal can remain at our shelter. As long as an animal maintains general good health, a sound temperament, and we have space, we'll keep a pet for weeks or sometimes months. We may put a healthy but overlooked pet in temporary foster care and return him to the shelter for adoption at a later time. We move sick animals into foster care for treatment. And we work with our breed “rescue” groups and other organizations who find homes for some harder-to-place animals. We do everything we can to avoid euthanasia of healthy or rehabilitatable animals.
But more keep coming … an average of about 15 every day. The reality is that there is not enough space and money to accommodate all of them. We humanely euthanize those animals (primarily cats) who are not chosen by new families. We also euthanize aggressive animals (primarily dogs) who are determined to be a potential threat to the community, as well as those sick or injured animals who are untreatable given our resource limitations.
Starting in 2009, we began tracking not just how many animals we took in, adopted, or euthanized – but also more detail about their physical and behavioral condition. This helps us evaluate our progress and understand where future resources need to be focused. We’re reporting this information in a nationally recognized format known known as “Asilomar.” A few years ago, animal welfare leaders from around the country came together and drafted the Asilomar Accords, a set of guiding principles, shared definitions, and formulas for tracking live release rates from shelters. The founders hoped to produce a uniform system of data collection and reporting so that shelters and other stakeholders can get a better understanding of the state of the homeless animal problem within their communities. You can view our Asilomar report for 2009 by clicking here.
While we’ve had great success placing all our healthy, adoptable pets, our work over the next few years is very focused on “treatable / manageable” pets, those with medical and/or behavioral concerns we can work through with existing or new resources. As a private, non-profit organization, our success relies greatly on the support and participation of our community. If you have questions – please ask! If you’d like to help, check out the page “How You Can Help.”
Thank you!
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